In the “real word” racial disputes are witnessed both in the first person and through the media. Individuals effected and disturbed by racism often turn to other portals such as virtual worlds. However, some believe that this racism permeates into virtual worlds such as Second Life. To examine this claim I transformed my avatar from a Caucasian female, to an African American female using a generic dark skin from my inventory. After teleporting to Sarah Nerd’s Freebie Store and purchasing a free pink tank top as well as fashionable jeans, I was ready to begin my research. This journey would take me to diverse locations to see how different crowds approach race.

First Stop: NMC Orientation Area

 As the area comes into focus a woman dressed in business attire is standing a few yards in front of me. I notice that she must be a newbie because she comments on the effort of designing an avatar, and her hands mimic her motions when she is typing. After interacting for a few minutes she admits that she has only been in Second Life for two days, but tells me how much she likes my outfit. It is clear that this woman is utilizing Second Life for business purposes as her attire reflects this. Additionally, she mentions that she is preparing for a presentation. This interaction presented no derogatory racial remarks nor did the attitude of the avatar seem to change towards me.

 Second Stop: Luskwood

 As a place that I had visited before, I was excited to interact with the furries due to their kindness previously towards me. Surprisingly though, I was not met again with an instantaneous welcome, in fact, I was ignored for ten minutes. Deliberately walking into the conversation and saying “hi” to two separate groups, I was ignored altogether. After walking around in search for other avatars to interact with, I sat down in front of an additional group of furries, but was also treated poorly. Thus, I stood back up and went to a fourth group where finally one avatar said hi to me. I decided to mention that I was doing research for a school project as last time I had mentioned this topic as a white avatar, the furries all jumped at the opportunity to contribute a quote to my paper. This time, the only avatar that had even said “hi” just told me that researching Second Life sounded interesting. Attempting to find a logical explanation as to why this interaction now would be so radically different, I thought that maybe the group was just busy. However, after talking to Antoine about his experience as a white girl in Luskwood, I started to believe that the possibility of discrimination on this island exists. Antoine had had the same experience as I had the first time; the furries were extremely friendly and outgoing towards his white female avatar. The change in attitude demonstrated here was quite disappointing.

Third Stop: Fermi Sandbox

Teleporting to this location was a new experience as I had never visited such an interesting island. Here, avatars are allowed to create whatever they desire. Unsure of where to start my adventure, I decided to stand near the location where avatars teleport to. However, as I said hi to those who entered this island, I was ignored as everyone consequently walked away from me. So after many failed attempts at this location, I walked over to a wizard looking avatar. He was very friendly towards me, and upon asking him his favorite aspects of Second Life, he responded that he enjoyed creating objects and viewing “good avatars.” Although from my understanding he was implying by “good avatars,” that he actually meant those who create transformers. The next male avatar that I held a conversation with invited me to join his dance club group, and was quite friendly. Lastly, I talked to a designer who gave me a free shape. This male avatar seemed good intentioned, but was encouraging me to join a photo service. Overall, no once at this specific location demonstrated any form of racial discrimination.

 Fourth Stop: Public Orientation Island

 This orientation island by far has been one of the most "weird" experiences I've had in Second Life. The first avatar I met talked to me literally. Rather than IM, I heard his voice through my computer. Although he gave some good advice, this manner in conversing was very odd to me. He was not discriminatory in any manner. However, I took a picture without making it a silent snapshot, and he immediately IMed me and told me that I did not have permission to use that picture in anyway. He claimed that he did not want to put himself out there. Thus, you will notice that my picture of this location has not been uploaded.

Fifth Stop: Noob Island

At this location I came across some discrimination as well as avatars that had some odd suggestions of things to do in Second Life. For example, one avatar told me that she could give me some landmarks which included nude beaches. A second avatar was willing to make suggestions, but his suggestions were to places rated Mature. He also commented on the attractiveness of my avatar. It appeared that these avatars had ulterior motives. However, the first group of people I approached blatently turned and walked away. I attempted to talk to them again but the same reaction occured. This lead me to believe that those who discriminate in Second Life are a minority in this virtual world.

Taking into consideration all these diverse experiences, it is my belief that only particular groups of avatars are outwardly discriminatory. The sole group that exemplified this behavior was the Furries. This puts into question whether or not their actions are representative of their actual beliefs, or whether their actions are merely reactions to the mistreatment that they have encountered. The type of discrimination demonstrated towards me illustrates “selective hearing.” Choosing whether or not to talk to someone says something about one’s beliefs, or as the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.” The Furries did not explicitly say anything discriminatory, but the feeling I received from their lack of attention made me uneasy. From past knowledge I know that the Furries are often targeted and discriminated towards due to their choice of attire. The two guys in Noob Island also exibited this selective hearing. Therefore, I can not decisively say whether or not racial discrimination exists in Second Life.

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