Poor Dear Silly Spring

Poor, dear, silly Spring, preparing her annual surprise! ~Wallace Stevens

It’s coming! It’s coming! The sun is out, the snow is melting, the world is puddle wonderful! I admit I was starting to doubt with the many inches of snow, the never-ending unrelenting cold, and the fact that a groundhog bit the mayor of a town in my state. I know I am overdoing it with the flowers here, but spring is coming and I can’t wait!

TheAnnex is offering this lovely dress among others in their gacha at The Luck of the Irish Gacha that Depraved Nation is holding. There are a kazillion gachas full of all sorts of awesome stuff like this, so bring lots of change. My shoes are HauteCoutureDesign’s original mesh set, and they come with a HUD with six wonderful springtime colors with a darling t-strap design and a wedge heel.

I outfitted my parcel with this great gazebo from Winter Thorn, which also comes with a beautiful cozy fireplace, though I opted to use the more open one so I could take in the promise of spring in the air. I dropped in minor decorations from Sway Dench and a hanging mobile I picked up at Origami by gin Fhang.

Skin Fair opened at midnight and the sims were INSTANTLY jam packed. (Find all the details here.) You can find this gorgeous skin from Hart Larsson on Sim 1. As usual, he decorates the skin with a cateye liner and lovely lips and features, all hand-drawn and refined. And since Hart is a programmer himself, he managed to unlock every kind of major applier, including that for the Belleza body, so you can rest assured you are PXL top to bottom. My hair is one of Thora Charron’s newest, a lovely romantic look with a twisted lock that pulls to the back and beautiful waves, all with her clever texture-change HUD. And a branch of blossoms from Siestabril Nitely, also from Origami, completes the look and brings spring, finally, to my blog!

Hair: .LeLutka.Honor hair.M by Thora Charron for LeLutka *

Skin: [PXL] Aeryn SK ~ Makeup 04 LEB C2 by Hart Larsson for [PXL], available at Skin Fair *

Eyes: {D.A} – Marble – Deep by Soleil Reid for Dead Apples, available at The Men’s Dept.

Body: -Belleza- Venus V 0.02 by Tricky Boucher for –Belleza– *

Dress: The Annex – Spring Fling – Dress – Pink Floral byTheAnnex for The Annex, available at The Luck of the Irish *

Branch: SakuraAsobi-Shunmin-Hand by Siestabril Nitely for un Jour, available at Origami

Shoes: Poute Timber High Wedges by HauteCoutureDesign for Poute *

Poses by VestigeCreations for Vestige Poses *

Gazebo: {what next}Toscana Gazebo (with lights) by Winter Thorn for {what next} *

Décor:

• HEART – WILDFLOWERS – Buttercups and Daisies Display by Lilith Heart for Heart Garden Centre, available at FaMESHed
• Sway’s [Heart Birds] garden stake by Sway Dench for Sway’s *
• *:..Silvery K..:*tsurushi hina_TypeB(T) by gin fhang for Silvery K, available at Origami

To Tell the Truth

I remember when Truth Hawks was some back alley guy who would plop a wad of prims on your head for a couple hundred linden. Then he got to be a kind of underground sensation—people in the know shopped Truth. His store got overrun with hair—hair hair hair. He made it so quickly he grew out of the store. Forget the clothes and accessories—everyone wanted that hair. Now he’s a Big Deal with a store built by Barnesworth Anubis, massive traffic (more than Franks), and a huge rep. When people ask, “Where can I get hair?” the answer is always “Truth.” This is the thing: he’s still a nice guy. If I contact him (which I do seldom as I figure he’s busy), he always answers cheerfully and with <3s. Which just goes to show—nice guys CAN finish first.

The reason I share this is because Truth is opening a NEW sim on July 1 at 9 am slt, sharing space with several designer friends. With stores like Nardcotix, Curio, Mudhoney, League, Earthstones, Miel and Miamai, Truth is packing the sim with heavy hitters, and he could do this because HE IS A NICE GUY. How else could someone gather this caliber of designers?

Today’s look was made entirely from purchases on the new Truth District, which was built by the very charming Cory Edo. (She’s REALLY NICE too.) Big kudos to Sophia Harlow, who is doing all the grunt work for this. (Yes, she’s REALLY NICE.)

My dress is a fashionable and sexy piece from Milla Michinaga, who was the original daily look blogger (and my idol). From her blogging, she learned what needed to go into the best garments and she transferred that knowledge to her products. Exacting and fashionable, Milla always provides top notch stuff. (And she is SUPER NICE.)

My belt and sexy boots are courtesy of Gospel Voom, who makes high-quality shoes and accessories. Gos’ textures are unsurpassed and the versatility of his fat pack pieces are amazing (many color options on each piece of the item). Gos is .. UBER NICE. (And he is always up for a little randy repartee.)

My skin is one of Gala Phoenix’s newest releases. One of MANY. I saw all her new work and felt that sickness from eating too much candy—it’s all so delightful. I wore this particular skin because it’s cute but the name really appealed—Grouch. (I want no comments from you, Callie.) Gala’s skins have become.. luminous is the best word I can think of. I am so glad she has moved in this direction. And Gala? WICKEDLY NICE.

My eyes are from Hart Larsson, who is also selling skins on Truth’s sim. I love their brightness and opacity. Hart is a TRULY NICE man (and a great artist). My poses are from Katey Coppola, who is SASSILY NICE. My hair is Truth’s GIFT to us all. In fact, many of the designers are going to be offering gifts in celebration of the opening. You HAVE to join the Truth Update Group to click on the special vendors and they will only be out til July 5.

Below TPs go directly to stores in Truth District.

Hair: >TRUTH< Becky – quince by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH<, gift at the Truth District

Skin:  :GP: Petal [Dark] Pout-Grouch 1 by Gala Phoenix for Curio, available at the Truth District  *

Eyes: [PXL] SOUL  Eyes – Blue (M) by Hart Larsson for PXL Creations, available at the Truth District

Dress: MichaMi: Leather Dress in Black by Milla Michinaga for MichiMi, available at the Truth District

Belt: [Gos] Cinch-Belt – FATPACK by Gospel Voom for Gos, available at the Truth District *

Cuff and earrings: erratic / cuff / silver (L) and erratic / hoop earrings / silver by Erratic Rain for erratic, available at the Truth District

Boots: [Gos] Curvaceous Boot – FATPACK by Gospel Voom for Gos, available at the Truth District *

Poses by Katey Coppola for glitterati, available at the Truth District

Sweet Surrender

I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. ~ Aerosmith

One set of images that have left the mainstream grid, for the most part, is the sight of people in alternative lifestyles doing their thing. BDSM players, ponygirls, burlesque dancers, latex lovers, furries—they have, for the most part, been consigned to what some call the ghetto—Zindra. SL has been wiped clean and sanitized, presumably for the couple hundred of kids who migrated over from the Teen Grid. (And who could find much worse on the Internet all on their own.)

Really it was sanitized for all of us. I admit I don’t miss seeing some big burly avatar dragging his slave girl around a store as she hopped up and down from nadu to standing like some inane bunny. But let’s not forget one of the engines that made SL what it is today: sex. The sex industry made the need for great fashion, for scripted furniture, for sexy skins, for crazy-high shoes and for skyboxes. The biggest earners in SL—even before Anshe Chung—was Stroker Serpentine. And he made his money off of sex beds. We built this city on .. well.. sex.

I honor that with this outfit from LeeZu Baxter, who came out with a whole series of inventive pieces under a line name of “BDSM” a few months ago. I love this piece with its combination of burlesque and bondage, from the collar to the big fishnet stockings (which DO terminate at the ankle) to the corset to the ropes around the wrists. Is she domme or sub? What is she speaking of when she finds her “sweet surrender”–the chance to free herself of restraint with her sub or the chance to surrender to her dom? Her 11” platform heels from Viktoria Brandenburg tell you she is not just dressing up—she means business.

The best skin for such an intense look—sexy, fierce, detailed—is one from Hart Larsson. For some reason, I always take Hart’s out when I am showing lingerie or something sexy. I am guessing I am drawn to using it because of the detail he pays to the skin—from the collarbone to the butt cheeks to the shoulder blades and knees. Additionally, he allows you to add makeups to make the skin look completely different. Here I wear bright red glossy lipstick. I just received these new alluring eyes from Ikon Innovia, who is dipping into more fantastic colors and combinations.

It doesn’t matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses. ~ Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Hair: …:::Beautiful Dirty Rich:::… Aiden Hair Black by Cameron Vasiliov for B.D.R.

Skin: [PXL] GAIA SK CE DEB C2 with [PXL] GAIA SK Red Lips (Tattoo) by Hart Larsson for [PXL] *

Eyes: FASHISM ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Light Lagoon (ML) by Ikon Innovia for FASHISM *

Outfit: [LeeZu!] BDSM Sablier /black by LeeZu Baxter for LeeZu! *

Nails: [PM]Sculpted Nails V3. – Jori Edition by Tya Fallingbridge for Pixel Mode

Shoes: VvB HEDONIC 11″ Platform Heels BLACK V4 by Viktoria Brandenburg for VvB *

Influence and Appropriation

A young woman came into a fashion group chat and asked for “authentic African” wear available in SL. It really made me shudder. That’s like asking for authentic American wear. It’s an entire continent. Additionally, what this person might consider being “authentic” might simply be an “authentic” representation of the same old (racist/imperialist/ignorant) memes. Let’s face it—nothing in SL is “authentic”—it’s a representation of something else. We are influenced by and appropriate images and ideas from the rest of our literate, privileged culture(s) and bring them into SL and make sense of them in THIS platform. That’s what makes SL so interesting.

That whole thought process (and by the way, she didn’t quite get why people were not helping her—because most were thinking the same as me.. “authentically African? WTF does THAT mean?”) made me wonder about the outfit I have on.. clearly “Indian” influenced—or is it? The texture on the top from Miffyhoi Rosca has a pattern that looks Indian and she calls the outfit “India.” But would an Indian woman wear this? (Well chances are one would because many Indian woman dress pretty fashionably.) Even zooming in on Zaara Kohime’s necklace made me think. Her textures seem more like Chinese cloisonné rather than anything specifically Indian. I know Zaara lives in India; I know cloisonné is pretty much an east Asian thing. What IS authentically “Indian” and then what is authentic virtual Indian?

I won’t run Hart Larsson’s skin through this analysis. He got a little cultural critique for one of his skins already from me (and I will say he came back and discussed it with me in a very friendly fashion, which I appreciated tons). This skin is simply beautiful and a testimony to Hart’s artistry. He makes all his skins from scratch, hand-drawn, by the way. I have seen some of his other art and he really truly is an artist (in his spare time, when he’s not being a code poet). And Truth Hawks is known for his “real” hair. Not sure what he does to make it so—is it the randomly placed flexis like hair escaping from a braid, the great textures with variable tints running through the strands, or is it something else..?

What is “authentic” when you’re talking about cultural representation?

Hair: >TRUTH< Cecilia – treacle by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: [PXL] GAIA SK CE DEB C3 with [PXL] GAIA SK Passion Lips (Tattoo) by Hart Larsson for [PXL]*

Eyes: FASHISM ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Deep Hazel (ML) by Ikon Innovia for FASHISM *

Top: =Zenith=India2 outfit(TFG#8) by Miffyhoi Rosca for Zenith

Pants: [Miseria] Bitter Jeans – Dust by Miseria Daines for [Miseria]

Necklace: ZC : Karmuka necklace *colored silver* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Shoes: Zaara : Ilaida Mojri *turquoise* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Stone Rollin’

Fat lady shakin’, backbone breakin’ (come on)
(This girl of mine)
Everything she’s got is movin and hot (come on)
(This girl of mine)…

You don’t call her fat but that girl is stacked
(she’s got my mind)
Everything is wide–she walk with much pride
(she’s got my mind)

There was no way to prepare
Nothing I could see
All I saw was a woman
Walking up to me

~ Stone Rollin’ by Raphael Saadiq

There’s a song I have been hearing on KCRW for a few months that finally got released so I can link to it. I have wanted to blog this song for a long time because this is the woman I know a lot of us are, and I know a lot of men love.

I have dressed myself up in a dangerously short dress (to show those great legs) from Monica Outlander. A fuller woman can pull this look off quite well—she has the assets to make a dress like this look hot. Kalnin’s shows, with their versatile HUD, which includes colorways for skin, nails, and the shoes themselves and a full menu for resizing makes this look easy to finish.

My shape is from Xme Xue, who produces beautiful sexy full-figured avatars for women who want to be more than stick thin. What’s brilliant is that Hart Larsson’s newest skin, Gaia, fits perfectly over this sexy shape. I wore his skin in V2.6 so I could pile on the layers—hairbase, eyes, and lips—to make this sexy and sultry look. Wild curly hair from DBS Heart completes me.

I say, Booty Woman, you turn me loose.
I need to go home, I can’t stand your moves.
You see your high heels are killin’ me
It’s like your bad ass thighs are shakin’ me. (oh yeah)

Hair: ::DBS::Strength-Ebony by DBS Heart for Bishwear

Skin: [PXL] GAIA SK SE DEB C2 with [PXL] GAIA SK Hair (Tattoo), [PXL] GAIA SK Lilla Eyes (Tattoo) and [PXL] GAIA SK Cyclamen Lips (Tattoo)by Hart Larsson for [PXL], available at the Skin and Shape Expo *

Shape: ZANA – Lush AAS – 2011 by Xme Xue for Ample Avi, available at the Skin and Shape Expo *

Eyes: FASHISM ‘Sunrise’ Eyes – Deep Blue (ML) by Ikon Innovia for FASHISM *

Dress: Miamai_WildThing Minidress_ Extrablue by Monica Outlander for Miamai *

Ribbon: =DeLa*= Ribbon “Keira” by Kuranosuke Kamachi for *=DeLa*=

Shoes: Kalnins Shoes – Prima from Kalnins

Poses by Rogan Diesel for Diesel Works Animations *

Photo’d in Second Life V2.6.3 (227447)

Love

Let us discuss “love.” I thought a lot about this. I consulted books, I read poetry, I considered philosophy and history and religion, and I thought about whom I love and who loves me.

I came to this conclusion: love, for me or from me, makes me a better person. I realize the people who love me, elevate me and make me elevate myself. It’s in the giving and receiving of love—romantic, motherly, friendship, brotherly–that I work towards being my best self. The positive reinforcement of love, the support it provides, the safety net, the acceptance I receive—it all nourishes me. In return, I can give back the same because I receive it and I can nourish others.

That being said, Valentine’s Day is really for amorous lovers, so I have a few things specifically for lovers here. First of all I show a bed from Froukje Hoorenbeek, who recently decided to spice up her offerings with a few love-making beds. I specifically say “love-making” as opposed to sex because it is evident from the features that Froukje includes, these beds are not for one-night stands. The beds include ample numbers of couple’s sex sets, all very nicely animated (from what I could tell with my one avatar) and all seemingly more geared towards a woman’s taste—lots of women’s pleasure as well as men’s in these poses, all I’m sayin’. The bed also includes lots and lots of cuddles and some solo poses, that you see above. Get one for your new home with your Valentine and make love all night long ;)

Another amorous item for Valentine’s is lingerie and I show one of camilla Yosuke’s newest releases here. With its innocent lace and flower styling, this set would be perfectly innocent except she makes the material sheer, allowing a sexy peekaboo that would race any woman’s lover’s heart. Camilla is all about the details—the lace around the edges, the garter holding a stocking that is pulled up (not straight across), a seam up the back of the stocking. Tell me your Valentine wouldn’t love this!

Finally, I wear Hart Larsson’s newest skin for this shoot, mostly because I didn’t get a chance to show off the beautifully drawn body and sensuous lips. I did not wear one of the eye shadows the sells with the skin this time. There was no need. Hart draws beautiful expressive eyes.

I shot this series of photos in a skybox made by Gin Galtier. Gin is an expert at making small, intimate spaces. This loft, with its high ceilings and ballet bars running down one wall, is a nod to the conversion of industrial spaces into work and living spaces for urban areas. What I don’t show (and should but there is only so much real estate on my blog here) is a beautifully made window looking out into an urban courtyard, giving the entire space the touch of authenticity it needs.

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” ~ Morrie Schwartz

Hair: >TRUTH< Francesca – auburn by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: [PXL] Linda G3 NAT RoseLips DEB by Hart Larsson for [PXL] *

Lingerie: Amy White and Purple Lingerie Outfit by INSOLENCE by camilla Yosuke for Insolence *

Bed: Dutchie adult bed green II by Froukje Hoorenbeek for Dutchie *

Skybox: elefantu – Converted Ballet Studio Skybox Apartment by Gin Galtier for elefantu *

Rights

Thomas Hobbes has an interesting, brutish argument about rights: we have no rights except that the Authority or the State give us. “Inalienable” rights don’t exist. In SL that’s totally true (unlike in RL where rights ARE inalienable—go Egypt!) You simply can’t do stuff unless the client/server/LL let you. You’re simply not going to rez if the client ain’t havin’ it. You’re not logging in if LL shuts down the servers, period. And you’re not moving my prims unless I give you the right to.

What amazes me as I scroll down my list is how many people have given me the right to mess with their stuff, a function of the structure of SL. Raven has, of course. But also a famous builder in SL, a few shop owners, and some nice friends. I could literally blow away someone’s sim with these powers—but I don’t. Why? Well, first, they also have rights over my things and could return the favor. But that’s not a deterrent really. There is trust there—and respect. I respect the work they have done immensely and would NEVER touch it. In fact, I work especially carefully when I know I am around prims belonging to someone who has given me edit rights. They gave me the rights, but I handle those rights with respect. It’s a mutual set of responsibilities, a careful balance that seems to work 99.9% of the time across SL.

Enough of my ruminating (and there was more to come.. I erased several paragraphs). One thing that is important we have been given is the right to dress up our avatars. (And remember, what LL gives you as “rights,” like attachment points, layers, etc., is purely a function of what is in their best interest economically.) I wear this shorty short, drop-shoulder sweater from Hina Cheri over cute striped tights from Fae Erickson. This seems a good outfit for the season—a little push for spring without being too cold, cinched with a handsomely stylish belt from sachi Vixen. I will concede the sweater has some difficulties—the prim had to be adjusted several times, the sides wrap around oddly on the leg. Nevertheless it’s a cute fashion statement.

I have me some cute boots from Pixieplumb Flanagan, who offers stylish footwear at an affordable price. She has given me the right to change colors on these lovelies with a mere click of the sock or boot. Mirja Mills does the same with the hat and scarf of this lovely new release from her. I love her natural hair color!

The biggest right I received today was the right to show you Hart Larsson’s newest release, Linda. As per his other skins, this is a hand-drawn piece of work with sensual detailing and Hart’s own aesthetic preference for a woman with more defined and sophisticated features. I have put the cat eyes on over the regular makeup. Hart ingeniously decided to offer a base skin with lip colors and then eye shadows that can be worn on the tattoo layer (unlike many who offer lip choices for eyes on makeup). I am  not sure which I prefer—having eyes or lips separate.

Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don’t give up the fight. ~ Bob Marley

Hair with Scarf: .:EMO-tions:. * NELE * /naturals with NELE shawl by Mirja Mills for .:EMO-tions:. *

Skin: [PXL] Linda G3 TAN WineLips LEB with [PXL] Linda G3 TAN Cat Eyes (tattoo 2.x) by Hart Larsson for [PXL] *

Sweater: “:::BaLaC:::”Kinit one-piace WHITE by Hina Cheri for “:::BaLaC:::”

Belt: Adam n Eve Sculpts – San Belt Charcoal by sachi Vixen and Damen Gorilla for Adam n Eve

Leggings: *Fishy Strawberry* Woolen Tights – Pink Stripes by Fae Eriksen for *Fishy Strawberry*

Boots: BM Shannen Boots – Browns by Pixieplumb Flanagan for Baby Monkey *

Boring

Saturday Night
We look alright
We’re going out
Boring.

Paris, France
Londontown
NYC
Boring.
Nothing thrills us
Anymore
No one kills us
Anymore
Life is such a chore
When it’s….
Boring

I really hate when people jump into group chat and say, “I’m bo-ored,” don’t you? How can you possibly be bored in SL? If you are, log off. Yet the coolness of bored seems to pervade some venues. I don’t get bored, especially when you can change your look every day.

Today I have put on an assortment of pieces to equal the girl in black. First a new top from Nyte Caligari, who continues to put quality content into SL after all these years, never stopping, always improving. I love the asymmetrical nature of this top. Then we have this spangled skirt from Ivey Deschanel (who rocks the glitter in her textures). I pulled on opera gloves from Anemysk Karu for a touch of glamour and hooked in earrings from Linka Demina for a bit of fabulousness.

Today I have put together an assortment of pieces to equal the girl in black. First a new top from Nyte Caligari, who continues to put quality content into SL after all these years, never stopping, always improving. I love the asymmetrical nature of this top. Then we have this spangled skirt from Ivey Deschanel (who rocks the glitter in her textures). I pulled on opera gloves from Anemysk Karu for a touch of glamour and hooked in earrings from Linka Demina for a bit of fabulousness.

Then I pulled on these cyberfantastic boots from ono Zinner. The brilliant thing about this set are the animations in the soles and running up the backs of the zippers, and the great HUD for changing the colors of the details to whatever you like. The texture of the boots can be changed to four different styles (I am wearing black carbon here), and there are 10 available animations for the soles. How can you be bored when you can find fantasy boots like these?

Nothing thrills us
Anymore
No one kills us
Anymore
Life is such a chore
When it’s….
Boring
(when it’s boring)
Nothing thrills us
Anymore
No one kills us
Anymore
Life is such a chore
When it’s….
Boring
~ “Boring” by The Pierces

Hair: 99Hair -Kerry v3 –r2 by Emelie Carter for 99 Elephants

Skin: [PXL] Dafne SK Twiggy Makeup MEB by Hart Larsson for [PXL]

Top: Nyte’N’Day – Catawampus Shirt (complete) – Black/Almond by Nyte Caligari for NyteNDay

Skirt: :::Sn@tch Confetti Mini Skirt (Black)::: by Ivey Deschanel for Sn@tch

Earrings: [ glow ] studio Bitterness Earrings TDRblue by Linka Demina for [glow]

Gloves: [glow] Gloves Duo Tone – Black Satin by Anemysk Karu for [glow]

Boots: [NeurolaB Inc.] Evolution Hi-Boots Black Electro V3 by ono Zinner for [NeurolaB Inc.]

Memories in a Box

“I imagined a small lacquered box inlaid with silver and gold in a pattern of curling waves, inset with silver cranes. Into this imaginary box I placed all my memories… and secretly tucked it away in my heart.”
~ from The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby

As the year closes, I will tuck into my box a few wonderful memories—the thank you from Marianne McCann at SL7B, the last views of my beautiful villa on Avant Garde before I took it down, the way RFyre looked when we first remodeled it, the day I got a proposal from Callie saying, “C’mon, you know what you to” in my email, how fun it was modeling for SC Tracy and then meeting him and Raven and Nevar and Amethyst and Cashel in Florida.

The beautiful fictional Murasaki reminded me of this with her words. Therefore I choose to show a dress as elegant and regal as Murasaki, made by Nicky Ree. Leave it to Nicky to still be able to come up with a dress that makes this jaded old fashionista still gasp with wonder. The textures are absolutely exquisite and the prim building is, as always with Nicky’s work, rock solid. Nicky’s translucent textures make the most of alpha clash, allowing the beautiful flowered train under the sheer overcoat to shimmer through when the flexis move. The front skirt includes the magnificent vision of a phoenix embroided on these royal robes. If this is a peek of what Nicky will be doing in the coming year, 2011 will be a great year!

I have donned one of  Hart Larsson’s newer skins, which he has fashioned with an eyeshadow layer as the makeup for the skin rather than a different lip color. I wonder which is more successful on the grid—optional lipstick or optional eyeshadows. I wear a retired hair from Elikapeka Tiramisu, who has blessedly come back to make more such beautiful pieces.

“Though the body moves, the soul may stay behind.”
~Murasaki Shikibu

Hair: ETD Loraine 2 – Black by Elikapeka Tiramisu for ETD (sadly no longer available but her new styles are at Elikatira)

Skin: [PXL] Kasumi SK BlushLips with [PXL] Kasumi SK Black Eyes by Hart Larsson for [PXL]

Dress: *DNR* Phoenix Costume in Black by Nicky Ree for Designing Nicky Ree *

Earrings: Kunstkammer Black Forest Earring by Nuala Shippe (no longer available)

The Male Gaze

When I was in college studying theater one sad last senior semester (when you take classes like “Feminist Theater”), I bumped up against the “male gaze,” which was a theory proffered by Laura Mulvey (quite a while ago) that the audience for films is always put in the perspective of men, specifically straight men. That is, when we see a movie, we always see it through a straight man’s eyes. A scene will linger on the beauty of a woman and will do so as if a straight man were looking at her as opposed to another woman, for example. (I would argue that one of the reasons men in SL don’t have a lot of hair choices is because the male gaze insists on the decoration and objectification of women first. Look at it this way—the hegemony of the male gaze makes those boobs come out so darn big and insists on cleavage skin, k?)

What do you do, though, when the gaze is not straight? It could be argued that gay men have a certain power in our society, much more so than ever before. What about the gay male gaze? Of course, I am stereotyping the gay’s gaze (I couldn’t resist that pun) with this ensemble. (After all there is a whole spectrum of desire and taste within the gay community.) This particular version of desire shows an uber-masculine man displaying his masculinity in a very overt manner with bright colors, tight, revealing clothes, and rich details.

Shea Paule, a gay man made this outfit, so presumably it is what he would like to see on other men. I *really* love the Carnaby Street pants (thanks, T, for the reference), the low slung belt, the um.. prim package included with the pants, the open shirt and its rich pumpkin color. Check out how these pants fit on our guy—they are just tight and just right. It could be argued your average straight guy just could not pull this off but a strong and confident gay man make this look hot.

I wear one of Hart Larsson’s deliciously masculine skins. I like Hart’s work because it is hand drawn and not overdone. Our guy is clean cut, but still strong, not stubbled but still masculine. Tousled tresses from Truth top our tantalizing tiger. A great necklace from Jon Ree provides the perfect amount of decoration and aviator glasses from Guu Nishi hide where our male chooses to gaze.

You know what they say:  You can’t teach a gay dog straight tricks.  ~ from South Park

Hair: >TRUTH< Jason – cocoa by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: [ PXL] Daniel NAT Face00 Dark by Hart Larsson for [ PXL ] *

Shirt: HardWear “Bewildered” Shirt (pumpkin) by Shea Paule for HardWear *

Pants: HardWear “Nightshade” Pants/Waistcoat (amber) by Shea Paule for HardWear *

Glasses: HOC – Aviator style glasses #003 Male by Guu Nishi for HOC

Necklace: MTP Sly Fox necklace by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Shoes: Colbert – Brown (Copy OK, No Transfer) by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers *