Changing the Vision
August 13th, 2006 by trottahe
Every person has the right to change the vision of who and what they choose to be. Do virtual worlds offer special affordances that are not present in real life to transform and grow? This past Friday night I met up with Baccara Rhodes, Second Life diva. Finally having some time for myself, or my “second” self, I asked Baccara to help me pick out a new “skin” … something more sophisticated. The result you see above. Yes, I just happened to pick up an edge-ier hair style along the way, another Baccara suggestion. Love It! Is there such a thing as the growth of one’s online self?We started to talk about one’s Second Life identity. I believe virtual worlds offer us the chance to change new paths with safely, to “try them on” so to speak. Growing with and into these different directions can reveal parts of ourselves that never before have been allowed to come forward or where hidden. Anya in her posting on Fastasies of Femininity in slatenight remarked that Second Life gives her the opportunity to get back in touch with those aspects of femininity that are hidden or rarely revealed in her offline life. Although she believes that this has not changed her offline, I believe we can take those visions, and if so choose, carry them into our real world so that we may have “new” choices. In looking at my evolving “second life” self, I believe Heidi TeeCee is becoming who I really am but don’t often have time or opportunity to be. The challenge is for me to to move my real self more towards her!
