Feminization and the intersexual order
I’m inside Second Life as I write this. Well, kind of. My screen is split, with a Word document open on one half of my monitor and the virtual world of SL open on the other. My avatar Cheri Horton is standing by herself inside a sex/fetish club that caters partially to the intersexual segment of the transgendered demographic on the grid. But there’s no one in here for about the third consecutive night that I’ve checked it out.
I’m here because over the past several days, I’ve been directing most, if not all, of my in-world time toward trying to come into contact with SL inhabitants who profess to being transgendered, particularly androgynes or those who are bigendered like yours truly. Users sometimes share this type of information with others in-world via their avatar profiles. They also may proclaim such persuasions indirectly by joining groups made up of fellow users who share similar preferences, tastes or lifestyles (be it in real life or Second Life) and whose names may appear on the group membership lists.
So, to save myself time and trouble in trying to find people and places that are of interest to me, I recently became a member of a few TG groups here in SL. So far, I’ve had some luck. A couple of days ago, in fact, one SL hermaphrodite who evidently spotted my name on the list of a group we both belonged to sent me an IM to say hello. Next thing I knew, I invited my new acquaintance into my SL castle and we ultimately wound up in the sack together. For the record, it was enjoyable.
But nookie aside, what I am finding somewhat perplexing so far is what appears to be the intermingling of intersexuality and sissification inside Second Life. They seem to go together like cookies and milk here. I don’t know why that is just yet. (For the sake of reference, from what I understand, sissification is synonymous with feminization, and it means ‘forcing’ a submissive male into the traditionally female role, such as through gender reassignment or cross-dressing.) So yeah, I guess it’s kind of strange because I’ve been involved with the shemale and cross-dressing ‘scene’ in real life, and I’ve never even heard a word spoken about sissification, let alone hearing it uttered repeatedly like inside SL.
But here in SL, this type of fetish seems significantly linked with intersexuality, based on the few experiences I have had so far. Example 1: the club I’m currently standing inside of tosses the words “sissy/shemales” into its in-world profile information. I’m guessing that’s supposed to tell users that this is a venue where genetically male subs can undergo sissification at the hands of shemales. Example 2: I had an IM conversation recently with a member of one of the TG groups here in SL, and the person was under the impression that I was new to Second Life, and therefore launched pretty quickly into questions about whether I wanted to be sissified or otherwise subjected to objectification/domme ownership. Example 3: the bigendered avatar I had the recent bedroom encounter with also was out to sissify.
Add it all up and it’s a little Stephen King-ish, if you ask me.
By the same token, there also is a very real possibility that I am misjudging, as I have only exposed myself to this side of SL for the past week, give or take, and have only come into contact with a mere handful of SL residents who include themselves in organized TG circles. It could very well be that the sissification phenomenon is specific only to members of TG groups. Maybe non-affiliated intersexual persons (or avatars) never utter a word about sissification. I don’t yet know. So take anything I write with a grain of salt at this early stage. I do intend to explore it and write about it further. Tactfully.
April 12, 2006 11:56
Once again, we mingle in different circles, but let me toss you my 2 cents.
All of the TG’s I have met have been shemales. I know of a few more realsitic shemales that my Mistress has encountered, because of pictures on her TV.
Now I also know when my Mistress flips to Male she is them Master and fully a guy for that time, no sissy stuff. Also I the only other TG I know well is a escort, and she will literally be what ever you want for the money, I am hoping to give her Herm form a go round when I got some extra L$.
But I guess the point is, it is proably just the people you have been around, none of the people I have been around have been into sissification at all, very few cross dressers even.
April 12, 2006 15:30
Interesting. I was looking into second life but was frustrated because it didn’t seem to allow for trans avatars. I’m a transwoman (male to female transsexual to be specific) and wanted to have a trans character there. Sort of like the Shallis character in Spider Garden (michael Manning’s work)
In any case, its interesting that there are trans groups in second life. I should give it another try. Do you have advice on how do get a trans avatar?
April 12, 2006 18:54
Hi Em. What you would have to do is custom-craft it yourself. Second Life issues only male and female avatars. On the bright side, you would have to customize your avatar anyway to engage in adult relationships, since the standard-issue ones lack genitalia.
Do you have advice on how do get a trans avatar?
Good question. I am currently dealing with this issue myself. I suspect when you say “trans” you are referring to the physical characteristics of a shemale. I think two basic options for you would be: to select a male avatar and make it look very feminine (eg. by purchasing a feminine skin with breasts); or select a female avatar and add very subtle masculine touches — and a penis.
Based on my experience so far, achieving a bigendered or androgynous look is not entirely easy to do. I’ve been toying with it and haven’t had much success yet. The good news is, it’s not impossible, either. To a relatively large extent, you could achieve almost any look you want inside SL, either by doing it yourself or by paying someone else in-world to do it for you.
Feel free to ask follow-up questions, as I have a keen interest in this topic and would be more than happy to answer. And to anyone else who’s reading this and has sound advice, feel free to chime in.
April 12, 2006 19:05
Hello Cinomed: Just so you know, I edited the language in the beginning of your comment because I felt it may have been a little too crude for some readers.
… none of the people I have been around have been into sissification at all.
Thanks for that input.
I guess I’ll have to see what’s what over time.
April 12, 2006 20:39
heh
That is fine I take no offense, and I am actually second guessing how crude I come off in SL a lot.
I guess a nicer way to say it, a loit of TG’s I know are the japanese ideal of it.
April 12, 2006 23:54
Ahh. You mean like so-called ladyboys? (no breasts, but with feminine looks and a penis)