How Has Male Privilege Hurt Second Life's Development?

Cajsa Lilliehook, from her blog

When Linden Lab first started developing Second Life, only about 20-25% of its staff were women -- and as I recall, only one of those women was on the development team. When I left Linden Lab in 2006, the gender split was a bit better (but not by much), say 30%. But again (with some notable exceptions), few women were (or are) directly involved in SL's design or development. I was thinking about all this last week, after writing about the woman who was harassed in Second Life and then into the real world, and how it made me re-think encouraging more linkage between Second Life avatars with real life identify. And as SL blogger Cajsa Lilliehook bluntly me put it to me:

"I have often thought you were too glib about it because you are a man. You have the privilege of not having to think about personal safety in the same way that women must in our society. I am sad this woman has been harassed and it is a horrible thing, but I appreciate that you have at least begun rethinking your opinion."

She has very valid points. In the wake of Gamergate especially, I've belatedly become much more aware how rampant and frankly terrifying this reality is for women. But back in 2010-2011 when I first wrote about the value of Facebook integration with SL -- which Linden Lab also did, calling Facebook "The Best Place" to find Second Life content -- I was much less aware. Back then, I even talked about Facebook integration with some Linden Lab staff -- all male -- and we were all perplexed why a feature that had so much value was being resisted so vehemently by so many SLers. We men were wrong to look beyond the safety of our own perspective.

Which is why I wanted to expand this point to a larger, open forum question:

How has male privilege and bias hurt Second Life's development?

Because it's not a question of If, but How. It does make a difference that the vast majority of Second Life developers were (and are) male. Here's an example from 2004, how a male perspective influenced even how female avatars sit:

The Lindens implemented a tweak to the default sitting posture for women. Now, when a female avatar takes a seat, her legs and feet are kept together, and pointed at a slight angle to one side; her hands are folded together, too, and placed on the opposite thigh. So it was a decidedly feminine way of sitting. A few women, however, weren’t too happy with this solution.  Leading the protest was Michi Lumin:

“I give up. I'll put on mascara and saunter around daintily,” she raged in a community forum. “I look like a prim and proper missy-miss now, and have NO choice in the matter... What are you guys going to do next, make us curtsy?”

After protest from her and a few others, the Lindens added a fix, so that women who didn’t like the new feminized sitting posture could revert back, if they chose, to the original, gender neutral position.

Michi, however, wasn’t too pleased with that workaround, either.   

“It's pretty damned obvious that Linden Lab has made a judgment,” she wrote in another heated post, “on there being a proper way for women to sit and a proper way for men to sit, with a pacifier thrown to the few complainers-- yeah, the few females on SL who don't want to look like Barbie™ dolls.”

So again, my question to readers is to mention other examples. What other aspects of Second Life reflect a likely male bias?

Please share this post:

Tweet

 

Comments

[Triangle Monarchy]

Define male privilege.

[Dna]

Quote*
few women were (or are) directly involved in SL's design or development.

As always the 3rd party developers are not given credit with so many features they directly helped bring to use.(more then 50% are women are they not the labs unofficial extended support team ?)

They created 'Mirrors' maybe one of the most important features in the last 5 years mind you.
It's use was set to bring so much more realism to the user experience- then linden lab thru it in the garbage and killed it.

[Dude]

What in the world, ever heard of an animation overrider?

[irihapeti]

on a way more serious note q; (:

tattoo layers

Dude Linden increased tatoo layers from 1 to 5. bc is waaay enough. bc Dude Linden is a dude. Dude Linden had no idea that half the population need upto about 30 tatoo layers without having put on any actual tatoos. yet

Dude Linden went waaaah! nooo waaay !!!

then DudeWithGF Linden said to DudeWithoutGF Linden: Way dude. is way. I got a list from my GF

hairbase layer
hair etchings layer
eyebrows layer
button nose layer
freckles layer
base facial foundation layer
blush layer
eyeshadow layer (2)
eyeliner layer
mascara layer
teeth layer
lippy layer (2)
lip gloss layer (not the same as lippy layer. 3 altogether ok)
cleavage layer
nipple hide layer
softbody / muscle layer (2)
lady parts layer
lady parts hide layer
body shine layers (2)
mesh hands wrist to base skin blend layer
mesh feets ankles to base skin blend layer
mesh skirt/dress to hi-top pantyhose/stockings leg blend layer
mesh top sleeves to base skin arm blend layer
fingernails layer (2) (for them who wear system hands)
toenails layer (2) for system feet

31 layers please DudeWithoutGF Linden ok ??!! and then make some more for actual tatoos as well ok

+

and DudeWithoutGF Linden went wooooooo!!! really ! and DudeWithGF Linden said: really dude

and DudeWithoutGF Linden said: I get right on it now today

And he did. Upto 60 of them (:

so good on them. They dont always get it right the first time. But they do try as best they can. And they get it right eventually. bc dudes!!

+

ps

i dont use all 31 myself. but easy 8 and I just got out the virtual shower and not applied anything yet to my nekkie self

(:

+

pps

i wont tell you about DudeWithoutGFEverOrEverLikelyToHaveGFLikeNever Linden who once said: I had no idea that people (meaning to him: NOT dudes) would think they would ever want to wear mesh clothes

[irihapeti]

ppps

and not I mention NotADude Linden who went ffs whenever the Dude Linden went: I don't see any reason why parcel visibility would be more important than everything else I have to do today. Like taking early lunch with my bros for example

lol the big egg !!

but we get it e.v.e.n.t.u.a.l.l.y so that was ok

(:

[[email protected]]

Don't be so hard on the Lab. Look at how many MMOs either don't provide a female player option, or if they do then make them scantily clad with big boobies.

[Shockwave Yareach]

The devastating created the world.
The users created all the stuff within the world. And as I go shopping, 90% of what I find are dresses, shoes, women's outfits, lady skins, etc. shopping for male clothes is like hunting for a neddle in a haystack.

Because my avatar is the wrong sex, I'm relegated to a second class status - few of the fashionista crowd create any clothes for us males. I'm lucky to have a simple white business shirt, and I hold onto it like it was made of gold. Most of the clothing makers are women and they don't create much for men to wear.

But please, tell me more about how the males and our privalages are ruining SL for the women...

[Shockwave Yareach]

D e v staff created the world.

[Shockwave Yareach]

D e v staff created the world.

[Shockwave Yareach]

The d e v staff created the world.

The users created everything else within it. And as I go shopping, almost everything I find are women's dresses, shoes, outfits, animations, mesh accessories, etc. there are very few men's clothing creators out there. I am very lucky to have a basic white business shirt and I hold onto it like it was gold. Most of the fashionista crowd are women. And they create stuff almost exclusively for other women - we makes are relegated to a second class existence where we aren't expected to actually look decent.

But by all means, tell me more about how we males are ruining the SL experience for all the women out there...

[irihapeti]

what Hitomi said really

i was just being cheeky myself (:

+

what guys at LL (and every other world/game house) can do is not get over sensitive. Meaning dont try to think or feel like women. Just be a guy. WHat guys can do quite well is think like a paying customer. Not think stuff like what do women want, what makes them tick. How can I better understand them, etc. Like dont go all emo on it. Is not how guys who make stuff should think

it isnt what do women want. Is: what do they buy. And make that. Guys same as girls are pretty good at this when they let go off the emo. and just make stuff that they know their people (their customers) will and do buy. When do this then all the other stuff, understanding and that, then starts to make sense

[irihapeti]

@Shockwave

how many outfits do you have in total?

how many creatives in SL can make a RL living providing you with clothes?

I get quite a lot of clothes off this guy creative. He makes them for me bc I buy a lot. Me and heaps of others

also my fav nails creator is a guy. He used to make stuff for guys, but he never made enough money even to cover his tiers. Then he switched to painting ladies nails. And now he easy covers his tiers and quite a bit left over. Just from painting nails in SL and nothing else

[Amy]

Another ridiculous article from someone who doesn't understand gender dynamics whatsoever. I would say most things in SL and indeed RL are now catered towards women.

But feel free to delete my comment. You're a male after all.

[Some Guy in SL]

I am still scratching my head on this one...every woman has the same opportunities as any guy in SL. Everyone can create, buy, sell, and own just about anything in SL that is allowed under the TOS. I am not sure how having all male developers hurts SL if this is the case then almost anything on the net is hurting women because most IT developers, programmers, etc are male. I think the quoted person in the article really needs to ask herself, is it worth ranting about? Maybe a check into real is needed now and then.

[melponeme_k]

I'm having a hard time blaming LL for the male privilege factor with SL during its creation.

Because frankly, SL along with WOW and other MMOs were made by guys who thought mainly only other guys would be interested in their games. I guess they were blindsided when they were all inundated by the women interested in gaming. So the whole industry is trying to accommodate a large playerbase they never planned to accommodate and they are making a mess of it.

Where male privilege comes in is after all these platforms attracted female fans. Even though women are half their playerbase, they are still slow to seriously consider or implement requests from female players. We are still getting bikini wear armor, limited avatar customization and a lack of game play options that appeal to us.

[Shockwave Yareach]

Irihapetal - how many outfits do I have? A pretty large inventory of shirts, pants, suits, and tuxes. But the largest quantity would be tshirts - stuff I had to make for myself because nobody provided anything to buy.

[Ugh]

melponeme_k - excuse me, but I don't see you walking around SL in that highly sexist bikini armour a lot. However, what I do see, is my avatar roaming around in 2010 threads because there's quite a shortage on male apparel and accessories. How much of a bias and a privelege is this?

[Kim Anubis]

"What in the world, ever heard of an animation overrider?"

AO's hadn't yet been invented at the time Michi spoke up about the default sit pose, which makes sense, since SL didn't yet support user-created animations. Now get offa my megaprim lawn, whippersnapper. ;-)

[irihapeti]

@Shockwave

@Shockwave

a instasearch on MP with "t-shirt" as keyword in General search:

Men's 40,214 items

Women's 31,295 items

so I think the men's t-shirt department is pretty well stocked at the moment

[melponeme_k]

@Ugh

What gets created in world is not LL's problem. That is cultural inside SL. The majority of the avatars are female. Even a lot of men roam SL as female.

Ask your favorite designers to try to design for men. Seek out the fashion blogs regarding male fashion. They are out there. If you want really nice fashion you are going to have to pay for it. Creating takes a lot time and money. That is reflected in the price. The days of freebies are gone.

[Djehan]

Because of what I build people think I am a man, and very often I receive that kind of IMs "I would never imagine that a woman could build all that" aftewards they apologize (most of the time) yet they specify that they needeed to tell me this.
Latest rumor that was reported to me was that I was a transexual too. Also, a lot of my haters just like to stick the "male" etiquette on me while they perfectly know that I am a woman, go figure...
I don't care because this doesn't affect my RL and my work as a 3D artist at all but I thought it would be interesting to mention this here.
When it comes to the stalking issue I had my fair share of sick stalkers as well and even had to go to the police after a guy created around 100 alts to get to me, I even had to move out from my home for a few days (death threats etc) how cool hey. But in the end I continue to create the largest and longest running cyberpunk city on the grid all by myself and I feel stronger than ever as an artist and as a woman too.

[Djehan]

Oh I just wish that 99% of the decent hoodies werent created for guys only, shout out to fashion designers here

[melponeme_k]

For anyone interested.

There are male fashion designers out there. Support them and shop at their stores.

http://malefashionfeed.info/

[Djehan]

Anyways it has a noble side, esp for a man to try to adress the global problem of equity/parity, in between men and women, esp in IT circles and this blog does a lot from what I can see. If this problem is being adressed it is because it exists, we're not discussing ghost stories here.
So tbh yes, whenever you don't get a fair parity/equity in between both genders, no matter the reasons, it is detrimental to the under represented gender, the outcome of this problem differs a lot depending on any given situation too.
It is a question of trust towards what women say, to believe wether or not this problem exists. Sexism exists just like racism where it is also a question of trust towards people of color to believe them when they acknowledge, or not, the existence of racism in any given act. I have my own ideas about how this problem affects development in LL itself but I don't want to discuss this here because I already know how it will end up too.

[Bonny]

A load of men create an awesome world and somehow they are 'privaledged' because women were too lazy to get on board. Classically retarded buzzword use followed by an equally retarded article.

""I have often thought you were too glib about it because you are a man. You have the privilege of not having to think about personal safety in the same way that women must in our society."

LOL what an incredibly out of touch statement. They really should check with a little thing we like to call objective reality. Men are vastly more likely to be in danger and face physical threat than women. The stats also match up for online abuse except in the one are that feminists and Social Control Warriors love to cherry pick.

Maybe women are just flightly fearful creatures scared of everything and anything where men take it on the chin? And maybe they bailed out when the creation of Second Life got really hard where the men had the balls to continue it to the end?

Or maybe this article is built on a foundation of nonsense and perpetuates a gender war based on nothing but their own insecurities (psst it's this last one).

[nana]

@bonny > r u bigot male or sub female ? We might never know!

[Bonny]

I'm a bigot female. Where you just warrant a lobotomy.

[loookinat]

The boy culture of the lab* has no respect for a huge portion of the user base.

The boys and boy culture at the lab are embarrassed that much of the user base, especially those educators, are women over 50. That can't be right. So they market to men with bikini and car ads rather than trying to figure out what their user base really wants.

The lab doesn't want more customers like they have. It's not cool to have an old lady base. They happen to be tech savvy old ladies, but it just isn't cool. They want to build a company that men 18-34 will think is cool because that is the only thing worth doing.

The old ladies with money are funding the new world to attract a (hopefully) younger more male demographic where the male tech journalism community will finally give the boys at the Lab some male approval articles and they can feel good about themselves.

It's called sexism and ageism. And it did hurt the growth of the Lab.

*Yes I know women work at the lab, but it is a very boy culture.