Untitled+Skins

=Skins=

toc //I've kicked the habit Shed my skin This is the new stuff I go dancing in - Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel//

In computing, skins are an appearance theme that one can put on a program's interface. In Second Life there are two different types of skins; the first type are skins which are applied to the Second Life client to change its appearance on the user's computer screen - the buttons, mini-map, windows, and menus used change as a new skin is applied to the program. The second type, which is discussed here, are textures placed upon the avatar to change its appearance.

Skins can either fit on and over an avatar's body shape changing their color and texture, or alter their shape and appearance. Body parts can be added or removed using skins.

Furries


Furries are among the most popular examples of skin types. Furry skins will give an avatar a coat of hair which covers their entire body - clothing may or may not be worn on top of this coat. Also included in furry skins are ears, tails, collars, and wind-up keys. Furries are often associated with the Second Life sex culture, as in real life a furry is someone who enjoys dressing up as an animal and engaging in sexual acts with another 'furry'.

Genitalia


Another immensely popular skin is that which provides realistic genitalia to an avatar. Avatars, when first created and logged into the game, are gender-neutral with a doll-like crotch region resembling neither female nor male genitalia. As the grid is explored multiple opportunities to purchase genitalia skins of different sizes and shapes are presented. It seems that the most common male skins of this type are hyperbolically large. I believe this is an extension of society's fascination with large penises. After reaching puberty young men are soon acquainted with the concept of penis envy, convinced of the idea that larger genitalia enhances their masculinity and therefore their value to society. In my adventures in Second Life I only found one skin with a realistically average sized penis.

Female genitalia on Second Life is not only more difficult to find, but displays a bias similar to that of Second Life penis-skins. On Second Life, the ideal vagina appears to be hairless and small, virginal or prepubescent in appearance. This may reflect society's emphasis on a perception of chastity or purity for women, or just a continued fascination with female public figures that seem to get younger every day.

Lolis
A related but even more disturbing trend, believe it or not, is the popularity of 'lolis'. Though I avoided studying people engaging in this behavior, on Second Life a loli is someone who skins their avatar to appear as a young girl (as in Vladimir Nabokov's __Lolita__, in fact, loli is a slang term taken from the book's title character). Loli skins often involve many of the elements of furry culture, including wind-up keys and occasionally furry ears and tails. Though members of furry cultures might claim otherwise, there is generally an association with an illicit sex-culture for loli avatars. While Linden Labs has acknowledged that such behavior is certainly possible in Second Life and is not prevented through any architectural constraints, they were concerned enough about this behavior to change their terms of use to expressly prohibit it.

Others


There are a great diversity of skin types in Second Life - gothic vampires, sylvan faeries, mermaids, and a wide assortment of fictional humanoid species frequent many spots on the grid. Many people adopt portions of skins, turning their avatar into a chimera, a hybrid of many different fantastical creatures. A humanoid female may walk around with faerie wings, a furry tail, and an oversized penis swelling comically from her groin. There are too many different possibilities to reasonably consider on this page.

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