Examining Gender, Race and Body Image in a Virtual World

this is what my avatar originally looks like.

got talking to someone in no time. We did some birdwatching together. 

actually became friends.

changed my appearance to a woman.

this fella did not want to talk to me.

neither did this hula hooping lady.

this dancing girl, however,  wasn't afraid to converse.

became friends with her too.

changed my avatar to an african american man with tattoos.

this girl didn't talk to me.

only got a hello out of this one.

I had the most success with my original avatar. It was a white male. The first person I talked to I was able to strike up a conversation. We talked for a few minutes before I moved on. I had a bit of a hard time at first getting someone to talk to me while I was a female. Two people rejected me before someone responded. The third avatar I picked I barely got any responses from. Perhaps it was because the avatar was technically a vampire lol. I didn't realize it was a vampire until after. At first glance though the avatar did look normal. This was my first time conversing with people other than my classmates on second life. It was nice branching out. I made two new friends in the process.