Fat avatars...

Why in the world would anyone deliberately make a fat avatar for daily use?

Sure, maybe if it's an RP thing for you, or if you happen to have a fetish for it, but otherwise, WHY? IRL, excess fat (even small amounts of it!) is an extremely frustrating thing that many of us struggle, to varying degrees, with. Ask the average person who's overweight, "If I could snap my fingers and make you instantly slender forever, would you go for that?" and the answer will probably be something like, "Uh, yeah, no shit I would."

In SL, you have total control over your shape. Why would you choose to saddle yourself with an asthetically displeasing (to most people) trait that countless people would like nothing more than to be rid of?

You can surely do it if you like. I never will.

This is my fantasy, darnit, and I'm going to use it to make myself as impossibly, inhumanly perfect as I can!!

While I chose to lose 14 (ish) dresses sizes with a quick swoop of a slider
- I do think it makes SL a more fun place to have people of all shapes and sizes.

That being said making a believable plump shape is difficult becuase the larger ends of body parts tend to distort and become boxy.

Still with care, practice and a lot of trial and error you can do a lot.

The most common in SL is the ladies who want to be overall shapely and mostly slender but wants "some junk in her trunk" ((LOL referring to my other post - this probably has some survival advantages do to the mechanics of AV sex and the fact that animations tend not to be lined up all that well in the world))

I have to agree that discrimating against people for their weight has no place in any enlightened society. To those who site unheathy or laziness - please consider there are plenty of people who do unhealthy and lazy things who are perfectly slender. Indeed theres likely unhealthy and lazy people better looking than you are.

If I am civil and polite to people of challened intelligence or totally closed minds - Its not much to ask for someone to be polite and considerate towards me , no matter what weight I happen to be.

That's most rude, and very shallow, and to me, that's level beyond ugly, you think you look good but I see a extremely ugly person inside.

Weight does affect how attractive others think we are, without a doubt, but in my opinion it's a person's personality that's the deciding factor. Personality and spirit go a long way toward determining how attractive I think someone is, no matter whether they're fat or skinny.

If you avoid knowing people just because you have a prejudice against fatness, you're missing out on knowing some pretty fascinating people. It's a shame to hear a narrow-minded sentiment like that coming from someone with such a cool name.

It's already been explained in this very thread,
- It's different (relative to the avatar population that is)
- Some people find it attractive
- And some extra curves are indeed part of 'perfection' for some (including me)

Eye of the beholder, Alex.

Laziness and sloth are disgusting no matter how skinny you are. I only cited it to put the rest of my statements into context. I never implied hefty folks are lazy or unhealthy, I merely said they can be related. ^-^;..

Also that you can be overweight and still look healthy and well groomed, which if you're active, just means you're metabolism is slow, which you really can't control.. and /then/ it becomes discrimination based on a natural quirk instead of a personality thing.

I am the tallest woman av in SL I have seen, I stretched everything body hips legs etc the lot, then altered everything else for proportion.

Well there is two seperate things to this -

One is whether someone finds another attractive. That of course is personal preference. Someone who does not find overweight people attractive of course is entitled to that opinion.

However what does finding someone attractive or not have anything to do with whether they should be discriminated against?

What does finding someone attractive have anything to do with any sort of work related/ conversation related/ non personal related subjects.

My avatar in second life is considered by many men and women to be attractive - I sort of make my "Second Living" off of that fact.

However Unless someone is trying to ask me out on a virtual date what difference does the fact my Av resembles a size 4 and not 18 make as far as the value of my ideas or beleifs? None, really.

Thats what the size discrimation problem is.

People who are noticably overweight are discrimated against by people who find them Un attractive - even though attractiveness or lack thereof has nothing to do with it.

Judging people on their appearance - although I know its the way the world works - is not enlightened. Its actually quite shallow.

Not many discriminate openly against gorgeous, healthy, stupid people. Even though id argue it would be more justified.

As far as an online text based world - intelligence and ideas are for more attractive than a perfect body anyhow.

The sliders do provide for quite a large variation of body shape. It would depend on how large you wanted to go, the difficulty being that as you get larger some body parts become squares rather than round.

Actually since you can make anyone blocky quite easily the ability to go "beyond" the normal sliders is kind of moot.

I did make mine a little rounded.. and I have to admit.. as I am stepping out into this world, I have started comparing myself to all the barbie doll and thinner avs. I think do I need to adjust?

I finally told myself last night.... no way! I want my avatar to reflect me. It may not match me, but it is a true possibility in First Life. Of course these are my feelings on my first day out in the bigger SL. Maybe I am being naive.

I am sure at some time I will want try out some outrageous fantasies... but for now I am happy with my pudgy av.

I'm cluelessly new too. My first version of my avatar was about as pudgy as I am in person, which is kinda pudgy but not in the grossy obese range. After seeing some other residents, I started pondering your same question-- do I need to adjust to fit in? My solution is I made what I'm calling "glammy me" for those occasions where I feel like I need to fit in with the avatars that look like supermodels or Barbie dolls and a more regular me for day wear. But I want a necromonger me and a fairyqueen me and some male versions too. And I've been thinking about how fun it would be to have an utterly non-human avatar, something more like modern art than a biological being. Maybe I'm just weird, but having a bunch of different looks sounds great. But the base me is staying a slightly pudgy middle-aged female, just 'cause.

I'm finally gonna add my two Lindens to this thread.

My avvie's a big girl, as I am. And I'll tell you, as of this post, I've never had a single person tell me they think I look ugly. Either people say nothing (and I just watch their heads swivel over to stare, hehe), or they pass on unsolicited compliments on my form and how "real" I appear. My appearance seems to be viewed as a proverbial breath of fresh air in SL. I like that.

So, I wear a fat avvie for the same reason I wear red/blonde/brown highlighted hair, and hazel eyes - it's who I am.

I made my AV identical to my RL self, because I am who I am. I did the diet and exercise thing for years and since I'm still Large and Lovely, I figure I'm meant to stay that way. That's fine with me, because I take care of myself. No I don't worship the sun or some little UV-filled lightbox (I'm 90% Irish, I burn in a nanosecond). I (and my AV) dress however we damn well please because I have the self-confidence to tell griefers to shove it. I have only ever had one person in SL make fun of me and it was a furry, who really had no room to talk. SO while he/she/it was playing a wav of "That's a big bitch!", I dragged out my mink coat and asked them if they wanted to be a matching muff.

In SL and in RL I have a man who is drop-dead gorgeous, damn near model perfect (his AV looks as much like him as we can get it) and he loves me for my personality, my devilish wit and the way I carry myself. SEXY starts in the MIND, before it starts in the BODY. I finally remembered that, after I met my current mate. I don't mind people having the opinion that fat is ugly. That's okay, they're entitled to that opinion. What I mind is them trying to tell me that I shouldn't look like me because it offends them. Don't like the way I look? Go away and leave me alone. I don't need you to complete me.

Diversity is good, in SL. I've met some AV's who are skinny, some plump, some in between. Whether you're human/furry/whatever, if you are courteous to your fellow AV's and treat them how you would be treated, then you are beautiful in my eyes and the eyes of those around you.

<3

Haha, Candide indeed is a prime example of a great AV with chub.

I love to see avatars with meat on their bones, but generally really "obese" avatars just don't translate too well with our Avatar Mesh. It's great to see when used well, though!

Woohoo!

My Sisters are doing a fabulous job of explaining why we are fat in SL and where true beauty resides. Much better than I could in fact, and I thank them for it-It makes me very proud to know you all! (you know who you are!)

I don't think it narrow minded of me to suggest that some of the negative ideas expressed in this thread have NO place in SL or in RL for that matter! So much for "computer literacy", an oxymoron of the 21st century...

In the meantime:



So, I gotta ask- How TALL are you? I met a very tall great looking dude last week (Green Bacon), and I am curious!

Further to that, has anyone in SL made what we would simply call a "scale" in RL? At the very least, some of the PG girls might like to see how they are progressing. And I think it would be fun to see how much I weigh!

(yada yada, virtual world, physics engine, mass Vs. weight, volume of prims Vs. mesh size, Etc. ...I just want to know how much I weigh!)

~Jenni~

Ok.. now for what is probably a very newbie question, How in the heck do I tell how tall I am?

I mean... in a way that translates into a language I understand like feet and inches.. or am I just a number on the slider scale?

Hi, and welcome to SL!

....There is a gaget called a "height detector" that is around. I had one, I think from the island, or was given one very quickly. Maybe someone ingame will just give you one..(this means you mighht get 10..LOL)

If not IM me and I'll send you one when I'm ungame...

~Jenni~

Thank you.. I will check in my inventory... now that I know what it is called and what it does. I might even have one. I still have no control of that out of control inventory beast.

Do people actually manage to bring order to thier inventories? or is that more of a rhetorical question. LOL.

I've seen a few fat avatars. Usually people who play fat avatars do so as a way of making fun of people of size. Because of this motivation behind the avatar, the results have almost always repulsed me. The repulsion has nothing to do with body size. People come in all shapes and sizes. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the need to ridicule.

People who play fat avatars with love for the avatar or as a way to get to self-acceptance are rare, but good to know some of you folks exist. Cheers.

This is really interesting, Persephone!

You have met and spoken with people who "play fat avatars do so as a way of making fun of people of size"?

What did they say?

(I wonder what all the Barbies are doing inside their impossibly-shaped avatars?)

Seriously, I have yet to meet anyone who could think and type at the same time that I have not enjoyed, including Barbies, furries, sprites, Daleks, energy creatures, mechs and giants. If I've left any sub-group out, let's talk!

~Jenni~