How was playing an AV of another race?

Howdy Folks!
The thread about playing another gender brings to mind another questions- what were your experiences playing as a person of another race? (whatever race is)

My first few days on sl were spent wearing the default Caucasian? skin (hmmmmmmm), and I was very, very uncomfortable. Sorta like I was walking around with sand in my pants. Finding a skin I liked was a bit problematic, as many dark skins have the same makeup as the lighter tones... which just looks... awful. Also, I want to be a model, which requires me to have several skins...but I find my self really weirded out by being, well... white. YEs, Yes, I know that race involves being more than just white or black- it's an intersection a lot of things, geopgraphy, socioeconomics, etc. And I'm just talking about the US..ideas of race are totally different all over the world.

Several people wearing dark skins that I spoke to said they wanted to look really tan, another dude said he thought the color was erotic...I asked a couple of people if they were of color IRL and they seemed suprised- " Do I look black?"

And yes, I know it's a virtual world, but...who I am is always already informed by my race- and I find the whole issue of virtual race very interesting and very sticky. And yes, definitely, I think race exists- in our first world and second world...

Yeah... I've been on the hunt for an Asian look that doesn't involve slit eyes or make up that emphasizes that. I've found it helps if you first adjust your features to reflect your (whatever the appropriate PC term) is. The way makeup on some skins will interact with your features can give you surprising results. The harder thing I've found is finding a skin in the right shade - most darker skins are tans. What you might try is looking for tintable skins - I got one of the Alina skins from Naughty island and was able to adjust the tint to a more "yellow" shade. I couldn't really do much about the long (beautiful!) eyebrows that gave me that somewhat hispanic look though. At least, I think that's what's doing it It's hard to explain - maybe when I get home I can post some example pics of what I mean.

The make up issue though - that's a tough one.

My friend DarkDharma is of caucasian race (how it's called in the US) but has a black skinned, african-american looking avatar since her first days in SL. The reason, according to her, <sic> "I love her, she looks different and beautiful".... I have to agree.

The darkest skin set that Namissor sells at SS Labs will pass for a moderately dark skinned race. Not as dark as some black people in my RL neighborhood, but better than many. I can hear where you're coming from on the makeup though, as most of it is designed for Caucasian skin. SS Labs does have several lipstick and other options that should do well on a person of color, however. At least, they look like combinations my black neighbors wear sometimes. I'll certainly agree though, that most of the skin designers favor Caucasian skins. I have seen very few for other races.

My Player is as Caucasian as they come. German/English/Scottish/Irish/French/Norwegan ancestry. Typical Western European blend, and I look more German or English than anything else.

In RP's I often play someone from a Japanese or French culture. I like Japanese historical culture, and I recently tend to RP as a Kitsune, which is a Japanese fox spirit. My SL Partner is a Kitsune as well. But the influence of various nationalities on me is mostly just historical 'color' from my back story, influences from places I have travelled and lived, and not my own race. Heck, I'm not even playing my own SPECIES, since I am usually a fox or a Kitsune, let alone my own race!

On the rare occasions when I appear in SL as a Human, my skin tone and hair are pretty close to the real me. Caucasian skin and auburn hair.

As terrible as it may sound...playing as a different race never even crossed my mind as an option. As soon as I saw the default skin and that I could change it I immediately started to tinker. I can honesty say I spent more time as a purple guy than I did a white one. I like for my avatars in things to resemble me as much as possible, so before I'd spent more than 20 mintues in the game I'd darkened my skin, grown out a bit of facial hair, trimmed my hair, and reduced my height just a tad.

Being something other than me just didn't seem viable.

To take it even a step futher.... I played and RPed a Drow. A Yathtaller to be exact... She was a <bliep>. But well, what can you expect from a Drow....



Morwen.

On my main account I play a character very much shaped and colored like myself (fair skin, blue eyes, a bit curvy or plump.)

My alt is a fae... tiny, dark skinned, kept the blue eyes. I have had people ask me if I am colored in RL because of that choice. *shrug* I just like the look. She is lovely.

Uhm... when I read "another race", I thought of something like furries, demons, drows. Quite surprised that we're talking about the good old human race When it comes to skin color, I'm currently light blue with some violet shades. That changes from time to time.

I have not played another race and I don`t think I ever will. in RL I am polynesian (Samoan to be exact) and I have made my avatar to look like the RL me- not only the shape and face, but also hair, facial hair, and body hair. (so?) I had to hunt for a skin with brown nipples at the start but now I found a place that sells those. everywhere else seemed to have pink

I dunno, in SL everyone begins to look the same race; maybe I just need to get "out" more- Ive been seeing some japanese looking avatars lately. Weve had quite a few african american avatars in our rental community too. I personally like being able to see an avatar and know theyre something other than caucasion even if they arent in RL- its interesting to say the least.

You mentioned tan skin- I did notice a lot , i mean a lot, of people in this game only want tan skin. They prob want it in RL too...for some reason.

I never looked at an avatar and wondered what they were in RL- i just kind of assumed if their avatar was black, they were black, if avatar was white, they were white. Which isnt really the case.

Personally, I hope people are able to look at my avatar and not think "white man" (this statement is NOT meant to be offensive whatsoever)

I got "mexican" before, so i guess i did a pretty good job as people who dont know what 'samoan' is in RL often guess me to be mexican





Did anyone who played 2 different ethnicities hang out around the same groups of people and notice to be treated any differently?

I have been experimenting with other races of mythical creatures with darker skin tones that I have made. I have had issues with make up with darker guys I want make up on.
Yet it did make me wonder why there is very AVs who are brown or darker skin in Second Life. I don't if its graphics issue or racial preferences thing.
I tend to want to make av's that aren't traditionally glamerous looking and bit odd myself.
In real life growing up I called malloto or N word because I have very curly hair, big lips but I have very light skin. Took my hair thinning for the curl to go away.
Now its just frizzy and often wants to turn into dreds. LOL
I have no clue how to make second life hair dred like.
My real life black friends call the hair I have is "good hair" but I never thought of my hair as good.
I am part native american on mother side and jewish on father's side though my father was very dark skin, looked middle eastern.
I often felt bad that I didn't have blonde straight hair like my brothers.
So I guess in second life for me its more about the fantasy of how I want to look then what the real life me is.
In real life I am also hundred pounds heavier but Second Life I am always skinny not interested in having fat AV.
I played black av in another game called Runescape. I got of lot of very vulgar comments, I had even some idiot yell Moor at me cuz they can't use the N word.

I'm Black in RL, and Black in SL, But recently i created an Alt, and that Alt is Albino. White Skin, White Hair, and Pink eyes. I don't know really if that one can be Classed as a Different Race, as Albinism is present in all Racial types. The First time i Logged into one of these Games over four years ago, The Sims Online, I decided to try being a White Male, Figuring it was the Safest option (IRL, i am actually extremely shy, and speaking to people On Line was rather Intimidating to me) It WAS safe alright,, No one seemed to want to speak to me at all. So, I Dumped that Avatar, and came in Looking more like Myself. (Black female) and Then people wanted to Talk to me. Men were more solicitous (Helpful) and Women more open and Conversational. Whether it was the Appearant Race, Or Gender that was responsible, I'm not sure, But there WAS a difference in How i was treated.

Angel.

Interesting FD, thanks for sharing.

Also, funny about your hair lol






*edit* Just read your post angelique- have you tried being a caucasion female?

I wouldn't have expected race to be a defining issue in SL, considering that so many people are not even human. One's sex does strongly affect how people interact with you, but I don't see so far much reaction to people being one race or another, and perhaps it's more a matter of how it feels to you.

Incidentally, it would be useful if one could get some skin textures that one could access outside the game. I have quite a nice one I bought, but it would be so much better if I could take it into Photoshop and just darken it a little.

Does being a furry count? I love it!

I have to admit that this is true for me. As discussed previously, I've experimented with gender, but race just didn't figure as something of interest. I don't know why. I'd like to think it's because race is not an issue to me and that I treat all people equally no matter their skin tone. Maybe it's the opposite though....maybe I'm subconsciously racist without realising it.

Now this is true for me. Never occured to me. On reflection now I think I might have tempted conversations from others on politics/law/religion of portrayed locale which of course would have been way out of my league. Hmm, interesting.

I think a low level of racism is actually part and parcel of human nature. Not the kind of violent racism that gets in the news, but more like a sports team. I like rugby for example, and I support my local team fervently. I don't hate the players and supporters of other teams though, far from it. But still, I want my team to win. Perhaps race is the same.

Interesting. I do not often respond to the many varied posts, but I thought I would toss this one in.

In RL, I am now defined as a 'middle aged gamer geek' - white, educated, married, upper class, tall, thick but extremely grey hair, 40 lbs overweight male (beer belly). I choose to play the best of what I imagine myself, as I have been an avid roleplayer for more than 35 years. Male, tall, broad (not buff, but well toned/defined), stark white hair (genetic anomoly, not albino), wearing glasses (another genetic anomoly, especially for the role I play) cultured, graceful, educated, refined, older gentleman of wealth.

Now, what I find interesting, and the reason I am responding to this post, is this particular combination is.... overwhelmingly attractive, for some inexplicable reason. Not young, buff, and athletic, as I expected.

In the real, I am not near so patient and graceful, and not near so popular. Is it the avatar, the color of the skin or the shade of the hair, or is it the projection of personality that others in our virtual world are drawn to? Just a thought.

Perhaps both are linked Gabriel. An appearance you are comfortable with makes you feel more confident, and it is this confidence that people respond too. That's true in RL, so maybe it's true in SL aswell. It's about being happy with yourself.

Usually the race issue in MMORPGs refers to radically different humanoid races as in elves, dwarves, etc. In most FRPGs I've been involved with there is no interest in the colour of a human's skin, but a lot of racism as regards elves and dwarves.

I'm quite surprised there's so little pseudo-Tolkien in SL. Norman looms much larger ...

Hamlet wrote a really interesting article about this subject a while back. You can find it here.

.. and a superb punchline. Excellent. Thankyou.

Did someone mention Tolkein? you mean .. I'm not alone?

Does my family of demonc entities count as another race?

As odd as it sounds, without trying to touch off a war, I know we are being cordial and all so I will try to put it out the way I mean instead of coming off like an idiot.

I've thought about other races, I am a white American female with 100% German blood (my tree worked out to be all German). I think I was more afraid of being labeled something such as a hypocrite when I would like to try another race. I think it's more of a stem for real life influence, but either way, it's felt odd and I've seen how some have reacted when they've found out a black person (or however the PC term you want to define) is actually white, a white person is actually Hispanic, or a hispanic is playing a black person.

I don't think a human race change will ever come for me. Not so much out of fear I guess really, but more so out of what feels natural. I'm white in real life and I'm white in SL.

P.S. As for makeup on skins, don't think the whiter/lighter shades have it easy for makeup either. Not many have a natural look to them... not all of us want to look like front street hookers. I still haven't found a skin I liked overall. Most tend to overdo it on the eyes, leave the lips pale and so it looks like there is foundation all over the lips and you forgot. Others go for bright red lipstick and nothing on the eyes. The faces that are halfway decent... the body is odd... the uhm... nether regions are sometimes off, or just a line with some curly's.

My male av has a russian name (this one) but has a latin look. I've always seem himcoming from a eastern european background with a spanish mother.