By Victoria Wheeler
If you want a female avatar shape in SL, you’ve got plenty of options. Men, however, have very limited shape choices. This article is about that situation.
In my observation, male SL players who choose to be ‘human’ in-world (this isn’t about non-human forms) are slow to warm to the idea of a ‘third party’ body in the first place. Should they decide to don a more aesthetically pleasing shape, they’re confounded by the tremendous lack of variety in SL male types. What they do encounter might even be classified as ageism and racial stereotyping, if not downright mysandry.
I recently went on a SL shopping trek with my partner to find a ‘less cartoony’ shape than the $200L job he’s been sporting for the last six months. In real life, he’s a medium height, medium complexioned, over 40 Caucasian, with dark brown hair and an optional mustache. He’s not puny, but not a body builder, either. You might miss him in a crowd – in terms of ‘type’, he might be considered ‘average’ for his age and race. After visiting about 10 different SL vendors, we were unable to find a shape that fairly replicated his ‘type’ in real life, or suited his taste.
We discovered that, most frequently, male SL human shape shoppers are presented with the 20-something swarthy and mean-looking ‘gangsta’. This type is so prevalent, some shops appear to have nothing else. Then there’s the baby-faced beefcake type, or the seriously butt-ugly dude. The only physique option is as a WWF contender. Skins come either with or without tattoos, deeply tanned or Owen Wilson pasty pale.
I believe if a census were taken, the overwhelming majority of male SL ‘human’ players would not fit any of those ‘types’, nor care for them. I’d wager that majority would choose a more mature and ‘average joe’ appearance to what’s being offered. I believe male SL players are presented with a set of physical paradigms that don’t represent who the customers are or what the customers want. We get what many designers THINK customers idealize. Like our real world commercial media and music, we’re given something we’re supposed to like, as opposed to something that better represents our interests. It’s hard to find designers who make customized shapes, and they’re either back-ordered and or way too expensive for the ‘average joe’.
So, if you’re a 38 year old White guy who wants to look like a 20 year old ‘minority’ street thug, you’ll be thrilled with the choices you have to fulfill your fantasy. But I believe there should be greater alternatives for men to not look like someone’s stereotyped idea of a ‘home boy’ or Napoleon Dynamite on steroids. Let’s hear it for Joe Average.
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PS. If you have a third party shape you’d like to change but can’t Edit, go to HEARTS DESIRE *Sexy Shoes* (Urbane 127, 230, 22). On the left wall as you enter the store is a display of free male and female shape editors that allow you to edit that third party shape you’ve already bought, or replace your regulation issue SL shape. Created by the talented, gracious and venerable Heart Wishbringer, these shape editors come with themes and clothes, but all you need are one of the free Shapes to overlay your own. Then you’re free to Edit your body with a vengeance to better suit your taste. You’ll love it. Send Heart a thank you IM and some Lindens for her generosity. And yes, there’s a gangsta version.
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