Photo courtesy: Maxim Magazine
Folks I love Second Life as much as anyone who games in-world, but something is drastically wrong with Maxim Magazine’s nod to avatar chicks. My initial reaction to stumbling upon the info that Maxim had placed Second Life (SL) female avatars as #95 on their hot 100, I was really excited. But after my initial elation, reality sunk in.
I found it troubling that many women (and men) who create avatars in SL do it on a platform of what they deem is societal perfection. Let’s face it, everyone wants to be desired and being desired physically is at the top of most people’s list (if they’re being truthful). Desirability is an aspect of the human condition. But the underside to that is the overemphasis on outward appearance in our society. Placing physical attraction above other qualities tends to not only dampen our humanity but influence how we treat ourselves and others. To illustrate this, I go back to the reason why I went from elation to deflation about the Maxim honor.
The next day while watching Keith Olbermann, a segment came on about Maxim’s infamous unattractive list. Sarah Jessica Parker (best known for her role as Carrie on Sex and The City) topped the list as the most unattractive woman in entertainment (according to Maxim). Rounding out the top four were Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy), Jazz hip hop singer, Amy Winehouse, and Britney Spears (whom ironically made their hot 100 list a couple years back). Set aside the fact that making an unattractive list based solely on appearance is disgusting in itself, more troubling is that as you go further down the list it becomes apparent there is a trend.
Photo courtesy: Maxim Magazine
Black, Asian and Jewish women are simply not appealing (according to Maxim). So, I looked again at their ode to Second Life avatars with renewed clarity. No offense to the creator of that avatar, but she’s not unique in SL. There are a billion and one avatar chicks that look just like her. Conveyor belt Pamela Anderson look-a-likes with dreams of virtual paparazzi attention. She’s blond, tanned, blue-eyed with obnoxious boobs and a small waist. There’s nothing unique about her appearance or what she represents to the world. Which makes her, not only boring but baseless for praise in a widely circulated magazine such as Maxim.
So now, they have the distinction of being a publication that lauds a fake woman as being more attractive than a talented real woman.
As Maxim confirms, even the virtual world is not saved from the ever-reaching bias of superficiality and the worst of social conditioning. It looks sad for the next generation if we don’t start valuing what lies beneath rather than what shows on the surface. There’s so much more to women than a face and body. As a special man once said, “There is beauty to be found in all women.”
Maybe the editors of Maxim should consider that before placing such unsavory judgments and praises on people for reasons that have absolutely no merit.
Well…. a magazine that puts an avatar on the attractive list which everybody can make and Amy Winhouse on the bottom is probably run by people that never get turned on by a female.Therefore the list isn’t really useful.On the other hand, one thing that bothers me tremendously in American TV like Americas next Top Model, is this trend for racial equality so there are always equal numbers of black and white and I think that is silly, because what if in one show the best 5 models were black and then 3 good whites after them, should they then send 3 black girls and 1 white home so no body can feel intimidated by unfairness?To be honest, I would rather go for a purple girl if she had everything else in favour to a white girl, or a black girl or asian or whatever. So equality is a discrimination in it self.Good blog Noelani, I’m looking forward to read more :)Hölli.
And also.All those silly folks that participate in the very popular “let’s give Britney some shit”, should rather focus on all those well paid yes ass kissing people that have helped her going this way.