Why do so many VRChat users look like cutesy anime girls, anyway? If you assume the snarky and simplistic answer is, "Because it's full of otaku geeks with a weird waifu fetish", watch this video which suggests the actual story is much deeper and far more fascinating than that. Created by "Strasz", who's becoming something of an anthropologist of VRChat on YouTube, his insights are based in part on a survey of over 200 hardcore VRChat users, heavily skewed (at 85%) toward people who access the virtual world through a VR headset.
His thesis for why so many VRChatters play as female anime avatars, he tells me, boils roughly down to "a confluence of factors":
"First, anime avatars were popularized on the program early due to them looking good, being relatively available, and technologically 'easy' to import into the game. Because of that, you had a lot of people tuned into otaku culture that flooded to VRC. Cosplay is a large part of that culture, and [gender] crossplay comes along with that.
"While at first, people used female avatars for utilitarian reasons (they were what existed prominently because of the above reasons), eventually it started to become something of a joke -- like, 'Haha! Everyone on VRChat is an anime girl!' This, over time, just fundamentally became part of the culture of the game.
"Over time, other models popped up, and things diversified a bit -- but still, a lot of people used them.
"All of that brings me to the core of it: for some, using a female anime avatar is just a fashion statement, of sorts. For others, it's a tool for them to explore (or reinforce) their gender. Finally, for others still, it's an escapist tool -- they can play in a body that allows them to escape toxic masculinity, or simply lets them feel accepted in a way they aren't in real life."
His survey didn't ask how many VRChat users play as an avatar that's different from their gender in real life, but as you can see from the survey above, a majority would literally like to be their (often differently gendered) avatars. You can also catch a glimpse of this theme in many comments posted on Strasz's YouTube page, such as:
Trans woman here, I remember a while back I was questioning my gender... [a friend] jokingly dared me to hook up a female avatar to [VR], and so I played along with it, hooked it up, ran everything, put the headset on then... I just froze, I think it was about 10-ish seconds before I broke into tears. I'd never EVER liked what I looked like, and seeing myself as female in the mirror for the first time, it broke me (fixed me?)
Another:
I struggled with my gender identity for a very long time. Having been assigned male at birth and growing up deep below the Bible Velt, the idea of being anything other than a stereotypical male was terrifying. I remember in high school seeing the one openly homosexual person getting called every slur imaginable, having their car vandalized and receiving multiple death threats. It wasn't until I stepped into VRChat for the first time that I realized I was comfortable looking feminine. It's essentially the only place where I can socialize with others and be 100% myself without fear of violence. And while VRChat has it's fair share of trolls and bigots, it has just as many welcoming people.
Much more here, and much thanks to thoughts and data Strasz, who looks fast on his way to joining the great Syrmor as a top videographer of VRChat.
Hat tip: Adeon.
Three types of avatars I never thought I'd use in my lifetime: Female. Furry. Female furry. As a boomer, I grew up under the model of men are masculine and strong. We don't cry. Females are soft, weak, and need the protection of a man. My own father was terrified that I'd become a 'sissy', or worse. To his credit, I remained a 'normal' male. To my credit, I've broadened my horizons greatly. Being a female and furry in avatar form, I've learned what default world women have to put up with from stereotypes thousands of years old. And the angst of transgenders living in fear of being discovered as 'posers'.
We're all just 'people'.
Posted by: Joey1058 | Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 01:46 PM