Issues of Race in Second life

You would think that virtual worlds hold the promise of communication without regard for distance, physical ability, gender, or race. Almost every aspect of the avatar is changeable, rendering prejudice obsolete.It appears such wishful thinking has a hang up on the heated issue of race.

I feel that peoples biases and racism is carried over into second life. the issue of race is very uncomfortable and touchy in the virtual world the same as the real world.

i made my character white with brown hair and blue eyes only because that is what i look like. but that was pretty much the standard character that they gave me to be except i had to change my hair from blue to brown. I'm not sure if its just coincidence or if people aren't sure how to change their skin colors but most of the characters that i came across during my interactions in second life are were of a light skin color.I found out that it is very hard to have a conversation in Second life about race just like it is in real life. And people that i had no prior contact with were very reluctant to talk with me about race.

most of my experiences on second life were just people just trying to have real conversations and others just butting in and trying to give those people a bunch of grief. i feel that there has to be more black Asian and middle eastern players in second life.

racism, that dirty little secret that we want to sweep under the rug and pretend doesn't exist in the 21st century. But folks It is alive and well out there in the real world. If there is racism in the virtual world, then it is because the virtual self is an extension to the real self. Its hard for me to really delve deep into the subject of race and racism on Second Life in such a short period of time. The idea that a person of a different race would need to play as a member of another race merely to avoid the social awkwardness of being that other race in the virtual world is utterly disturbing.

Do you feel that many black or asian or Middle Eastern players put on white skins because they feel it's simply easier than dealing with the potential awkwardness of playing as their real race?

Do you feel that people carry their same racial biases from the real world into the virtual world?

do you think that some people really would just choose a light skinned character to avoid tension?