Ophelia's Gaze: Will Our Avatars Ever Age Gracefully?

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

There has recently been a great deal of attention paid to avatar weight, and whether the body images we choose are always socially responsible. As interesting as this topic is, there is another that remains largely untouched, something that we control so strictly in SL, though we have no control at all over it in our real lives: Aging.

Up until recently it was nearly impossible to find commercially available elderly skins. Overwhelmingly, avatars for sale are kept well within the 18-34 age range.  What's more, the few skin stores that sell elderly male skins offer no similar product for females.  That's the case, for example, with Roslin Petion and CJ Carnot’s store Fleur. I once asked Roslin if they were planning to do a female parallel for their male Mature skin.

Roslin thought I was making a joke (possibly because I timed my question a bit too close to her birthday).

Recently, Nylon Pinkney created a line of skins for the new The Wrigglesworths themed shop in the Tableau sim (the Aunt Sally skin from this line is pictured). These skins aren’t sold like Nylon’s other skins, with one face and a variety of makeup choices, but rather they’re sold as complete bodies, with skin, shape and hair. This is also the case with Mrsigmund Fride’s elderly avatars at his skin store, Tuty’s. When you sell an avatar, rather than just a component of the avatar, the product is presented more as a character-- an identity you temporarily adopt-- rather than a component you blend into your existing permanent avatar identity. 

This raises the question then, are we even willing to embrace age in SL the same way that we embrace red lipstick, or will old age in SL remain a point of parody?

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Comments

[Mitch Wagner]

Interesting.

I'm not interested in an elderly skin. As far as I'm concerned, growing old is a bad idea, and I'd like to avoid importing it into my virtual life.

However, I would be interested in skins for a healthy middle-aged man, like Harrison Ford or George Clooney. (I'm just citing them as exmples -- I'm not actually looking for celebrity lookalike skins.) Also, a hairstyle that doesn't make me look like an underwear model.

[Princess Ivory]

My husband has an avatar with silvery hair. He asked me (the shopping queen!) if I could suggest a good store for men's skins that were attractively "middle-aged" (40-50). I came up with a blank. Thanks for the mention of Fleur's mature men's skin. I will go check it out for him. I love Fleur's female skins, but I have no interest in aging my female avatar. SL is where I go to be my younger self again!

I wonder how much interest there would be in older skins (not old and wrinkled, just reasonably middle-aged yet still attractive) for men and women?

Princess Ivory

[Yak]

A very good point... I am 61 and my Avatar reflects that. I would ne VERY interrested in more choice when it comes to older skin. Also hair with a high hairline... nearly impossible to find...

[Galena Qi]

Natural Skins has a mature woman skin. I tried the demo but found it aged my av more than I was comfortable with - more like 60 than 40. I would buy a really attractive middle-aged skin. Probably not a middle-aged body though. In a world where we can fly, why let gravity have its way?

[e]

brilliant, galena!

[Melanie Aluveaux]

I use Second Life to teach undergraduate university classes. A mature but attractive female skin would be of great interest to me. As an educator, I prefer a more conservative appearance, and the usual hot young female avatar does not fit the role. I have tried some of the available "elderly" skins, but found them to be much too old, so there is a real market need for a mature option.

[Two Worlds]

I would assume that the biggest market for aged avatars would be roleplaying, when a person of a certain age or appearance would be needed.

But I think this is a step in the right direction. I'm getting tired of seeing all the same Abercrombie and Fitch clone models in Second Life. Just because you CAN look perfect in SL doesn't mean you SHOULD. If an avatar is a physical projection of one's true, ideal appearance, then why is every person's "true ideal" blonde and perfectly tanned, with perfect breasts or pecs and a six-pack?

[dane landar]

Good article. As a new person to SL, and one that in RL is an attractive 50 yr old male with a bit of gray, I would much prefer to find a skin which at minimum makes me look something other than a 20-something. I checked out the Fleur site, and those skins were not optimal for me. If anyone comes across another store, let me know.

[Kirsten]

A bit belated, but yeah, it's a shame that there aren't really any middle-aged options. It's either perfection or as wrinkled as seersucker. I hereby pledge that, should I ever actually get around to making skins, I will make middle-aged skins! Till then, I guess I'll just have to keep hunting. :(

[Cheyenne Spearmann]

This is a little late but you should check out Brazen Women for mature women's skins. They have 3 steps in the aging process. I happen to think the oldest set still doesn't make you look like an old hag. And they come in different makeups.