Second Life Female Boxers Outnumber Men 2:1
by Pixeleen Mistral on 25/06/07 at 8:43 pm
SLB Crowns New Champions and Other Things You Didn’t Know
by Jimbo Quality, Military Travel Desk Deputy Officer
Punching through the lag
Saturday night I was just about to plant my ass in a nice camping chair over at Parrothead Gamers (ParrotHead Cove 128, 128, 27) when someone IM’d me and asked if any of the “Herald War Reporters” were online. I wondered what they were talking about and why they were IMing me, when I remembered that I am a Herald Reporter and have access to such info. Never been trusted with that kind of responsibility before, I was nervous. It’s like when Deputy Fife answers Andy’s phone.
I TP’d to the office and looked at the official Herald Reporter tracking device. It was a choice between me, editor Pixeleen, Prok, and aurel Miles the sex columnist. “You got me or the sex girl,” I replied.
“That’s ok, we got it,” they said.
I offered them Prok. Still no.
Intrigued, I begged until they let me come cover whatever they were doing, and with obvious reluctance they sent me a TP. I landed at the start of a championship fight in SL Boxing. In a title bout that 99% of the residents of Second Life knew nothing about, Akayla Ayakashi and Katty Nakanihon won the SLB Women’s Boxing Teamed Champions Title Belt at the SLB gym on Long Island (235, 245, 22). Honestly, I was surprised to learn it was going on, and I was there.
Sarah Vega enjoys being ‘the shit’
The combatants, four women, two to a team, hopped into a very nice ring and chased each around for several minutes wailing and flailing at one another whenever they came close enough to wail and flail. After two minutes of furious fisticuffs, our announcer, SLB PRO 6.6c Boxing System Attachment, and his partner SLB BOXING SYSTEM v6.51, shouted “Areth Gall has been KO’ed by Akayla Ayakashi!”
Later, Drev Vega explained that “The system is an attachment worn on the chin, you train to progress in levels which gives you points to spend in 3 stats. Strength, Defense, Speed.” Then someone explained to me that Vega had won the men’s solo championship earlier in the night. I called him “Sir” the rest of the night.
Are you ready to rumble?
There is an amateur division and a professional division. Once you accumulate enough points as a fighter you get the option of moving up. You can actually improve by training and in fact I met a professional SL fighter trainer, Donnell Chapman. Since training, from what I heard, is just a matter of “Wear the system and /1 train” I’m filling out my application for the position of professional fighter trainer as soon as I file this story on the mojo wire. Female boxers outnumbered male boxers in the room at least two to one.
I listened to many more people tell me lots of nice things about boxing. I met Chanel Alcott, the Amateur Women’s Champ, who is actually trained by Donnell Chapman. She looks forward to turning pro and fighting her way to the top. Alcott says that boxing “gives me an adrenalin rush and a purpose in life. I work hard through dedication and determination..and owe it all to my fiancé Joe and my inner strength.”
Another boxer, Sarah Vega, related that she enjoys “winning and being the shit.”
Beavis Tuppakaka, owner of SLB gym, explained that people wishing to get started with the sport “purchase the slb amateur public system and train their way to level 100 at which point they may ask to go pro for free and earn pay at pro shows.” (It is my understanding that the system is in the ballpark of 1500 lindens).
Talking trash outside the ring
As I said, many more people talked to me, and all of them were enthusiastic about the sport. And I can understand that, it did look like fun. By then though I had maxed out my reporter skills and hard started to hum and do a softshoe shuffle ball change step over and over, which I really didn’t believe I actually did during interviews until Pixeleen showed me the videos. I made my usual “Gotta go, crapped my pants” excuse and got out of there so I could get back to Parrothead, get a good chair and wrestle this story into submission.
So there you have it. Jimbo Quality, ace reporter, scooping the sex desk yet again.
Vote for Jimbo
Nacon
Jun 25th, 2007
You don’t seem to realizes that some of those ladies are guys in RL?
mootykips
Jun 25th, 2007
*all, Nacon.
Actually, I quite like Jimbo’s articles. He turned himself into shota to investigate ageplay or some shit before, it was like one of those Dateline hidden camera investigations. Jimbo, you should be a PN psy-ops guy. It’s an awesome job. It’s got awesome pants.
GW
Jun 25th, 2007
Nacon said “You don’t seem to realizes that some of those ladies are guys in RL?”
SOME?? 70% minimum are dudes I would wager, just like the rest of SL
Anonymous
Jun 25th, 2007
The female avs all belong to men who are jerking off to this.
Anonymous
Jun 25th, 2007
One surefire way to spot a guy, is if they have really thin hips and big breasts, at least one of them up there in the pictures is like that.
Brent Recreant
Jun 25th, 2007
I find it funny to a guy that cybers with an SL woman. I guess they don’t realize they are having gay cyber-sex.
Tenshi Vielle
Jun 25th, 2007
I think I’m glad I blatantly ignored that IM.
Prokofy Neva
Jun 25th, 2007
I’m still trying to figure out the military angle to this story?
Mark
Jun 26th, 2007
I’m glad I don’t live in a constant shroud of fear that “men” hiding around every corner like you idiots do. But I guess you’re all speaking from experience eh? Sorry that Herman the 44 year old bread truck driver turned out to be a woman. Get over it. God will forgive you.
Get a new line fuckwits. It’s stale, like your genitals.
Nacon
Jun 26th, 2007
All…
Mostly…
Partly…
Little…
Nearly…
99.999%….
0.999%….
wtf?…. How are you all gonna know for sure?
Whatever, you all get the point. Just don’t vote for an idiot.
Tenshi Vielle
Jun 26th, 2007
You mean you, Nacon?
SqueezeOne Pow
Jun 26th, 2007
If they get voice at the ring will the contestants be required to grunt and make punching noises? That would be cool. It would also help clear up the gender thing for the less secure, sexually active in RL people out there!
For the record, I know some CONFIRMED females in SL that would love to box. SOMEONE HIRE THESE PEOPLE A PR SPECIALIST!
Csven Concord
Jun 26th, 2007
I agree with SqueezeOne: voice with be an interesting addition to this activity. Would you bet on a female av controlled by a RL male over a male av controlled by a RL female? vice versa? etc. And will RL males want to box RL females even if they use a gender neutral av?
Artemis Fate
Jun 27th, 2007
I never understood the obsession with knowing if a girl is a guy in real life, as if it’d change anything in SL. It’s especially hilarious when guys are so insecure that they feel that if they’re attracted to a virtual girl controlled by a real life guy, that they’re somehow gay. Like being gay is something you can be “sneak attacked” into, like tag. “gotcha! you’re gay now!” “really? aw damn!” You’re gay if you like guys (or girls for the other side), end all of it. It’s actually totally reasonable I’d say to be attracted to a girl played by a guy, after all, no one knows what a guy wants in a woman better than another guy.
Nacon
Jun 28th, 2007
I don’t go around writing “Vote for Me” in everything that Jimbo is doing, Tenshi. He doesn’t even know how to sign himself up on the campaign line… He doesn’t even meet any requirements!
Actually… I guess you’re right, Tenshi. I am an idiot who go telling people to vote for me. Soon I will drop you an IM about voting for me on some a made-up ballot. Then pass you some prim-papers about my promises you shall receive when I get elected. Putting out some lawn signs on linden’s road sides with my ticked-off face expression about noobs and greifers. Building up supporters morale for GOTV movements by giving them false hope and some lindens.
Create fear mongering, such as grid-attack particle spam with images of Prok… maybe some music video about how people don’t look like their RL self with a ugly dog in a photo if I wasn’t elected to stop them. Create a negative/smear campaigning team on Jimbo with few facts that he a took a trip to a stripper club few times. Rig up a event, pay bunch of furries to gather up around Jimbo. Awaiting for his reaction about furries, to pressure him.
Now I wonder… Has Jimbo thought about doing anything like that to win himself the election at all? No… cause he’s an idiot. (and you too as well, Tenshi)
Atremis said “Like being gay is something you can be “sneak attacked” into, like tag. “gotcha! you’re gay now!” “really? aw damn!” You’re gay if you like guys (or girls for the other side), end all of it.”
Called “Fag Tag”… It’s not only happening in SL but in your local high schools too.
How?
Two words…. jockies & pranks.
Jessica Holyoke
Jun 28th, 2007
I think the troubling thing about the reaction to the article is that it reminds me of when women who were into sports were automatically considered lesbians. Think back to “A League of their Own” and the efforts the players had to take to come off as feminine and not butch. Only with the nature of SL, women into sports are automatically considered men. So a gamer girl would be presumed a man, because a woman would not be interested in sports.
Just another great example of the genders in relation to SL.
marilyn murphy
Jul 1st, 2007
exactly jessica, well said. i play wow, or used to, and reading this article i was getting a little jazzed to buy the training and go fight, and see how i do.
to read the comments like, oh well your a guy if u go do this, and that laughable idea that u can spot a guy by his large breasts and thin hips. wow.
i have had a lot of gender opposite avatars talk with me about why and how and wherefore. my educated guess is the guy/girls is around 50% and girl/girls is 50%, in the general population.
this comments thread is way off base. i bet the girl/girls that would want to fight are way above 50%. i think the presumption that women would not find this interesting is being made by people that dont know women very well.
Jessica Holyoke
Jul 1st, 2007
and I bet a good proportion of males that don’t know women real well are “men” in SL.