Even though there are a lot of handsome and pretty avatars, there are the borderline ones, and of course the "WTF Do you not ever look at yourself" ones. Each avatar's appearance is as different as the person controlling it - but I've noticed that some features are more widespread than others.
Lips are typically large in most female avatars. Is this really a trait of beauty? My avatar doesn't have pencil thin lips - but there are a lot of shapes roaming around the grid that look like they've been taking tequila shots all night. Pouty lips are one thing .. but these are ginormous.
Eyes seem to come in two variations: there's the "SURPRISE" and the "Damn the sun is bright today". That's it. You've either got these huge open eyes or they are really squinted. Of course I am basing all this on majority and not any one person in particular. Males seem to have a better handle on the eye situation, though.
And as much as I hate to go into it, boobs. Darlings there is a such thing as gravity, and wouldn't you know it they put that slider into the boob option in SL. Why does no one use it?! I see so many chicks roaming around with a friggin shelf for cleavage and its so horrid. I mean the armpit area of your shirts should not be crinkled - and even when you add gravity to your ta-tas most of the time skin makers will shade in cleavage so that you still have that 'shelf' look even after you've obeyed the laws of physics.
Legs anyone? Yeah stop running around like a stork in hooker heels and get a bit of perception of proportion when it comes to legs to body ratio! I just can't stress that enough. I get accused of being 'short' all the time - even though my avatar is about 5'5". I am NOT the short one, people! You're just too damn tall for your own good with your 6' legs! You aren't related to Wonder Woman so you aren't from Amazonia .. stop making your shape say otherwise!
There are plenty of other body parts yet to go. Hips are a delicate subject. I was once a victim of being under the influence of the prim skirt. There is no universal size for building prim skirts and therefore so many have opted to have waif thin Kate Moss avs just so they can wear that brand new skirt put out by InsertDesigner Here. Girls its not true! I can guarantee that if some of you models were to give yourselves some curves that designers would re-think their products and product proportions. There are plus size women IRL - and also in SL.
Speaking of models ... what exactly makes someone a model in SL? I've never been one, and I can't say I even know one but I see a lot of profiles that say "model". Is it their face, their body shape, the skins they wear to make their face look better? And in a world where good looks are only a slider click away .. why isn't everyone a model? Better yet why are there so many similarities in so many avatars if they are 'infinitely customizable' (and I refer mostly to shape)? What exactly defines beauty in a virtual world where the meaning of the word could be twisted shaped and molded into anything? Well I'll tell ya - its a bunch of people who all have similar traits but different flavors. Like ice cream! You know what ice cream is - and what it looks like but it just comes with slight alterations .. overall its all the same.
Because of all those 'problems' some people are totally bankin' off selling premade shapes. Why!? Its so friggin' easy to just move a couple sliders around yet people are going to spend more on a shape than they would a badass hairstyle. And those premade shapes rarely seem worth it to me .. one you normally can't modify them so if you want to just change how big your nose is .. too damn bad. Two - the fact of knowing that there is another chick out traipsing the grid that looks exactly like me is enough to make me want to NEVER buy a pre made shape.
Once upon a time folks used to hold building classes in SL - and I'm starting to ask myself if someone should host shape making classes. I guess I'm just against conventional beauty :/ Any thoughts?
