Nightflower's New World Notes Article on Second Life Goreans Now Featured on Jezebel!

I'm profoundly stoked to announce that New World Notes columnist Nightflower's provocative article on Second Life Goreans is now being featured on Jezebel, the mega-popular Gawker blog, and one of my personal favorites. Jezebel is among the smartest, sharpest blogs on the web, especially on sex from a feminist perspective, and Nightflower's great writing frankly deserves to be featured there. So far the Jezebel comment thread is quite interesting, with reactions ranging from extremely negative and snarky (that's Jezebel for ya) to tentatively accepting or thoughtful. Also be sure to read the conversation in the post as it originally appeared here.

Comments

[Arcadia Codesmith]

Negative and snarky? Heaven forfend! And we did so try to put our best face forward with this piece!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Perhaps the readers of Jezebel are better able to recognize fatuous vacuity and moronic misogyny of that "article" than those of NWN? In fairness, though, that particular piece of fluff didn't get an easy ride here, either. So maybe there is hope yet.

Wouldn't it be nice (she mused aloud, for the umpteenth time) if NWN published an intelligently *positive* piece about the role of women in SL, worthy of being lifted elsewhere?

Or are we just too happy maintaining the fiction that all women do in SL is role play submission, and shop for clothing?

[melponeme_k]

I think its a good sign that it was the story and the practices it outlined that were examined. Hardly anyone raised an eyebrow about Second Life itself.

Whereas the same subject, if it was printed in tech magazines, would cause angry mouth frothing. Techs all hate SL so much.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

"Techs all hate SL so much."

There has been for some time an anti-SL backlash in the technosphere... but it's not universal. If it were, all those cute li'l bunnehs would lie on the ground and do nothing.

There are a number of "techs" who love SL and the potential it represents, but are deeply unhappy and impatient at Linden Lab's clumsy fumbling in realizing that potential.

Some got caught up in the hype wave and are embarassed that their optimistic projections didn't come true.

Some think it's cool to bash whatever it is that everybody else is bashing.

And some tried it for HOURS but developed a deep, burning hatred for SL after discovering that even in virtual reality, nobody would sleep with them.

I'm sure that's not the full spectrum of anti-SL sentiment, but I'll bet that's the majority of it.