Gay Themed Sim!

I get the feeling that some of those people were actually bisexual. Dali at least... didn't he bang around with chicks? I am also curious... why list people from Sep. 11?

(p.s. post #100)

Bisexual is included in the LGBT community and why not the Sep 11 group they were heros. The press interviewed the widows of slain straight heros, but no mention was made of the partners that the gay heros left behind.

With the exception of Mark Bingham Thai, at least here in the Bay area anyway. He was covered in the news here.

Guys, not all gay people wear brightly colored clothing, speak with a lisp, and extend there pinkies whilst talking. I have a few gay friends, and really you couldn't tell. It is possible to all play together and I really think that segragation from one side or another is kind of reverse evolution.

"But gay people want to be seprated!"

Well, so do some straight people, but if a straight person asked for a sim for gay people because he didn't want to be with them, I don't think you would like that, nor would most people.

People keep bringing up seperation and segragation. I dont see this.. and dont think its meant to be a seperatist thing. I see that its community thing.

What about places like Chinatown ? Is that seperatist or is it just a like community banding together and living in proximity to one another? I think the latter. People in Chinatown welcome "tourists" and have events to celebrate and educate others about their culture.

If a straight person walks into the castro he or she isnt looked at sideways. The shop doors dont slam on them. Gay people and straight live side by side. BUT is it a gathering place and a draw for gay people worldwide.

Wanting to be in a community of persons who share your values is a natural thing.

While everything you say is true, Misnomer, Chinatown grew from neccesity. All I'm saying is, since there is no appparent neccesity (unless I'm missing something very important) I don't see why you can't just express yourself amongst other people. It wouldn't bother me, unless of course it was some monstrosity right outside my door. I just think that a specified community might make SL look bad to newbies, and reporters even. Yes, I know that it ISN'T, but that's what it may look like.

Look bad. Hmm. How so?
Yes there are a lot of people that may be put off by a gay community. Theres large groups that would be put off by an African American community too... but I guess I have more faith in people.

I think that yes there are groups who dont like X, Y or Z, true. But I believe there are even more people than those small groups who even if they arent X, Y or Z and even if they dont understand (or agree with) X, Y or Z WILL allow and tolerate and accept X, Y and Z for who and what they are so long as they are good and decent people.

But then again I am that kind of person so its natural for me to feel and hope and want others to be like me.

Well, actually I was more concered about people seeing a gay community and saying "Hmmm, the place where they used to be must have been full of intolerant people, and therfore there must be a lot of intolerant people in SL." Yes, of course that's not true, and yes, anyone with a brain would ask why there is a gay community before jumping to that conclusion. Unfortunetly, though, not many people have a brain. After seeing that Mecury Sun report and then seeing "The Anna Nicole Smith Show" (a.k.a. "I Weigh 90210" you would start too see what I mean

Just screw the idea, it isn't worth the debating, fighting, fussing and arguing.

Baltus,
The discussion is going to probably continue even if the community never happens. I wish I could remember Kathy Y's quote about things getting messy to make progress. I think even with some of the "anti" posts the thread has remained fairly civil. Dialog is good, even when its uncomfortable.

It is odd that since this debate has begun the stonewall group has grown from 2 to 10, not a huge gain but that is in about a week. At least 2 of the people that have joined the group are new to SL. They both stated they saw the topic of a gay themed sim and were attracted.
Everybody keeps saying we are doing this to separate and segregate. This notion is strange to me. We are doing this to celebrate.
You are right Darwin China Town and other communities like it were formed from necessity, .so was The Castro.

Why do we need a gay themed sim to be all official? can't the gay members of SL just build their museums and other gay celebrations anywhere they want to? I also don't think a gay parade on SL would really be against any rules I have seen. I just don't think there needs to be an official declaration for this to become a reality, If you want a gay themed sim, just buy some land and try and start one. if people are interested in joining or leaving the area I believe they will do so without linden labs putting banners anywhere or having to do any advertisements or arguing. For the people against this kind of idea. Guess what, most of the people on SL are newer thinking types who enjoy the company of everyone regardless of races, preferences, whatever. If you keep your mouth shut about it in RL then do it in SL, cause the free (smart) thinkers dont wanna hear it. For the gays/supporters. GO FOR IT! Start a section somewhere that is gay themed and over time Im sure you'll get what you wanted.

this thread is over a year old >.>

Hikaru,

Shame that nothing came of it ...

Reading the thread, I was struck by the way so many of the 'anti's used a totally fallacious, but very common, argument to support their views.

'Why not have a heterosexual sim?' 'Why not have a sim for people named Phil', etc. etc.

Of course, if you have more than a handful of brain cells and think about the issues it should become very clear. But since people keep using the argument, obviously for some it is not.

The fact is there is all the difference in the world between a minority who receive injustice and the majority who do not.

A culture which is fragile needs to be celebrated - the culture of the strong does not.

In the UK we have different types of nationalism. Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, for example, is a perfectly respectable political party. Wales represents a minority of the population of Britain and the people feel that their interests are not represented strongly enough. However, the British National Party is peopled largely by thugs and racists. Because the English culture is the dominant one, and doesn't need celebration.

Anyway, as they say: *bump*

even though this thread is over a year old, I still think that it would be interesting to discuss "What would a gay-themed sim or area include?"

k. kato said:

Starting small and adding to the theme seems like a proper way to go. So, in that spirit, does anyone have suggestions for attractions, games, architecture, etc?

And, I read the whole thread. Arguments about hetero sims and segregation and "shouting out" are all baseless. The original point to this thread was to discuss the wonderful possibility of a new themed area in SL.

Champie

If you want to be gay, just be gay. Let's not make it a big deal, or you'll attract those who don't like you (Christopher Nomad and friends).

But ok, if you want to be brave souls and try anyway, even against some of the less mature Jessians (who are quite resolute), I'm all for it. I just hope you guys can think of stuff to fill it with

By the way, this is a really old thread.

Old thread or not, recent upgrades to the Second Life service make it possible to have a gay themed sim.

The drawback is a bunch of bickering queens need to drop the cash for the server and the tier fees

And I can say bickering queens, I have "rice rights" !

So, any homos wanna go in on a Fire Island? I'm up for it.

There must be at least 20 gay sims in SL already.

If I am in your sim, it's a gay sim! If you don't like it, too bad. There is nothing you can do about it.

Seriously though, gay people do have the intersting dynamic of having to find and identify their "tribe".

In other words, if you are black, most likely your family is also black. There are of course exceptions.

Ghettos arise out of a need to be near like people. I don't really see that need in SL.

I have been incidentally and openly gay all over Second Life and haven't had a bad response at all. It really seems like a non-issue to people in my social circles. It was a bit of an issue when during a quiz game I kept guessing all the right answers about female straight porn stars.

I am in the process of purchasing my own sim. I suppose it will be a gay sim.

I get much more pleasure from travelling through the world and coming across a flag or a towel or a photograph of a couple just interspersed through SL.

There are some places where ghettos are necessary. SL isn't one of those places.

I'm not suggesting a gay ghetto, more like a gay-themed resort area, sorta like Fire Island or Provincetown up here in the Northeast of the US. I know we don't need "visibility" as much in SL as we do in RL. I just think it would be a fun building project, could put the gay clubs in one place so we dont hafta fly all over the world to find them, some resources for the populace on prevention and dangerous practices such as drug use, etc.

No matter how old this thread is, I feel the flaming desire to reply to Baltus' original post.

Being openly-gay for something like 20 years now, I see both sides of the coin on your suggestion for a gay-themed sim. HOWEVER...while I really do undertand the need for "safe" and "comfortable" places for ANY minority/interest group/special interest group, etc., a gay-themed sim is much more ambitious than needed.

Having been in several online "worlds" with rather successful gay communities, I can say that, as in RL, the vitual communities were built from scratch using existing resources! A sparcely-inhabited area becomes "Fire Island"; a stretch of houses gets purchased by a bunch of folks who happen to be gay. Communities grow, change, and even slowly fade away. Just as in RL - The Castro, or the Village, or Oak Lawn - all existed BEFORE becoming identified as "gay" (or gay-friendly, or gay-tolerant, or gay ghettos).

I know quite a few gay men and women in SL - we own houses, businesses, clubs, and parks; we build, script, design; we laugh, we fight, we make new friends and keep up with ones we have known for years.

The idea of communities within existing sims where people who like to knit can be around others of the like, where people whose names are Fred can live next to each other, or where Texans can fly the Lone Star with 30 of their neighbors doing the same is great. Ditto for SL communities based on their RL counterparts - Upper East Side, Aspen, and even San Francisco. Trendy gays, lesbians, straight single men and women, young married couples with/without children (etc., etc., etc.) in Upper East Side; gays, lesbians, straight single men and women, young married couples with/without children, older people, people of color (etc., etc., etc.) who like to ski or love the mountains, or the crisp air, all living in Aspen; and gays, lesbians, straight single men and women, young married couples with/without children, out of shape people, people in great shape, hippies, or Conservatives (etc., etc., etc.) who like the cool damp air, or the hills, or the cable cars, or are techies, living in SF.

I identify architecture as a theme, or sports as a theme, or the wild west as a theme, or even the Wizard of Oz - but I do not identify my being gay as a theme. Being gay is who I am, much the same as having red hair, or being French or Asian, or being elderly, or being liberal or conservative. If I am uncomfortable around others in my RL neighborhood (I am not!) I will move (but not to a gay ghetto! Too many queens in one place can sometimes ruin one's serenity and enjoyment of life ). If I want to square dance, I go to my square dance group. If I need to be around gay men and women, I know where to look.

My partner of 10 years and I were discussing the idea of buying a sim so we could create something really wonderful with a group of like-minded friends. Then he and I got into a strong discussion of what the overall look would be - we have quite differeing opinions of what we would want (he would opt for parks and wonderful boat docks; I for awesome architecture in really stylish colors/textures)! The thought was quickly dropped.

Baltus, if you want to propose a Wizard of Oz-themed sim (or the Castro, or SoHo, etc.) let us know! If you, or anyone, needs a place where no one will judge you because of who you love, or the color of your hair, or how tall you are (or if you simply like photography, or computers, or North Carolina, or Texas), drop me a line in-game.

Sorry, I didn't say we need a gay sim, just that it might be a cool thing for some like-minded people to put one together. Didn't mean that we need to be separatists or anything like that . I retract the notion.

A year ago when Baltus first brought this up I was against it for a number of reasons. Now I'm perfectly willing to back the idea, with the number of people in SL large enough to support it and the need clearly established.

Anyone who is gay and has spent any amount of time in SL would tell you that, for the most part, SLers are very gay positive.

For me, I don't see the need for a gay sim. However, I'm fully aware that I live in one of the few gay centers in the US. Living in SF you realize how important being surrounded by others like you is, but also how UN-important it is.

For someone who lives in small-town America where the gay population is small to non-existant, a community might be more appealing. It gives them a chance to meet and commune with people like them.

It is also important to live among everyone else. If the gay community continues to live in a few hot spots, there is no exposure to the hetero-suburbanites. Mixing it up helps to break down negative and false stereotypes among people who do not have the experience with gay folk.

Anyway.. that's my $.02. And it's just my opinion.. nothing more.

if you were to make a gay themed sim what would make it gay? The same if you made a heterosexual sim. what would make it heterosexual???

Blimey Hikaru,

Now you're doing it! Nothing would make a sim heterosexual, because heterosexuality is the dominant culture.

What would make a sim homosexual is buildings based on historical events, sim events of a homosexual nature, commemorative items in memory of people who have lost their lives because of their homosexuality, and a great big statue of Alan Turing in the middle!