Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - June 2015 | Page 72
MORE THAN A GAME:
GENDER BENDING
Journalist: HillarySwift Resident
There are probably no accurate statistics available on
precisely what sex the user behind each avatar is in
Second Life (SL).
A moment’s reflection would
soon show that it is too easy to
sign up with a sex other than
the user’s real one and users
often operate more than one
avatar, none of which may
correspond to their actual
real life (RL) sex.
Some estimates, usually derived from user experiences,
are that around 70% of users
that use female avatars are in
fact males, for example. A far
fewer number of females operate male avatars.
72 NU VIBEZ & ROLEPLAY GUIDE MAGAZINE
It is impossible to know these proportions precisely. But it is certain that some avatars, and perhaps many more than one might imagine, are
not the same sex as the person pressing the keys.
If you are a regular user of SL you may already
have met avatars that you have discovered are
not the same sex as the human in RL operating
them. You may occasionally see a profile, often
the profile of a female avatar, that provides reassurance of the corresponding sex of the human,
sometimes saying they have been voice verified,
or even verified by cam (using camera). Such
verification is usually needed for escort services
or other adult services and activities in SL. Verification is also need for age purposes in those
instances.