After my first experience
really getting into Second Life, I decided to take winter’s advice and just search
for places to visit and move around a bit. I was about to search for a few cool
places to live, but first I saw someone with a kilt on. I decided that I should
go up to talk to him maybe he’s Scottish? After starting an introductory
conversation, introducing myself and stating that I’m new here. I say – “nice
‘costume’” to be met with the reply “yeah…I’m Scottish, so I wear my kilt J Where r u from [sic]?” My assumptions were correct! On
Second Life appearance is key. As Judith Donath and Danah Boyd would say in
their “Public Displays of Connection,” Second Life’s major function is as an
“environment…in which…new ties are formed and…depictions…[are displayed as] a
self-descriptive profile” (72.) By simplifying his Scottish heritage down to
the mere visual representative of the kilt. The person to whom I’m talking is
illustrating that he doesn’t simply just want people to know of his heritage,
but he also wants them to know of it in a way that is explicitly inferred from
a quick sighting out of the corner of their eyes.
Simple Representations of the Self |
He then asks me where I’m
from, and I say my hometown and one of the most well known cities in the USA,
New York City. He replies with “Not much of any cultural wear from there L, but I flew out of Newark in January, love lookink
[sic] over the water to NYC.” This only goes even further to illustrate that
everyone in Second Life is aware of what those around us are wearing, and what
it implies both culturally and socially. While ethnic or cultural heritage is
not required to be illustrated in order to create a Second Life profile, unlike
race or sex, it can be applied to what Nakumura experienced with her travels
through LambdaMOO during the research for her essay as heritage can “still
being evoked” by certain players through their clothing choices, or lack
thereof due to my vaguely Western attire. Then, we were approached by a female
user who started to dance and pose for us, after I asked, “Why are you
dancing,” she responded with, “I have some problemes [sic] to resolve.” I was
unsure of whether she meant that dancing would fix her problems in real life,
or if she had other problems in particular, I asked her to clarify; however, I
was met with no response, only more dancing. Then my Scottish chat partner went
to teleport to another area and I decided to move on myself and leave the tiny
dancer alone.
I decided to branch out of
my comfort zone a little bit by taking myself to an area that might involve a
little bit more fantasy than my welcome area. I teleported to one of the more
popular areas called “Wasabi Pills Hair” which focuses “mostly on fantasy and
role-playing themes, as well as the latest fashion trends.” It was a perfect
place to take me quickly out of my comfort zone. The moment I arrived I was
greeted with what sounded like German death-trance music blasting in my
eardrums. I felt instantly out of place in my blue shirt and khakis while Goths,
pixies and demons surrounded me. I did not realize that this place would be so
much darker than I thought. I asked the general group “How out of place am I
here” only to be responded by a pink girl with a tail who said “pretty out of
place.” I asked for any tips. Another user with a name taken from an Anime
series a friend of mine in high school used to watch gave me a few tips on
using the second life marketplace to get new accessories like clothing and
skin. I then asked if he was into Death Note (the anime) and he said that he
was and that I was the second person to get the name reference. He also said,
“I wouldn’t guess that from your current outfit.”
They Think I'm Out of Place. Do You? |
Which again reifies the idea
that your outfit really gives a lot of power to the other avatars in the game
to understand who you are and what you are trying to do in this environment. He
added, to be taken seriously in Second Life “you are going to have to invest a
little money into it. A good skin, shape and at least one outfit and hair.”
Second Life is not just a game to some people; it is a real outlet to play out
their fantasies and a place where their interests can be illustrated with as
much importance as their skin tones. He then requested that I be his friend so
he could give me more help, I was in no position to pass up friends so I
accepted. After giving me even more tips on how to get freebies in the world of
Second Life to make me look like less of a new kid, he then told me that he
would give me a gift of second life money to help get me started. While this
was incredibly nice, I declined as I didn’t want to accept what he intended to
use on himself; however, after I declined his offer, he still gave me the money
– 2,000 Second Life dollars. Even though that amounts to only US$ 8.37, it was
still extremely generous of him and further went to exemplify that I would be unsuccessful
in the game if I had the visual markers of someone who was new. I’ll take this
money and shop wisely for something cool, a journey I will take you on in the
next post.
Donath,
Judith, and Danah Boyd. "Public Displays of Connection." BT
Technology
Journal 22.4 (2004): 71-82. Print.
Nakamura, Lisa. "Race
In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on
the
Internet." University of California,
Irvine Department of Humanities. Web. 11 May 2011.
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