No, He Really Is Just Happy To See You

Posted on February 8, 2007 by Scott Jennings| 15 Comments

From Wagner James Au’s latest attempt at arguing that Second Life isn’t all about the sex0r (emphasis mine):

Take the center stage of the very popular Barbie Club, for example. Were you to count the sexual content in this most adult of places, only the dancers’ costumes, their sensual animations, and their avatar genital attachments would qualify. (And that is stretching the definition, and assuming that wearing genitals is only for sexual expression.)

Mr. Au lives in a very wonderful, strange world. I wish I could visit, but when I tried I couldn’t figure out the interface.

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  • http://www.whatwouldmattdo.com Matt

    He’s a very impressive man. His all argument is that mundane items make sex clubs only 10% about sex. I think politicians would be proud.

  • http://ambernight.org Amber

    It’s like they’re not even trying anymore.

  • Vivianne Draper

    You guys didn’t know this? See if you go to a strip club irl, its not really about sex. First, you aren’t allowed to have sex there. And since the strippers make up only a small percentage of the club, its not really a strip club. The furniture and drinks, for example, are completely innocuous. Since that, plus fully clothed patrons and wait staff, make up 90% of the club, the club is simply a nice family bar that women who might take their clothing off happen to wander into once in a while. Geesh whats wrong with you people anyway. All you ever think about is sex!

  • http://overmoderated.blogspot.com/ GreyPawn

    His argument isn’t that sex clubs aren’t about sex. His argument is that Second Life’s economy isn’t all about sex. And he’s way underestimating the effect of sex on Second Life’s economy.

    It is totally about sex. But… then again, so is much of the real world economy. One of the given tenets of advertising products is that sex sells, be it cologne, cars or video games. And the same victorianesque mentality that would rail against the denizens of Second Life for creating and selling non-Ken and Barbie doll depictions of avatars would graciously ignore an Herbal Essences tv commercial filled with orgasmic moaning, before jumping back into a gory intestine-ripping FPS.

  • http://nwn.blogs.com Wagner James Au

    > I wish I could visit, but when
    > I tried I couldn’t figure out
    > the interface.

    If you did, you’d understand why it’s dubious to equate avatar genitals with avatar sex. Like the angels in Kevin Smith’s *Dogma*, SL avatars come into the world without genitals (or even nipples), so the choice of adding those is often for aesthetic or even gender identification purposes. (I’m met a lot of users who have them solely for either purpose, but not for sex.) Then there’s social activities which aren’t necessarily sexual, but are clothing optional, where wearing genitals is just part of the roleplay fun dresscode, as in Burning Life:

    http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/09/burning_the_bur.html

    There’s a reason why “Detachable Penis” is such a popular song with SL users.

  • scottj

    I did actually visit SL. That was what we call “a joke”.

    Also, I generally do not need to see someone’s penis to tell if someone is a girl or a boy.

  • http://www.cmdrslack.com CmdrSlack

    As far as gender identity goes Wagner, you know full well that someone wearing a prim wang in public would look like he was going “balls out” all day long.

    They don’t hide too well under clothes.

    So yeah, other than “nude beach” events, what’s the point of buying a prim cock?

  • http://nwn.blogs.com Wagner James Au

    But clothing optional events are very popular, actually, and they often aren’t sexual. So like King Missile says, you attach to feel complete. (And we haven’t even gotten into talking flaccid versus non-flaccid options.)

  • Evangolis

    Dude, quit telling me the sky is pink. It only happens in small patches once in awhile. Usually, the sky appears blue, most of the time the sun is shining. Trying to tell me otherwise just makes me wonder why you so desperately want it not to be.

  • Wendelius

    You can complain about SL being overhyped and the credulous press swallowing nonsensical numbers. But I find it equally sad that some sites really do their best to only talk about SL in terms of sex and numbers (although I’ll never argue on the clunky interface, having seen another newcomer wear a box last night :) ).

    Yes it’s overhyped. Yes there is sex. We get it. Keep mentioning it. But try and follow the less travelled path once in a while…

    There are other things in SL:

    Artificial Life simulation: http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/05/31/way-cool/

    A university campus (looks great. Now if they only allowed visitors :) ): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9VZKTT6gZ8

    Silly and just plain fun builds (Trekkies bait): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03dCKltq-vA

    My friends in SL are divided about 50 / 50 between those who take part in the sex industry (as buyers and/or content providers) and those who don’t and explore the other side of SL. And both feel at home.

    Personally, I enjoy all the content. And not all clothes optional gatherings are indeed sexual in nature.

    It’s been pointed out before and I’m sure the slant will remain. But hopefully some people do notice that there is more than marching penises to the world…

    Some blogs take a pretty mature view to both aspects of the world. Read http://cindyclaveau.wordpress.com/ for instance (not mine. Written by a friend). Sex is not the be all end all of even mature areas…

    Wendelius

  • perianwyr

    I wonder what percentage of SL’s economy you would consider gambling-related? It’s an anecdote, but every time I have ever logged onto SL that wasn’t for a specific event and went about searching for large groups of people, they were all in clusters in gambling halls- like they were studying some kind of Vegas Zen which involved contemplating the nature of a slot machine- not interacting with anyone.

    p.s. greypawn you bastard come play eve online ok

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  • Wendelius

    Ah well, I guess we now know why there is so much sex in SL. We sex crazed Europeans rule the roost: http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/02/09/europe-takes-lead-in-second-life-users/ :)

    “SECOND LIFE, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Europeans make up the largest block of Second Life residents with more than 54 percent of active users in January ahead of North America’s 34.5 percent, according to new Linden Lab data.

    U.S. residents made up only 31.2 percent of active Second Life users in the month. France has the second-highest number of users after the virtual world became a battleground for the country’s presidential election. ”

    Also a breakdown by country:

    “Active residents by country

    * United States 31.19%
    * France 12.73%
    * Germany 10.46%
    * United Kingdom 8.09%
    * Netherlands 6.55%
    * Spain 3.83%
    * Brazil 3.77%
    * Canada 3.30%
    * Belgium 2.63%
    * Italy 1.93% ”

    Nice to see my tiny country (Belgium) score nearly as big a presence as Canada. :)

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