At this year's fashion week in NY the "IT" model this year was Andrej Pejic, who made his debut closing the spring Jean Paul Gaultier show in Paris; also walks for John Galliano, Paul Smith, and Raf Simons. What makes this model any different from all the others? Andrej is a MAN modeling as a WOMAN.
His androgynous looks, 5'11" extra slim frame that has no hips or breasts makes him the perfect ideal for designers that are looking for the slim to the extreme look. I have to say, if you look at the pictures of him on the runway you would never guess he's a man. His looks make him appear as a gorgeous young blonde.
Here's my question, if you can use a male model in RL to model women's fashion, what's the problem with RL males working as a FEMALE MODEL in SL or vice versa?
In SL each of us is free to be whatever we so choose. You can be any number of creatures, size from Mega to Tiny, or race. So I ask you, why do so many make such a big deal about whether or not the person behind the avatar modeling or competing for the crown in some pageant is in fact of the OPPOSITE SEX?
I personally don't have any interest in playing a boy in SL since I do love girl clothes so much, but I really couldn't care less if Bob in California wants to be Jenny in SL. I don't understand why anyone would discriminate against anyone in SL based on what or who they are in RL. Real Life has NOTHING to do with who we choose to be in Second Life. Don't get me wrong, we bring in our personal values, ethics and personality traits, but we should not be limited by our RL selves in world. After all, if we in fact had to provide REAL pictures of what we look like in RL most of us, me included, would not be models! I mean geez, SL is the only place I can eat cheesecake and still be a size zero with abnormally long legs and a waist size that could not support my body in RL. LOL
I propose to you...stop discriminating against cross gender SL players! A male playing a female or a female playing a male model doesn't have any negative impact on our business. They aren't "lying" about who they are, the ARE this avatar in SL. As long as they perform their jobs to as professionals, the gender behind the avatar should not affect the state of affairs in our industry.
Discrimination is wrong, no matter the setting. Let go of your bigotry and open up your mind to the possibilities that SL provides.
Great Post :)
ReplyDeleteSome of our models at +DV8+ are men modeling as women; it's just fine with us. It's the same with our roller derby team. Some of those girls are not girls in real life — and everyone gets on voice to skate, chat, etc. No one minds that some voices are considerably deeper than others.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI think the problem here is when someone is not honest about who or what they are and attempts to bring others into that fantasy who may not otherwise participate if they were given all the information.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be involved in a relationship with someone I might believe is a man but is actually a woman masquerading as a man or vice versa. If you want to bend genders in SL, that's entirely up to you but don't bring it into MY world unless you give me all the facts by which to make an informed decision on whether I want you there or not.
People who bend genders and are not honest about it start out a relationship of any kind with a lie and it can only get worse. Dishonesty is dishonesty in either world :)