That which seems

Skin, hair, eyes, appearance, this shell of us humans get far more attention than the experiences and processes and memories that form our identities. A well-dressed woman as a sales argument or a blogger who exposes her operations to become a better person (she says herself) is nothing new. When the young king’s son, Aktaeon, in a Greek myth sees the Greek goddess Athena, is not her hunting skills or wisdom that captivates him, but the fact that he sees her naked. Which is also the cause of his death. At least that’s how the story is told. When the saga king Ragnar Lodbrok shows interest in Åslaug or Kråka, it is based on a description he hears. In the Italian collection of stories called Pentamerone from the 1600s, there is a story about an old wife who persuade a barber to skin her so she can look younger. These are just a few examples of how the look has a function in traditional stories.

In the virtual world, the appearance is also important. There is a flora of stereotypes with wide hips, narrow waists and big breasts, dressed up as Lolita-like avatars, the male avatars have tattoos, half-beards and wide breasts. As in the physical (or reality if you want) life, you make a number of choices to promote your avatar among others in a virtual and fictional world. These choices point back to an outer and inner life, the choices are shaped by the diversity of your identity, memories, desires and dreams and the flock you want to identify with, as in physical life.

The avatar is fictionalized, yet it feels like a reality because it is created by a variety of preferences you have. The choice options are many, built over pre-made shapes, as if they were molds. For example, there are very few avatars with overweight. These molds are layered with expressions.

I also have a basic story in life, this one comes out in different variations, maybe sometimes the same boring me, and also often surprisingly. That’s what I appreciate, you can dwell on avatars where I manipulate an ego. The avatar is a representation of both the fictional and the factual.