Is A Second Life Female Beauty Contest A Good Idea?

After launching an open forum to help Iris Ophelia select 2008's hottest male avatars, we were immediately inundated with names, well over a hundred dudes put forth by their friends, lovers, and admirers.  It was such a great response, I asked Iris if we should run a similar search, for hottest female avatars. 

She did not think that was a good idea.

"I don't want to be Little Miss Teardown," Iris warned, "but this is very much the dark side of SL aesthetics... Beauty is what leads to the bad feelings."  And because she's my style correspondent and is intimately familiar with Second Life's fashionista scene, I had to take notice.

"I'm gonna say 'style' and 'elegance' and 'creativity'," I protested, "that kind of thing."  I wasn't interested in a tacky digital flesh parade.  After all, I noted, "Anyone can slap a supermodel-looking skin on themselves."

Iris was mollified by that approach, but only somewhat. "You really really need to emphasize everything other than beauty," she said, firmly. "If you want it to not be a nightmare, it can't look like a beauty contest."

Which seemed like a strange thing to say.

"The thing is," I pointed out, "beauty in SL is all a matter of artistic talent and [avatar] customization skills, so why [would it cause a] heated personal reaction?"

"Because it's something you can control, so everyone should be beautiful. When you pick someone over someone else, you aren't just saying that God made x more beautiful that y and that's life and nature. You're saying x is a more talented individual than y, and at the same time making the same associations emotionally that it would have in real life."

In fact, she argued, "Calling someone ugly in SL is worse than doing it in RL because they have complete control in SL, and don't in RL."

I wasn't convinced.  "[B]ut saying one is prettier over the other?  That's just a matter of taste, isn't it?"

"Logically yeah, emotionally no," Ms. Ophelia said. "It's different for most women."

"And somehow this doesn't impact men, so we can have a hottest guy contest with minimal drama."

"Yup. Guys are different than girls. Also, there is less social emphasis on the attractiveness of men than on women."

So that's why I hesitate to select the hottest woman in Second Life.  But is Iris Opehlia merely being over-cautious, or is the gender inequity of judging avatar beauty really as profound as she thinks?

Comments

[Raul Crimson]

I think Iris is right, for some reason the guys take this kind of contest in a different way that girls, possibly because we (the guys i mean) use to be a bit less competitive about beauty than ladies.

You just need to see how many male clothing stores you can find in SL and how many female clothing stores. Works the same with skins, hair, ... as works the same RL too.

And, as Iris remarks, the social preasure over woman about beauty is way much than in men. Female beauty standards use to be far away from "natural" beauty (make-up, high heels, ...), male beauty standards use to be more natural.

[Shinesse]

Have you -seen- the SL fashion blogs lately? I mean I'm sure you have but seriously it’s a vicious world out there. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, SL beauty when it comes to women is a whole different complex issue.

It also greatly varies depending on who you talk to and what "group" you look at. I hardly ever see women who look like me gracing the SL fashion feeds. I have grown to accept this fact. But when you judge beauty you affectively, for women most times, put a stamp of approval on a certain look. This can also be seen in real life because women try so hard to emulate that "perfect" look that will grace all the fashion magazines at the time.

Iris is right, if a contest is done for women it can not be about being the “hottest women in SL”. It has to be on something that can’t be visually judged.

[Doubledown Tandino]

Can I be a judge?

Even if there are no judges, I'd still like to be one.

[dandellion Kimban]

It is not gender inequity but different social roles that are in question here. What counts for guys iRL counts iSL too. One doesn't have to have model's measurements, nor to look like from magazine. Even beer belly can be compensated by charisma, attitude and creativity. Sure, some girls can do that too, but, let's admit it, in much fewer cases. What is expected from girls in both worlds is just right amount of flesh on right places and a skin that makes good shades. And while that can be (and actually is) significant in meatspace, it's almost valueless iSL. But still, we have so many model looking girls on the grid that look so empty and with nothing to support their beauty.

I agree with Iris that contest can cause a lot of drama. On the other side, it might be very good thing to organize. Beauty contests (in both worlds) are there to set some standards and to promote some ideas. If done right, this is an opportunity to promote different kind of female beauty, one that is not based just on position of sliders and a good skin, but on creative and clever use of them. It's up to you whether you'll take the risk.

[chestnut]

Just for fun let's do some word substitution.

"Guys are different than girls"
New Yorkers are different than Californians
Blacks are different than whites
Christians are different than Jews

All women are not alike and to suggest we are is somewhat small minded. Not that a "hottest avatar" contest is the pinnacle of intellectual activity in the first place but I object to classifying the world in little pink and blue boxes. Its offensive.

[Nexeus Fatale]

Lets also drop a bit of the obvious, it seems that every other moment there's another "Ms. Awesome Female" content going on in Second Life. Guys rarely get any recognition in the Second Life virtual circles.

[Gahum Riptide]

For the guys, I really do think that most see the hottest male thing as more of a silly contest than a serious competition. One of the guys I nominated actually was little embarassed I put his name in, but he didn't put much emotion into it.

I can see where the competition and uglyness can come from. Your avatar is a personal thing, and many really do see it as themselves in a digital world. So to deem someone's avatar as the pinnacle of beauty means that many feel as though their work is not being validated.

It really helps to look at it as playing dress up rather than a personal affront if your avatar isn't chosen.

[Princess Ivory]

Oh, please, don't even go there. It will degenerate into a small-minded, back-biting beauty contest. SL is a microcosm of RL. And we all know what beauty pageants are like in RL. Remember Jon Benet Ramsey? Let's dress up our 4 year old to look like an adult prostitute, and call it beautiful, shall we?

And how about the answers we get from the contestants when asked what they hope to accomplish. "I want to achieve world peace." How many times do we have to hear that one? Come on girls, be original. But they already know that the original girl is too controversial. So they stick to the safe answer. Who could object to world peace, after all?

And whose bright idea was it to make them wear high heels with a swimsuit, for goodness sake? Do we see that at the beach? In all that sand? NO. I can guarantee you that the girl who dares to wear flip flops and a modest one piece will NOT ever win the contest. I don't care what it is called, or what the supposed criteria are for the judging. It's always a beauty contest. And they never change. Please don't bring that into SL.

Princess Ivory

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

You probably wouldn't want to do it, Hamlet. It would be very difficult to keep it from becoming a train wreck. Can you imagine trying to find judges that couldn't be accused by some clique that they're biased in some way or have too close of a connection to a contestant? Or there would be accusations of ballot stuffing or paying for nominations.

Just google the 12 Avatars contest to see what might happen. It might be intersting to try, especially if "If done right, this is an opportunity to promote different kind of female beauty, one that is not based just on position of sliders and a good skin, but on creative and clever use of them." as dandellion Kimban said.

[Doreen Garrigus]

Please, please, please don't run a beauty contest for seven-and-a-half foot tall puff-lipped Barbie Dolls with waists the size of their necks and arms that only extend down to their hip bones. It runs directly counter to the budding movement in SL for more reasonable bodies. Remember this?

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/05/can-a-female-av.html

Women face enough pressure with regard to appearance in the real world. Please don't apply any more with a huge highly-publicized virtual world competition(which will be a beauty contest no matter what you call it).

You said "beauty in SL is all a matter of artistic talent and [avatar] customization skills, so why [would it cause a] heated personal reaction?" You clearly do not understand.

You seem to assume that all women, always, would choose to be supermodel gorgeous if they had the means and that, in SL where appearance is chosen, the only reason a woman wouldn't be beautiful is if she lacked the ability. The assumption is misogynistic and repellent.

Do you really think that, given the very most artistic talent and top notch avatar customization skills, the best a woman could come up with is a "beautiful" avatar? Might she, instead, choose to create an interesting, unique, or even bizarre avatar?

Might choosing to make a conventionally beautiful (by SL standards) avatar even indicate a certain lack of creativity and individuality? Please understand that there is _no challenge_ to that. It is easy to do. Images to copy scream at us from every direction.

Much more difficult is to make an avatar instantly recognizable and distinct. Like Iris:

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/07/ophelias-gaze-f.html

Or Rosie:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosiebarthelmess/sets/72157603114099121/

Or Orchid:

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2008/01/purple-racism.html

Or any number of other fascinating created people who wouldn't even rank in an SL beauty contest.

[Jayden Emmons]

@chestnut:
I hate putting the world into pink and blue boxes, too, but the truth is that in this case saying "Guys are different than girls" is not just talking about the way that individuals process the world but about the way that society has different expectations of and talks differently about men and women.

Whether those differences should be there or not, they are something that I think should be taken into consideration in this case. "Beauty contests" for women come with a big set of pre-existing baggage that I don't think any male competition has an exact equivalent to. I think I have to add my voice to the "don't go there" group as far as a competition for female avatars goes, even though I really enjoyed last year's highlights for the guys and would theoretically enjoy a similar showcase for women.

[Osprey Therian]

I don't understand this drive to judge everything and create Top Ten lists. The entire concept has zero value.

[dandellion Kimban]

It's interesting how Doreen and I for completely same reasons (Do you really think that, given the very most artistic talent and top notch avatar customization skills, the best a woman could come up with is a "beautiful" avatar? Might she, instead, choose to create an interesting, unique, or even bizarre avatar?) are coming to the opposite result. :)

[cyn vandeverre]

Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander -- particularly when the gander has a female avatar and the goose has a male one, and nobody can tell anyway.

[Sophrosyne Stenvaag]

I agree with the cautionary advice so many good people have already provided, but here's a different thought:

Why not start with a contest for *judges*? Put out the question, "How would you choose the best female-gendered avatar?" Ask what they would consider best, what epitomizes the female for them, what fails and what succeeds.

Pick the five, say, most interesting, thoughtful, creative and divergent responses - or see if the responses cluster around a group of common notions of what's "best," most "beautiful" or "creative," and let that be your contest.

Or possibly even create a composite avatar synthesizing the judges' common and contradictory elements, and see what she looks like. Time Magazine did something similar for a 1993 cover on diversity in America - might there be a 2008 cover girl for diversity in SL generated the same way?

[CeNedra Rivera]

A few people have mentioned a Hottest Couples contest which could work, although it doesn't really have to be "Hot". It could have talent and question portions too, maybe like that Newlyweds TV show (yes I remember that show). This would eliminate the gender issue completely as couples could be any gender.

In any case I agree with the others that a SL's Hottest Female Avie contest would cause drama and hurt feelings. It's sad but true.

[Monkey Flung]

this is just sexism, pure and simple.

[Paisley Beebe]

I have to say Im soooo bored with everyone sporting the same Human barbie looks in SL, I find people that look "individual" and not sooo perfect much more interesting. To me it says "confident" "creative" and "real". I would love to see more interesting Shapes being sold on SL, I think it will be a sign of Second Lifes Maturity when more and more Shape makers start selling more interesting Human forms, and not just that! actually selling them!

Hamlet, I agree with Iris, I would be going for a competition where people are beautiful in an individual and unique way, not in a barbie doll way. With my own avatar, I bought a mod shape and then altered it to look as close to my real self as I could, without the bad hair days and bad skin days..:) at least its not a cookie cutter look I hope.

Now Im not saying you should look like your RL self at all!, that, is just what I feel comfortable with, but please stop with the barbie dolls, we know most of you barbies out there are in RL not even Ken Dolls but middle aged men...getting your kicks, it just boring thats all! be a dragon or a tiny or a bird or a Human with flaws!, if we all just look like blow up dolls, it becomes dull. Not eveyone is good with customising their shapes, so I would be challenging some of those shape makers to get a little daring and make some not perfect shapes every now and then..

The most ridiculous thing I ever heard was the previous Miss Ebony Competition, with Middle aged white men behind these lovely looking black women Avatars getting up in the top group, I just can't even get my head around that! it just made me mad! listen guys... black woman do not get a chance to have their own competition like that very often! and I can't speak for them, but really... You White Middle aged Guys! for goodness sake let a RL black woman have a chance at it and get lost!
Don't know why that bugged me so much but it did.
Paisley
(White Middle Aged Aussie Woman in RL and SL and PROUD!!)

[Iris Ophelia]

I just want to briefly clarify some points.
First, in response to judging avatar beauty, I did say "most women". Not all. Clearly not everyone wants to be a conventional glamour girl, and thank heavens for that! Second Life would be much more unappealing if it was only those people! The most beautiful avatar I can imagine for myself, in fact, is not a human one at all.
Second, you can call it misogynistic or sexist, but men and women are raised and treated differently in every society I can think of. No, that doesn't mean it's right, and no that absolutely doesn't mean we should make those same judgments here, but that's how it is. More women will swoon over a ruggedly handsome man than men will swoon over a similarly grizzled woman. Even consider the widespread male distaste for the "horsefaced" Sarah Jessica Parker. Yes, that's terrible, but lets accept that as the reality. This should be the same for both sexes, but it's just not.
If anyone is going to call anyone else misogynistic or sexist, you can call me that for wanting to have an albeit superficial contest for the men but not for the women because I don't trust them enough not to make it a nuclear catfight.

[Raul Crimson]

Using words as sexism for this post is quite far from reality and possibly near to over-sensitivity.

Saying men and women are different and this difference is reinforced by the social roles is correct and a clear vision of reality.

[dandellion Kimban]

I don't want to tangent this into men/women differences but they are not only social. And it's not social roles that make two contests and ways we perceive beauty different.

[chestnut]

I do agree a "hottest female avatar" contest could turn into an ugly display of emotion. Bearing in mind how many female avatars have male human drivers, gender is clearly more complex than it might appear on the surface in second life. That is why bringing old school stereotypes into the virtual world is disappointing to me personally.

Perhaps for the majority of people gender is binary. Either you are a boy or a girl. However, for intersexed and transgendered people gender is not so very simple. I think we should make an an effort to be sensitive to them in our choices.

[HALEY Salomon]

say no please , this is a great blog I would not like to see a sexest contest ,how about a contest for the best new outfit for Hamlett, kisses HALEY

[Pyewacket Bellman]

The answer is obvious. A beauty contest for female avs who are men in RL - and use voice. I bid for the machinima rights! Strangely enough, I've been working on a song for just that idea - so if anyone REALLY wants to get into it - let's have some fun!

[Crap Mariner]

I agree with HALEY.

(Continues working on white straitjacket design... muwahahahaha!)