New World Notes

Inside the Avatar-Based Transgender Community of Second Life

ECLIPSE magazine has a fascinating and beautifully illustrated feature on the transgender community in Second Life. Perceptively written by NWN contributor Cajsa Lilliehook, who interviewed six transgender SL users, it connects their struggles in the virtual world with the real life activism of the LGBTQ community, and the tension they sometimes encounter with the SL community at large -- for instance, by resisting the traditional concept (and accusation) of "catfishing":

“SL allows us to be seen as the men or women we are inside," as one member explains to Cajsa. "Because of this, I feel this is not catfishing and is incredibly different than people who 'role play' a different gender. My interactions with anyone in SL, whether a romantic interest or friend, are much more genuine and real than how I interact with most people in RL because everyone in SL knows me as Tiffany... not the person I was born as."

Read it all here. Also read: "Second Life's Strength Is Its Power To Transform Identity -- And The "Weirdos" Who Embrace It".

Nylon Pinkney Is Online - Why Second Life Home Tours Are Usually NSFW-ish

Linden Lab Calls Report on Second Life's Adult-Rated Sims "Misleading" -- But the Real Problem is Misleading Use of the Adult Rating

Brett Linden, a member of Linden Lab's marketing team, recently sent me a message about a much-discussed post:

[I wanted] to clarify a detail about your other recent post with the headline that suggests "25% of Second Life Mass Land Now Adult-Rated for Extreme Sex & Violence." As you mention in the article, there are indeed many Adult-rated Regions in Second Life that are not overtly sexual or violent in nature despite that rating. Respectfully, we are a bit concerned that the headline wording might mislead some casual readers to believe that all Adult-rated content actually has "extreme sex & violence" when that is not the case. 

This is true. However, I would argue that the Adult rating as it is often (or even usually) used in Second Life is the thing that's misleading: It confuses many Second Life users, especially new ones, as to what they should expect in an Adult-rated sim. As longtime SLer and blogger Ciaran Laval pointed out in another post, many SLers designate their sim as Adult as a general catch-all which conveys nothing about the sim's content:

[S]ome regions flag themselves as Adult to avoid arguments about content or give themselves more flexibility, rather than being completely Adult-oriented. 

And this is precisely the problem with the Adult rating as it's generally used in Second Life. Look at this way:

Linden Lab Should Have Created a PG-Rated Showcase Continent for Second Life, Instead of an Adult-Only One (Comment of the Week)

ZEXPO 2011 photo by Ginette Pinazzo

Responding to a recent report that 1 in 4 Second Life sims are now Adult-rated, longtime SLer and blogger Emilly Orr blames this on Linden Lab's move to create an Adult-focused continent called Zindra in 2009, writing in Comments:

This entirely fails to surprise me, for what it's worth. This was EXACTLY why so many of us were begging the Lindens to make Ursula-now-Zindra a showpiece of how good PG content could be, instead of the new 'adult' continent. We knew trying to funnel everyone who wanted adult content in SL to one place wouldn't work.

But they didn't listen.

And if you think Ms. Orr is saying this because she's personally opposed to graphic content, the opposite is the case:

Confidentially Send "Nylon Pinkney is Online" Your Wild & Hilarious Stories of Virtual World Sex & Romance -- She'll Turn Her Favorites Into Comics!

The "Nylon Pinkey is Online" comic series is expanding into new (and saucy!) territory: Real stories of virtual sex and romance, converted into cartoon form. If you have a wild story you wish you could tell the world, here's your chance. Click here to submit your story anonymously.

Speaking of Nylon, her artistry goes way beyond the comic series -- here's the latest hairstyle she's selling in SL:

25% of Second Life Land Mass Now Adult-Rated for Extreme Sex & Violence

A recent report by Tyche Shepherd, a top statistician for a major multinational whose quirky hobby is tracking Second Life land ownership on Grid Survey, has a notable milestone: "Adult rated regions were up by 20 to 6000 (25.3% of the grid) while General Rated were up 7 to 2951 (12.4%)." As far as I know, this is the first time that a full quarter of Second Life's total landmass is Adult-rated. That includes private islands like the unsubtly named "Nude", which when you arrive (above), offers you the wonderful promise of something called LifeHump.

Back in 2013, Adult-rated sims represented about 17% of the world, but that percentage has been slowly creeping upward since then. "Adult", of course, does not necessarily mean the place is swamped by virtual porn or  is solely devoted to porn, just that extremely graphic sexual and violent content is allowed within it -- a feature often integrated into "dark roleplay" areas popular in Second Life that are sort of NC-17 versions of Grand Theft Auto, Game of Thrones, and Fallout (i.e. urban/crime, fantasy, and sci-fi roleplay). 

What this data point mean depends on your perspective:

Why Some Women Gender-Bend in Online Worlds - Classic NWN Quote

Similar to how some men roleplay as female avatars in MMOs to meet the real life woman of their dreams, or to explore their gender dysphoria, some women roleplay as male avatars for reasons of their own. In Rebecca's case, for instance, to experience the dynamics of heterosexual flirting and seduction from the male point of view:

"I used a few other lines the players of my past had told me: 'I have been out of Second Life for awhile because I had been in a relationship earlier a woman who ended up cheating on me and broke my heart". Or, 'I have no money because I hardly come on here, so I have to wear this demo skin.'" The lines worked so well, the woman began giving her free clothes, effectively trying to make Rebecca's Second Life male even more attractive. "I could tell she was becoming attached, so I told her I had to log off."

Apparently crushed by Rebecca's male, the woman persisted, sending her several offline Instant Message. But Rebecca decided not to respond, or explain who she really was. "I think telling her the truth would have freaked her out."

... By being a virtual male, "I learned about some of my own weaknesses at the time, such as my tendency to believe what every male avatar told me, especially if they had a good looking avatar. I think the visual aspect of Second Life somehow tricks the brain into taking our past experiences and cultural expectations and placing these experiences and expectations onto others within Second Life... I think a lot of women have the same type of thinking when they go into Second Life and tend to become attracted to good looking avatars, and overlook the avatars who are not particularly attractive."

Good thing to keep in mind, next time you're in a virtual nightclub.

Does Sexual Content Enforce a Negative Stereotype of Second Life? (Comments of the Week)

Interesting conversation over the SL machinima I posted last week, which I warned readers ahead of time: "While it has no graphic nudity, it's very male gazey throughout and gets decidedly porny toward the end." For the record, I asked the creators if they had a less porny version, but failing that, decided the visual quality was so good, and showed how great SL content can look, it deserved an audience here.  Reader Taylor had a terse reply to that:

...wants to show that SL isn't what people think it is
...turns into softcore porn

Stereotype affirmed!

Reader JohnC  pointed out a larger issue of branding:

This is a great problem that Second Life has. This sim and all others, are personal experiences created within the platform called second life. It is up to anyone who creates there to create whatever they desire. This freedom is what makes SL special, far more special than the restrictive RL world of games. If someone creates a porn game with Unreal Engine people do not label Epic with a porn label. SL is a free space for anyone to create what they will...

That's a pretty good analogy. However, Unreal, Unity, and other 3D engines are better able to distance themselves from sexual content created with their tools, since after all, unlike Second Life, that content isn't hosted on their company-owned servers.

Reader Madeline Blackbart points out how this has hurt SL's reputation in the public eye:

Why Some Men Gender-Bend in Online Worlds - Classic NWN Quote

Eboni Khan has a fascinating theory based on her many years in the Second Life social scene:

The men pretending to be women are more into dressing themselves and admiring themselves-- and attempting to build relationships, which is interesting. The men that I know [who] are women here, are very feminine. And strive to have loving friendships and relationships. Which leads me to believe a lot of men think they can't accomplish the same thing [while] being a stereotypical male.

Sensitive and tender? Pretend to be a girl, then seduce the girl of your dreams. Then tell her you are a man, and hope for the best. I think the majority of these men just want to be tender and loving, and think a female avie makes it easier for them to do it.

The "My Real Gender Is..." discussion is a genuine topic in online game worlds, so I'd say there's some truth to this. Read my whole profile of Eboni, full of insights like this, here: The Freeform Identity Bebop of Eboni Khan.

Pictured: Image from an equally notable post, "Cheating In Second Life Relationships Extremely Upsetting To Many SLers, Study Finds".

Couple Turns Their Business Selling Virtual Sex Toys Into a Real Life Romance

A classic NWN story for Valentine's Day:

It’s not often that two people who've spent so much time creating simulations of passion get a chance to engage in the thing itself, together. So later on, I ask Snow Hare about the impact of their avatar lovemaking on what eventually became a real relationship.

“It wasn’t the only reason that we decided to move onto real life,” she tells me. “As everybody knows, there’s more to a relationship than sex. But I would say yes, it did have an impact, positive, in such a way that I knew what to expect… before real life, I knew what he liked and enjoyed, and vice versa. Since we were honest with each other and were very compatible, it was easy to know what to expect in real life.”

“[I]t was almost like meeting an old friend and a lot of the nervousness of a first date wasn't there,” Phil tells me later. “This medium definitely lets two people share their feelings and desires for one another and that is a powerful thing in itself.”

Read the rest here.