Quite recently there was a lot of noise about female skins that depicted scars and bruises. Later we’ll discover that those were not skins but cloth layers, which does change some things about this touchy subject. But still, we’re confronting the issue of rape and violence in the role-playing.
Of course that we all have strong feelings about this, but our reactions vary. From disgust to agreeing that all the involved are consenting adults. Some people escape the trap by saying it’s the ToS matter and hurry up to call for banning. But that’s just coward’s way. Way not to deal with the real problem. The real problem is not in the existence of forced fantasy sims, nor in the cloth layers that depict beaten, tortured or raped person. Those are simply props and stages for role-play. Anybody with a bit of imagination and RP experience can do the rape and violence scene without them, even without second life. And those props and stages might be used for many other things than the rape RP. Some of those sims are great for for urban environment photos. As you see, perfectly clean PG sim can be used for rape role-playing and violence RP sim can be used for something completely different.
But let’s discuss rape and violence in art. Try to compare the rape scene in Irreversible
What this has to do with role-playing? Well, RP is some form of art. And, same as with the other art-forms, RP can have different motives and different effect to the participants and spectators. Using those skins or walking the streets of violent RP sims might be somebody’s way to overcome fears or unpleasant experiences, as it is used in psycho-drama. Or it might be a save outlet to a fantasy that is more common than we like to think. Yes, it can also be, and often is, a game of people with IMHO sick and deviant sexual drive, but…
Will banning the skins, devices and sims do anything about it? No, it won’t. It’s just an attempt to put the dirt under the carpet, to hide the symptom instead of curing the real problem. And that’s why I called it coward’s approach. Problem is not in the skins, toys or sims. Problem is not even in some individuals, though it manifests there. Problem is mainly in our society and culture.
I cannot but to think that something went very wrong with the world, seeing all the kinks around. Not only in second life. Web, TV and bedrooms are also playgrounds for many things one might find deviant. Researching what went wrong and who’s to blame would take a blog of it’s own, but, somehow, so often it traces back to the same organizations that preach "virtue" and are so loud against all the "deviances". Those same that are first to tell us how to behave and what is good or not. Those that find themselves clean enough to point their fingers and cry for banishing and forbidding of something.
But once we start "cleaning" hell will break lose. As somebody recently said, arguments for banning things are the same that were used for burning the books. And we all know where burning the books led and what were the consequences. For what it’s worth I’ll keep standing for the freedom of consenting adults to do whatever their will is. Even if I don’t like it or maybe even find it deviant.
[...] two more posts, not talking about LL decision but still related with it. What to do with rape role-playing and virtual [...]
This is a very interesting comment on the topics of skins with bruises and rape rp sims. I’ve decided for myself that I’m pro bruise skins and more insecure about rape sims, even though I in my own blog post decided I was against them. That’s because I’m afraid of the signals they send, and that they reproduce stereotypes about female and male sexuality. Saying that no, this is not okay, is a way to send a signal out to a world where men still dominates women far too much. That said, I still believe that to give information about and debate the topic is a far better approach than to call for banning – and that was also my main reason for my blog post: To point at it, tell everyone that it exists, and get them to start the debate. A well informed society is the best medicine.
Exactly. Let’s not lie to ourselves, whatever we do, that problem is far from being solved. It will take years if not generations. But that should not stop us from making a move. And if we make people think about it, not only in the terms of liking it or not or being indifferent, but as in thinking why some things are happening and why are they fairly popular, maybe we will make a significant move. Thank you for bringing the subject up.