Post 6 Grrrl — GoSpeed Racer
by Alphaville Herald on 26/11/08 at 7:28 pm
[Sometimes you only have to be patient and wait … I have been looking for quite some time for a woman with a darker skin. This is about diversity, right? All I found was girls meeting all bad clichés – big booty bling chicks who looked like straight out of a 50 Cent video clip. And all the time I wondered where the ebony beauties with style and class and brains were. The answer was easy: right in front of my nose. GoSpeed – I knew her name from Plurk, her pictures from Flickr but I would have never imagined she would like to be featured as a Post 6. During last week's shoot at Night Flower, I managed to sneak a picture of her and when it rezzed I saw this beautiful avatar on my screen. And much to my surprise she agreed to pose for me, I jumped with joy! The pictures were taken in Aintree Common, one of the OpenSpace sims the future of which is still unknown. – Bunny Brickworks]
Oh where do I begin? Who I am and what I do seem like the best things to talk about in this article. I am a pretty straightforward person. I’ll tell you how I feel about something even if it makes you mad. I am a very loyal person and will protect my friends when they are being attacked; I am not, however, their mother either. I will protect your honor, but not your sensibilities.
I feel I am also a generous and compassionate person. I’ll give my time when you need help or are lonely. It bothers me very much when my friends are sad. Feeling sad and alone is a terrible place to be and I do what I can help. I used to help a lot of newbies but that has decreased a bit, as I have gotten much busier in my activities.
In my two years in SL I have experienced many emotions and have experienced so many things, good and bad. On the bad side I have experienced blatant and disguised racism. I am not black in RL yet it still bothered me a lot. The incredible insensitivity and narrow mindedness of it was just awful. I’ve had now former friends turn on me and stab me in the back. The same people who I have mentored, given shelter, given my time and my heart to. Unashamedly betrayed and then threatened by them in the wink of an eye.
Over what? The access to and acquisition of power. Yes, having control over or access to a person who controls a sim or a parcel will make some people cast you out and disparage your name. I am a firm believer of karmic retribution and of the saying that living well is the best revenge. Indeed, time has shown that having is not the same as wanting and your deeds do catch up to you.
On the good side I have met some truly wonderful souls. There are people in SL who will forsake their own interest to support you. Honor is something I truly treasure most of all and it is rarely shown. I would specifically like to recognize these people for their unwavering support for me in my trying times: Yxes Delacroix, Crap Mariner, Zoe Connolly, Grizzy Griswold, LaDonna Upshaw, Izabella Bentham and Kevin Ludwig. I know that at times I can be hard to deal with and I want to thank everyone else for putting up with me when I was at my worst.
What do I do in SL? I do a little bit of modeling here and there. I did enter the Miss SL Ebony 2008 pageant and got to the 3rd round (top10 out of 58 entrants). I am a very avid Flickr user and administer several pools to include Second Life Ebony, Second Life Video, and iheartsl.com and have started several niche groups as well. I am especially proud of the Second Life Ebony group with its 243 members. http://www.flickr.com/groups/sl-ebony/. I used to sail quite a bit but now I am into flying. Well the flying part will end soon what with the Open Spaces debacle. I am joining the RCAF and will fly off world with them on the IL2: Sturmovik flight sim. I also love music. I am a DJ for KONA Radio, http://www.konastream.com – currently one the most popular stations in SL. I play weekly at the Clocktower in Edloe and at Fibber Magee’s in Dublin. I am also an active blogger. I’ve participated in 4 blogs with the latest being my own blog, http://gospeedracer.wordpress.com.
In closing I want to give credit to Ravishal Bentham for his 2 years of constant support. Without him I simply wouldn’t be here, period. I am his opposite. Whereas I am a social butterfly who makes a big splash, he’s quite reserved and utterly dependable. Quiet guys like him unfortunately get overlooked a lot.
- GoSpeed
Seikatsu Koba
Nov 26th, 2008
@ GoSpeed – /me bows … very nicely said GoSpeed. I have only seeing you around here and there, and you did strike me as straight forward and fair person, I’m glad to learn that you consider yourself that way too. I think that I have only seeing three dark-skinned avatars, and yours is the most beautiful I have yet seeing; I especially like your red lipstick. I like the simplicity and sincerity of your post.
@Bunny – My absolute favorite shot is the the last one, it seems very natural the way in which she covers her breast, her hair, the title of her head, and the look in her eyes make it a great portrait. My compliments to you because I know by experience that is not all that easy to get that look in avatars eyes.
Crap Mariner
Nov 26th, 2008
/me salutes
Rania Laks
Nov 26th, 2008
“I have been looking for quite some time for a woman with a darker skin. This is about diversity, right? All I found was girls meeting all bad clichés – big booty bling chicks who looked like straight out of a 50 Cent video clip. And all the time I wondered where the ebony beauties with style and class and brains were.”
Where have you been hanging out that the only “black” avi’s you see fit that one stereotype?
Cesti Dagostino
Nov 26th, 2008
If it reached the point that one could tell it was racism instead of just the average insensitivity and backstabbing, then the racism must have been truly blatant. I just can’t believe people would extend it into Second Life. Then again, maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising: racists will be racists.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Nov 27th, 2008
“Where have you been hanging out that the only “black” avi’s you see fit that one stereotype? ”
In b4 ballers city
TOM
Nov 27th, 2008
Crap Mariner:
“I have been looking for quite some time for a woman with a darker skin. This is about diversity, right? All I found was girls meeting all bad clichés – big booty bling chicks who looked like straight out of a 50 Cent video clip. And all the time I wondered where the ebony beauties with style and class and brains were.”
Where have you been hanging out that the only “black” avi’s you see fit that one stereotype?
Sorry CM
“In closing I want to give credit to Ravishal Bentham for his 2 years of constant support. Without him I simply wouldn’t be here, period. I am his opposite.”
Because these are one and the same real life 30 something white man!
Carlito Teardrop
Nov 27th, 2008
Bravo, GoSpeed. What a refreshing and wonderful post!
Vint
Nov 27th, 2008
Go Miss GoSpeed!
Shui
Nov 27th, 2008
It is wonderful to see such a nice lady as Go is get the credits she deserves. There is no doubt about it Go is the classiest woman in SL! She is a great friend, a great sister, and a great person! To know her is to love her. I am so blessed to know here.
~Shui
Shui
Nov 27th, 2008
I am Shui by all accounts a successful artist that is both a woman and black person and I am here to testify that there racism in Second Life but then Second Life is part of the world.
Most racism is not overt! In about three years I have only had three blatant attacks. Twice I was called a N*gger and one I was told I should stick with my own kind. These cases are easy to deal with as you know up front who the enemy Is.
What is really hard to deal with is the subtle form or racism. I was asked to take part In a test and for a month I was Shui a fair skin red head. My shape was the same, my skin was same but much, much lighter and my hair was the exactly the same but red. I wore the same cloths just chose colours to match my new look. It was obvious form the beginning that white Shui was a hit. Dance clubs that dark Shui would sit all night sipping a drink, without being notice, became a place where white Shui had the pick of the litter. Maybe people just felt comfortable with a white girl or maybe black was not their colour, in any event they were initially judging me on the colour of my skin and that is racism! In the end I was happy to return to myself because if nothing else it is a quieter life.
I am not trying to paint all of Second Life as a cesspool of racism as it is not! I have made wonderful friends in world they range form furry fems to macho Gorean. They all share the similar traits of being kind and tolerant, much the same as good people in the world.
Finally, for what it is worth I have a small booty.
~Shui
Cai Pirinha
Nov 27th, 2008
“Maybe people just felt comfortable with a white girl or maybe black was not their colour, in any event they were initially judging me on the colour of my skin and that is racism!”
Are you daft? That’s not racism at all, but just sexual preference. It’s like going to a gay club in a female shape and then saying that all the guys there are misogynists because they hardly hit on you.
Reality
Nov 28th, 2008
Erm, Cai?
“Are you daft? That’s not racism at all, but just sexual preference. It’s like going to a gay club in a female shape and then saying that all the guys there are misogynists because they hardly hit on you.”
If you actually read the entire article, you’d see that GoSpeed was a frequent patron of that club – and was pretty much ignored until she changed skin tone.
Now, it may just be pure Sexual Preference …. but it may not as well. When an ENTIRE CLUB ignores you until such a time as you use a different skin tone …. that is a bit more than just Sexual Preference.
Personally? I’d probably hit on GoSpeed or any other female – real life as well – with a similar or slightly lighter skin tone. Why? Yes, it’s a sexual preference, one of many and not a requirement either. However, I do not totally ignore those that don’t fit the bill either. That is when it leaves the realm of Sexual Preference.
Shockwave Plasma
Nov 28th, 2008
You look fantasic GoSpeed
Jomin
Nov 28th, 2008
Oh, now this is a beauty. Thanks for the fap–I mean pictures, Gospeed.
Anonymous
Nov 29th, 2008
I’m shocked no wannabe PN have descended on this.
I’d take racism on SL with a grain of salt, on SL, they’re just words that can be ignored, and on the internet and general. Most racism is just trolls trying to rouse up the masses.
Scream the word “n-gger” (stupid censorshit) at an infohub and watch the insanity ensue, for example.
I hear more racist remarks in real life just in casual conversation than I do online, oddly enough.
Sophrosyne Stenvaag
Nov 30th, 2008
Go Go GoSpeed!
GoSpeed’s not just one of Extropia’s favorite DJs (come to her set at 10 am SLT on the Solstice in Extropia Core!), she’s incredibly funny, kind, and superlatively beautiful – in or out of that RCAF uniform! I’m glad to see her getting the recognition she deserves!
Moggs Oceanlane
Dec 4th, 2008
Love the pics… how did I miss this before? *shakes head*
Captain Netizen
Dec 10th, 2008
There has been an attempt at conducting research on racism in vitual worlds — see this article in Bella’s Memoir :- http://bellamemoir.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/social-psychology-of-racism-in-virtual-worlds/
I think that there is an objective and subjective side to racism. If we look at RL laws from various countries that ban racial discrimination – which implement an international treaty – the conduct that is targeted is often described with reference to both aspects.
I recently had the experience in SL of coming across a black-skinned avatar in a social setting, standing apart from the rest of the avies in the location. My avie has a tanned appearance. I said hello and was ignored. Was the black-skinned avie a social researcher taking a count of how many times they were greeted? Did the person dislike lighter-skinned avies (reverse racism)? Were they busy? Were they rude? Who knows. If people don’t give many signals, it is often difficult to know exactly what motivates their actions.
I find Shui’s story interesting, where her avie remained exactly the same except for the tone of the skin coloration. Yes, as Cai says, people do (and should be free to) express a preference in who they socialize with. Shui’s story suggests that the amount of socializing she experienced was based on her avie’s coloration alone. Is that racism? Maybe, depending on what goes on in the head of the person who is doing the choosing.
Archie Lukas
Dec 14th, 2008
Not bad,
not great either but not bad