In the past two weeks, we discussed very interesting topics -- Gender Identity in Second Life and The Buying frenzy - SL and the consumerism madness!
The topic Gender Identity in Second Life provided fertile ground for a very lively debate! One of the issues we talked about was what prompts the choice of certain charaterisctics for one's avatar, some mentioned personal fulfilment, a certain vanity even, esthetics, provoking the status quo, or wanting to attract others. It was also defended that the looks of the avatar can be a projection of what one wants/wishes/plans to become in RL in the future and how important that is, namely for transgenders.
Everyone agreed that stereotypes play an important role in the looks of avatars, making the outside, idealized, often oversexualized representation (through clothes, AOs, HUDs, etc.) be, in many instances, more important that the inside values. When asked why people choose non-human avatars, the group stated that it could be a way to draw attention to the inner values, rather than the outside look. At some point, the topic of deceiving others came to the discussion, as we were talking about not revealing one's gender in RL when the SL gender is different. The opinions got divided between not mixing RL and SL and considering SL an extension of RL.
To end the discussion, this conclusion was presented -- gender related issues are a complex theme both in Real Life and in Second Life, and one of great importance too as our avatars reflect much of who we are and of what our interpersonal expectations can be!
Then we discussed the Buying frenzy! - Second Life and consumerism madness. In this Holiday Season, there seems to be a buying craze people go through! That was what triggered this discussion. Consumerism in Second Life was defined, everyone agreeing that it was not much different than in RL., except for the fact that in SL consuming includes some things like skins, eyes, tails, etc!
Most agreed that we brought into SL the consumeristic culture we have in RL and expanded it a notch, as it is easier for someone with a low financial ability to have a fairly well-off experience in Second Life! We then talked about how a lot of what is consumed in SL is status related or the result of peer pressure, perhaps of certain groups for whom there is a specific (dress)code. When the group was asked whether "having more" made their SL experience better, more enjoyable, people were adamant -- no!
To conclude the discussion, it was stated that consumerism in Second Life might be a tricky issue, yet to some extent it served the purpose of showing who we were, what we were and our expectations as well!
These were two very interesting discussions, with great groups taking part and sharing their experiences and opinions! Well done! :)
The topic Gender Identity in Second Life provided fertile ground for a very lively debate! One of the issues we talked about was what prompts the choice of certain charaterisctics for one's avatar, some mentioned personal fulfilment, a certain vanity even, esthetics, provoking the status quo, or wanting to attract others. It was also defended that the looks of the avatar can be a projection of what one wants/wishes/plans to become in RL in the future and how important that is, namely for transgenders.
Everyone agreed that stereotypes play an important role in the looks of avatars, making the outside, idealized, often oversexualized representation (through clothes, AOs, HUDs, etc.) be, in many instances, more important that the inside values. When asked why people choose non-human avatars, the group stated that it could be a way to draw attention to the inner values, rather than the outside look. At some point, the topic of deceiving others came to the discussion, as we were talking about not revealing one's gender in RL when the SL gender is different. The opinions got divided between not mixing RL and SL and considering SL an extension of RL.
To end the discussion, this conclusion was presented -- gender related issues are a complex theme both in Real Life and in Second Life, and one of great importance too as our avatars reflect much of who we are and of what our interpersonal expectations can be!
Then we discussed the Buying frenzy! - Second Life and consumerism madness. In this Holiday Season, there seems to be a buying craze people go through! That was what triggered this discussion. Consumerism in Second Life was defined, everyone agreeing that it was not much different than in RL., except for the fact that in SL consuming includes some things like skins, eyes, tails, etc!
Most agreed that we brought into SL the consumeristic culture we have in RL and expanded it a notch, as it is easier for someone with a low financial ability to have a fairly well-off experience in Second Life! We then talked about how a lot of what is consumed in SL is status related or the result of peer pressure, perhaps of certain groups for whom there is a specific (dress)code. When the group was asked whether "having more" made their SL experience better, more enjoyable, people were adamant -- no!
To conclude the discussion, it was stated that consumerism in Second Life might be a tricky issue, yet to some extent it served the purpose of showing who we were, what we were and our expectations as well!
These were two very interesting discussions, with great groups taking part and sharing their experiences and opinions! Well done! :)
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