Ethnicity & Avatars

Some people from latinamerica or "latin europe" (Italy, France, Spain, etc)... which AV is suppoused to use?

I dont think the available avatars are caucasic specific, just "western" and matches with many other countries that have white-mestizo-latin people too.

If a vocabulary more advanced than your own intimidates you, or your lips get tired when you read what I type, that is your problem, not mine. Complaining about the verbiage used in taking issue with your opinion is not, itself, a reasoned refutation of the points I raised -- but I suppose you must limit yourself to that of which you are capable.

I have seen plenty of dark-skinned avatars on SLExchange and have even been tempted to buy one or two for alt accounts. I have not perceived the same lack that seems to be seen by the plurality of those responding to your original troll.

Ignore Elmore, he will eventually go away.

Elmore, if you don't know Mikey, he has quite a thin skin and a large martyr complex.

I think a skin artist should get on creating more specifically ethnically diverse skins...they would make a fortune if they were high quality.

This is not true. There are alot of African Americans and Hispanics and they look the part. If you haven't seen them or that many that's because you don't frequent their circles, the clubs they go to and places they hangout.

We don't usually hangout or visit rock clubs and for the most part, sl is filled with these type clubs. But we have our clubs and the more popular ones get packed with some of the finest looking guys and woman around.

So don't say we're not around because we are and plentiful, just have to know where to look.

Maybe they just expect end users to use the color sliders? XD

I don't know that I completely agree with that argument Elmore. Most people today, especially the 18-35 group have grown up with video consoles, computers in schools, etc even if they come from lower income backgrounds. Many lower income families also have access to computers (maybe not the $3000 gaming rig of their wealthier suburbanite counterparts) but adequate hardware to at least access SL and games like it. Also keep in mind that unlike WoW, SL is free--no credit card or monthly subscription required.

I'm black but my av is a furry. I picked a furry because I liked the look and am part of the fandom. But there was also the fact that choices of non-white avs were very limited. Although it seems to have gotten better since I joined, there are still very few choices for those who wish to have a non-white av.

Oh and if you don't think race is an issue in SL here's an incident that happened to me a few months back: I was in a sandbox when some av showed up and started making some really ugly racist jokes. I politely asked him to stop. He asked why I cared since he was making fun of blacks, not furries. I told him that in RL I am a black man and found his "jokes" really offensive. He responded, "Bullshit, niggers don't play online games! Everybody knows that! They got no money for computers either."

I hate it when RL disrupts my fun time in SL...

For crap sake, don't immediately dismiss dissent as "drama." Broadly restating this as a topic of "ethnicity" doesn't accurately restate the question as it was originally asked (unless it's been edited as I type this). When one complains that avatars chosen by SL's population are not sufficiently diverse, one is obviously begging questions of race. This most certainly implies the race-baiting to which I object.[/QUOTE]

Ok Im not super smart I'll freely admit it...but why would discussing the various representations of ethnicity by avatars be thought of as race-baiting. Im dual nationality kiwi/brit and the 1st thing I did when I came to SL was search for any Maori presence in SL, thats doesnt mean that I prefer Maori over other people, just that its nice to be able to see ppl/places you can identify closely with. Does this make me racist?

Elmore--I am a writer as well--I was merely being humorous--don't think I'm lost in your words...I read and write much more complicated pieces of literature than you can throw at me.

I was only poking fun at your wordy replies. Cheers for making my reading more interesting. Kudos in fact.

What i saw is that many avatars are really tanned and i guess their owners not he he

Maybe some 40 yo white lady pick some 'Jennifer Lopez' like avatar, but not because ethnicity but because males like it.

Im not sure that people uses avatars that looks similar to them but avatars that they like. And its not the same.

Do a barrel roll and walk away

I think primarily because most people are caucasian. I have ran into a few african and even less asian, but I think the majority of users are causcasian, hence show as such.

See, this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Something tactile--you are saying that they hang out in their own circles, clicks, and clubs? Fascinating.

I frequent quite a lot of diverse locations--I explore constantly. And I was saying that in my experience, I have seen very few ethnically diverse skins. I wasn't aware that they hang out in specific locations...I'll have to research further. Thank you.

Some people would interpret a "really dark tan" as being ethnic, others just as a "really dark tan." I would surmise that, unless you really look closely, many of the "caucasians" are not intentionally expressing a caucasian ethnicity.

In part I think it's because the default avatars you start with are standard north European Caucasian - probably partly because it is widely treated in the US as "average" or "typical," and partly because it is more common among geekdom atm. I suspect most people get tired of moving the sliders around to alter appearance before they can get into anything too far removed fromt he starting avs.

And evidently it is relatively more difficult to find appropriate skins and other features. (It is possible however: I encountered two of the notorious Patriotic Nigras a week or two ago, and they have managed the "black" look, so I suppose others can too.)

Looks like there is an opportunity here for enterprising skin and avatar designers.

BTW, let's not forget to drop the hammer on idiots who go out of their way to impute "racism" in others, no matter how far fetched, so they can themselves posture as "more-PC-than-thou-reprehensible-sinner." They should go thump whatever such hyper-PC types use as their Bible and masturbate themselves about their super-pure egos in private; it's embarrassing and indecent, doing it out here in public among us decent folks.

Maybe sometimes people just want to blend in with the crowd and not have to deal with stupid remarks from stupid kids hiding behind anonymity.

Well said, and incidentally, nearly identical to how I feel (even your footnote).

I've spent a LOT of time looking at darker skins. When I first started only back in November 2006, there weren't a whole lot of really good ones. Now, however, I'm seeing a huge increase in the number of beautiful skins that are geared to a specific ethnicity. It's great to see!

Re: the RL ethnicity of SL users, I could give a flying fig. It just doesn't matter.

A valid point.

However, wouldn't you all agree that the most admirable of folks, are those that don't give a hoot what other people think, say , or feel? I LOVE when I meet someone that is completely secure in themselves...I'm inspired by it.

Insecurity--sadly--is a sign of weakness to a lot of people, and it gives them an open door to attack through--if you are glowing with pride and security, however, you are admired by most.

Be yourself. Love yourself. Those that can't walk with you, are not worth walking beside.

Possibly because it's plastic, not skin?

i was rezzed just over a year ago. i am a japanese avatar .. in name and in shape/skin.

tho a few months ago i morphed into a neko. a snow-leopard-like neko to be exact.

i will agree that a non-caucasian avatar in this game is not the norm. most skins i see for sale are of the lighter colored variety. darker skins are hard to find.

and, as far as i know, you are initially rezzed with caucasian "skin".

It's neither skin, nor plastic. It's a carbon-based polymer very similar to skin. I didn't choose it...you have to talk to my designer.

Excuse my French...but this was a real dick thing to say. My skin is fine, thank you. In addition, I'm a HAV unit...it is impossible to be a martyr.

The are really good Black skins for certain -

Chip Midnight sells some. The one I used for the model for one of my male shapes line is one of the most realistic effects Ive managed yet.

He also sells some Mediterranian skins for women.

I know Namssor has a very good photo real male asian skin.

However in General it seems there definitely are a lot less Photo real skins where the skin doesnt just look like a tinted caucasian.

Some of that might be the texture sets they use to start with. Since this effects what they can produce.

Of course half the population doesnt use photo real skins - its a lot harder to call a painted skin cuascasian or African, or Asian when the main distinction is only the skin tone.

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Just trying to say that for Photo-real Cuacasian looks you have 1239816344 options at all prices

For other ethnicities its definitely more limited.