So I decided to go to the beach today and see what happened when I interacted with other avatars. It didn't take long for someone to approach me given I was walking around as a female in a barely-there bikini. The person, who shall be known as Paolo, identified himself as a 23-year old male from Brazil. He asked where I was from to which I honestly replied Ohio. Within the first few minutes of chat he asked if he could kiss me. I replied that we had just met and perhaps he should get to know me before making such advances. :) At least I didn't tell him I was saving myself for marriage! He seemed okay with my mild-mannered rejection and asked if we could walk. So we walked and eventually ended at the hot tub on the island. We both got in and he decided to edit his appearance, evidently trying to create a swim suit on the fly. Just as it seemed that he was finished, he moved away from the hot tub and continued to edit his appearance.
After waiting a few minutes (and getting propositioned by a male avatar with an erect penis), I went over to sunbathe by the pool. Hey - why not earn a couple of dollars while waiting! I could see Paolo in the distance still editing his appearance, but I couldn't tell what changes he was making. I even sent an IM but got no response. Eventually, I sauntered over to Paolo and to my surprise, he had sprouted breasts! I made some comment that he certainly had changed, but still received no reply. And I thought there had been a connection. :(
Anyway, I know for sure now that you can never tell gender in SL. But I have to wonder...did my refusal to make avatar contact have anything to do with his gender switching? Had I caused him to question whether or not my avatar was truly female since I had not leaped into his arms right away and thus led him to consider making him/herself female? Who knows? It was certainly an interesting experience and I am still trying to decide if I should feel rejected in RL because my avatar had been rejected in SL. Hmmmm.
Since last night, I have been attempting to relate my readings to my continued experiences in SL. I had two chapters - one by Code and the other by Collins. The latter was certainly more interesting and accessible. Collins work focused on the concept of family and how that concept related intersectionally to gender, race, class, and nation. Part of her argument is that power relations that exist in the ideal family (men in power, women subordinate, etc...) reflect themselves at other levels such as race and nation. I can certainly see this played out in SL, but I don't think it is as absolute as in RL. The fact that one can switch gender lets any person assume the role they wish, thus turning the tables.
In addition, the phallus is so overwhelmingly evident in SL (see above). One can certainly see how such a focus is a symbol of male power. People with avatars sporting such appendages certainly seem to think that it makes them the envy of all female avatars. I have witnessed these characters strutting around asking every female avatar in sight to have some type of sexual interaction. It's as if they are saying, "Hey! Look at my huge, erect penis. You must want to be with a man like me!" I haven't seen enough interactions between differently-raced avatars to give any thoughts on how Collins work might relate. Til next time - NL will be thinking of Paolo and dreaming of what might have been....
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