Black Skins

i've been working on a skin based on photos of my irl black skin for months and it's true it's hard work. i've reworked so much of it the skin's practically half new painted texture now and it's still not done. fact of life that black skin's harder to deal with artistically than white skin. takes more effort but it's worth it.

for what it's worth iv'e never had any racist experiences in SL and nobody has put me down for having a thick av either. when you're in a world where you can be anything and look like anything and also you have no idea who's really sitting at the keyboard it's just silly to be prejudiced and i think most people in SL know that.

I have seen the Lindens tell people of all shades to put their weapons away. And when I was being harrassed because of race they suspended the people for each and every incedent over and over for months until they stopped.

Some people have asked me why I set my skin dark but I do not have "African-American features." It's because three of my grandparents were Native American, and one was Sicilian; it's what I pretty much look like. The one person who got upset was an AV with black skin who said he was a black man. He seemed to think I was a white man trying to act like a black man, even after I explained the situation to him.

*shrugs. Moronic intolerance isn't a characteristic of any one race.

Still and all, I'd like to have a better solution than a pre-cancerous Riviera tan. Been looking, but all except the white skins look "painted".

Is it possible they singled you out because you appeared to be a newbie, and that they assumed older, more experienced users would know?

Unfortunately, as much as it turns my stomach to consider it, yes, I think there's a possibility is that you were a victim of "racial profiling". Speaking solely from personal observation, I've noticed a higher ratio of black avatars among griefers. I have no actual figures, but this is what I've observed. I have to assume the actual ratio of (RL) black griefers is the same as the general population and that the motivation for wearing a certain avatar is based upon stereotypes in the mind of the typical griefer... but keeping that in mind, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that some Lindens have had similar experiences and as such, are taking skin colour as evidence of guilt.

I really, really, really want to believe this is wrong and I'm just being paranoid, but I'm obviously not confident enough in that to have not raised the question in the first place.

If you really do feel you're being discriminated against, you should call Support. The Lindens have a pretty aggressive anti-hate policy in world, and I'm confident they'd get to deal with racism among their employees rather swiftly as well.

I'm sorry you had such an unpleasant welcome to SL.

Some people have asked me why I set my skin dark but I do not have "African-American features." It's because three of my grandparents were Native American, and one was Sicilian; it's what I pretty much look like. The one person who got upset was an AV with black skin who said he was a black man. He seemed to think I was a white man trying to act like a black man, even after I explained the situation to him.

*shrugs. Moronic intolerance isn't a characteristic of any one race.

Still and all, I'd like to have a better solution than a pre-cancerous French Riviera tan. Been looking, but all except the white skins look "painted". Apparently it's not just black skins that have these technical problems.

Bro solllooow your roll..Ive been in this game almost since beta..problably one of the first brothers in this game no its not alot of skins but like somone said buy one that u can mod and..DO IT YOURSELF..and the guns..thats for anyone in PG zone..dont assume every action and thing is racist ..Ive been here over almost 2 years and can only point to one blatantly racist action ive eseen and i immediately reported and said person was banned..its a good game with good people..ypu may encounter some assholes..just like in RL..deal wit them then move on..IM me in game ill show u around and help u all I can..PEACE

I think this is just silly. I have seen many good quality skins and bad quality skins. Of many 'Colours'.. Where exactly were you looking? I wouldn't expect after how long? You wouldn't find at least one black skin.

My male skin is Second Skin advanced. The best out there for men. Its costs to much but, you can be any skin colour you want.. Just buy that, alright?

No Andy, Second Skin doesn't let you be any skin color. You can go black, but not very dark.

Ryntha managed to get the skin REALLY REALLY dark, pretty much the same darkness I had before. And yet, it's still highly detailed and looks great.

post pics please.

i know skins by Luna Galatea are tintable and you can make em any color. maybe you can try those?

I'm not sure if this counts, but I've got a Klingon warrior av and Lt. Worf av, each with a great skin on it (Worf is not available for sale yet, but will be soon). Both of these were modeled after black actors who just happen to play Klingons on TV.

I guess the question now becomes since these guys are black and you are looking for black skins, are you a racist if you don't buy them since they are Klingons? After all, Klingons are people too.

All kidding aside though, I have to agree with you that there is a definite lack of ethnic diversity in SL, which is strange considering there is a ton of probably every other type of diversity imaginable. It's unfortunate, and hopefully it will be rectified.

hey.....just thought I'd post here, saying welcome to SL, Red. Don't let the idiots in world get you down, there's a lot of really really great people here. I've met people of every race, creed, religion, whatever, and they've all been good folks.

Thanks for all the info yall


cuz when we work together, we can beat racism in SL

The fact that there aren't a plethora of skins in darker shades doesn't mean there's racism in SL. It just means that the demand for Anglo skins is greater, and there are not many makers of quality darker skin tones. Chip mentioned the difficulty in creating accurate tones for darker skins. In fact, when I spoke with her yesterday while buying one of her skins she mentioned that making darker skins takes twice the time as lighter skins.

Off the top of my head I can list at least 3 high profile skin designers who make dark male skins with easily accessible retail outlets. And I know there must be more.

Call it issues of supply and demand. Call it a lack of skilled and gifted makers of darker skin tones. But for the love of God, please, don't dumb it down and call it racism. Because it's not. There's a tendency to throw that word around casually.

Racism = intentionally discriminating against one's racial background with a harmful intent. Racism has psychological and emotional scars. And I doubt that not being able to immediately find a dark skin in SL (A) is intentionally being perpetrated by a conglomerate of skin designers conspiring to keep black people skinless, and (B) will traumatically scar someone for life to the point that their offspring still struggle with the effects.

Bless your rational mind.

I'm really troubled that despite all the helpful explanation in this thread, the original poster STILL believes that racism was at the root of this problem.

And I'm disturbed that he didn't comment on my Klingon skins. The poor little Klingon kids are gonna be scarred for life. I think I'll have to start some kind of activism to combat alien racism. Damn the human man, always keeping the poor aliens down.

i love all earth people equally but......

<- proud to be racist against aliens.

damn!
and i was going to wear my purple alien av costume today!

And its driving me nuts that no one read what he said. First he complained about the lack of skins his shade. Then he accused SLers of being racist BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE IS TREATED IN WHITE SKIN COMPARED TO BLACK. Everyone seems to be ignoring this and composing a strawman saying that he said SLers were racist for not making black skins.

actually kasandra, I did read his post, and he said both. He called racist both the lack of skins and the way he was treated.

Now I can see both being justified cause for **frustration**, and the way some black people have been treated in this game PISSES me off to no end where it is clear-cut racism, but dropping the race card on the table so easily seems a little much to me and that is the reaction you are seeing in this thread. Interpreting any slight, whether intentional or not, whether real or not, as racism is a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction.

I have gotten weird comments because I don't wear a human avatar, but that doesn't make me call SL a bunch of (insert curseword).

This game is alienating to many people at the beginning as they wander around and try to get a bearing on who people are, what to do, how things work, who is nice, where to go, etc. You can take it personally or realize that this uncomfortable stage is simply a stage of adjustment. This game also contains people representing the worst side of humanity -- there are racists, griefers, seducers (in a predatory way), bullies, liars, greedy types, etc. -- however these people make up a small portion of society. It is a shame people can't leave they're RL baggage behind them, but c'est la vie... it is what it is.

I hope Red sticks around and meets some of the wonderful people in SL of all creeds, races, sexes, sexual orientation, etc. It's a weird and wonderful diverse world. There will be jerks, but unfortunately that's the human race. Abuse report them, and come hang out with the fun people!

Kasandra, he did call us racist. And how was he behaving when he walked around as a white person? Was he expecting trouble? No, he expected to be treated better, and so his behavior changed. People then reacted to this behavior, which is very different from the behavior that he had been exhibiting. Remember that he's only been around a short time. It's not like he has a track record yet.

When he was black, he was upset because he couldn't find a skin. When he was white, he was expecting to be treated differently, so his frustration didn't show. The end result is that nobody got to know Red as a person.

I'll admit, when I first read this thread I thought the dude was a jackass. He got frustrated, conducted an extremely unscientific test, and announced that everyone in SL (including the Lindens) was a racist. I know that I haven't been bothering anybody, so I don't take kindly to being accused of such malicious behavior.

But people were helpful instead of angry, and Red calmed down a bit. Then I started thinking back to the times when I got frustrated... have I ever let my keyboard get away from me? Ohhhhh, yeah. So Red's not a bad guy at all. He's just pissed off because he doesn't WANT to be a robot or an alligator. He just wants to be himself, and he didn't see any options. Hell, I was frustrated too, so I made my own skin. It's still a work-in-progress, but it's getting there. I look a little more like me every time I work on it.


Anyway, Red...

I hope that Ryntha Suavage's efforts have helped you out to your satisfaction, Dude. Hopefully you'll stick around, and we'll see you in-world.