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Skins in Second Life

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In the online virtual world Second Life, a player creates an avatar where the player can choose its physical characterizes. This includes gender and skin, which can be altered in shade and texture. Some users make a virtual living by designing and selling skins, dominantly white or off-white colors. In choosing skins, it is reported that “persons seeking darker skins complained of the difficulty in finding them” (Boellstorff 145). While darker skins are rare to obtain, finding white skins is simple since “whiteness acted as a kind of default” (Boellstorff 145). Through skins, the idea of white supremacy is strikingly visible. Being white is expected and therefore more powerful within the virtual world to the point where it is difficult to even give your avatar a non-white complexion. A racial hierarchy is formed in the Second Life where being black near the bottom and are not respected to the same degree. In the virtual world, the appearance of skin color causes instant prejudice and inequality similarly seen in the real world. Race is viewed as the first characteristic seen and considered before behavior, actions, and personality. If one decided to change skins to a darker shade, it would lead to racial remarks, halt in communication, and even unfriending. This racial hierarchy has existed in the real even as technology and biology has proven it wrong, as seen in Stephanie's piece on X-rays showing equal, homologous black and white images from both people of color and white,. However, this notion of color has been embedded into society as a form of power rankings that continues to exist.
 

This page has paths:

  1. Social Power Stephanie Wiehe

This page has tags:

  1. The Virtual and The Real Chloe Lewis
  2. The Second Life Self Kayla McCoy
  3. Anna Quinn, Author Anna Quinn
  4. Second Life Anna Quinn
  5. Tom Boellstorff Anna Quinn
  6. Race Anna Quinn

Contents of this tag:

  1. What Is Self?
  2. Character Creation