On Appearances

Photo coutesy Blanche Argus

When I was out looking at a new male skin at Laqroki last week, I got an unexpected IM from another shopper.

"You are too tall." was the first thing he told me, this 90 days old guy, followed quickly by "Your shoulders are too broad and your head is too small. And your torso is too long also. Believe me I know what I am talking about, I am an artist and I often sketch the human body! Your proportions are all wrong."

This wasn't the first time that has happened to me, and usually I get this kind of well-meaning but unsolicited advice in IMs.

Photo by Kent Hutchinson

"A blond guy like you cannot have dark eyebrows like that!" I have been told a couple of times. None of these people can have met me, two of my nieces and a couple of other Swedes I know who have exactly that, blond hair and dark eyebrows.

"You should get other eyes" someone else told me "because the ones you have now look dead. Go to this place they have great eyes!" I was horrified to learn that my eyes looked dead, so I went to the store I was recommended and bought five sets of new pale green eyes. I hated them all and soon switched back to the ones I have had for a long time now.

When I first came to SecondLife and realized that I could look exactly the way I wanted to look in my dreams, as most Swedes, I went for a California suntan, dark brown hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. I changed appearances once every six to eight weeks, ever "improving" on myself - well, my avatar, but you all know what I mean.

Photo by Kent Hutchinson

After I met Ars I started slowly meandering towards my real life colors, first with the eyes, then the hair and finally the skin. Ars was always supportive and loved all my changes, well he loved me however I made myself look, so I am not sure if his views count.

Of course I do not look this stunning in real life, but the colors are mine. I am not 244 cm though or as musclebound , instead I am shorter than the average Swedish male with my measly 175 cm. The legs are mine though, I can proudly tell you, I love my legs in real life and SecondLife! Oh and not to disappoint some of my fans, my d**k is of course as huge in real life as it is in SecondLife...

I have looked much the same in SecondLife for the last two and a half years, except for wearing different hair-dos, and I really do feel very comfortable in my present look.

Photo by Kent Hutchinson

That is after all the most important thing, in my mind, to feel comfortable in your own avatar whatever anyone else tells you. Hell, I will even go so far as to say it is the most important thing in real life also!

In SecondLife you can be whatever suits you best be it a frog, a wolf, a demon, a vampire, a fairy, an archangel, a neko, a troll, a snow leopard or even an over-sized man with blond hair and dark eyebrows.

So what I told the well-meaning artist before teleporting away was "Thanks for telling me your views, but I am quite comfortable with my shape and everything else about my appearances. Have a great day!"