Androgyne – An Evolution

One of the things I have always enjoyed the most in Second Life is how easy it is to remake yourself. Hair color, eye color, skin, wardrobe – all it takes is a few Linden and you can pretty much be anything your imagination can dream up. You don’t even need the Linden if you want to change your shape – just spend some time messing around with sliders and you can go from muscle bound to waifish in a matter of minutes.
Chameleon that I am, I change my look almost every other time I log in, at least as far as clothes are concerned. My shape hasn’t gone through nearly as many transitions, but there have been a few over the past year or so as anyone who looks over my Flckr will attest to. I thought about going on a little photo journey of my evolution here, but anyone who is that interested can easily see it by going through my photostream.

My first AV here was a laughable mistake I’ve only told a few people about ( there are NO pictures thank goodness ) but I soon became aware of the real possibilities for self-expression. Ever since then, my glam little soul has been working towards perfecting a specific aspect. I love androgyny in all its forms. Show me a picture of a guy wearing makeup and heels, or a flat chested girl in a tailored suit and I’m transported with joy. It’s been that way since I first became aware of such things. One of my first musical “loves” was Bowie ( as I’m sure it was for a lot of people ) and that whole 70’s “glitter” scene is my favorite fashion era of all time, with all of its excess and ridiculousness. One of my current icons is the fabulous Adam Lambert, who has certainly not shyed away from challenging gender expectations in his choice of fashion and makeup.

There is an entire subculture of heel wearing men and suit wearing women in Second Life, and it’s not been easy for them as the advent of mesh and standard sizes forces everyone closer and closer to conformity. I’ve done everything I can to force my male base feet into shoes intended for a womans smaller form, not to mention how annoying it is when I find that perfect pair of pants only to find out that I can’t wear them because they cut off half my waist as they only come in mesh women’s sizes. And then there are SLink heels. I’ve agonized over the inablity to wear heels that would only fit on women’s SLink feet, as there are no high heel options for men. ( This is not a criticism of SLink or it’s owner, they have the right to create the things they feel will sell. It’s just a statement of fact. Women’s SLink feet will not fit on a male avatar. Believe me I tried. ) Yet something in me resisted the idea of going to a female base, because for one thing I know how difficult it can be for those bishounen boys who have to defend their shape and their fashion choices on a constant basis and I’m not generally that brave. Also I loved the challenge of staying on a male base, but pushing the boundary into a gender bending appearance as much as possible.

This all came to a head for me as this month’s Genre theme was – you guessed it. Androgyny. I started to rethink all my reasoning and decided it no longer worked for me. The final nail in the coffin was the release of the new Pink Fuel “Andro” skins at that event. The more I worked with them, the more I realized that in order to get the appearance I was looking for, I would have to cross the Second Life gender baseline.

Still the same Lexxiius on the inside – new packaging. My Androgynous Self.

(click to enlarge photos)

Lets start with the skin. This is the “Ash” version of the four new Andro skins put out for Genre by Pink Fuel. This is my first time wearing one of their skins although I have come to find out they are a favorite for a lot of the fembase boys out there,  but you can bet I will be watching them for new releases. Right now the skin only comes in Peach, but there is a poll for other shades and I was quick to vote for some of my favorite lighter ones. Other than windlight setting I didn’t do any retouching to this photo, so it’s pretty close to the very fresh and natural tone you will find in the actual skin.

(  note – I wanted to add here that I forgot to mention that each of these skins comes with a male, female and boi version, as well as  shapes, tattoos for body shading and skin appliers. Really a full package here. The shape I am using in the photos is a custom one of my own however.) 

The suit jacket I’m wearing is part of the Mason suit by A:S:S. This is a skirt suit for both men and women, yes – I said a SKIRT suit  ( sounds of cheering from the androgynous consumer base) but as I wanted to show off some heels I chose to only wear the top half. This suit also comes from the Genre offerings.

Of course you didn’t think I would forget about ~*Souzou Eien*~  did you?  This glowy completely versatile genderless piece of jewelry that I’m using as sort of a tietack ornamental thingie is the Mystic Crystal necklace also out at Genre. This is one of the many colors it comes in via the HUD. I edited the necklace to sit this low on the shirt for the look I wanted.

Let us not forget the heels. Oh gawd the heels. These are the SLink high feet I am Finally able to wear and you can bet the first seventeen things I bought were shoes!  These come from Latreiya “Testify” and I think were a limited edition from the Body Modification Expo so I’m not sure if they are still available.

 

 

So here is the new me, ready to branch out into new realms of gender blurring fashion, and welcoming anyone who wants to come along for the ride. You might still see my old shape creeping in the blog now and then for things that would look best on it and who knows if new versions of me might appear in the future! For the moment I’m pretty thrilled with my new shape, and will be showing off my newest version of androgyny wherever I go in Second Life.

Along with my own unveiling, I would  like to make mention of a new Second Life inworld group that I’m very excited about.  It’s called The Androgyne Initiative.  It was recently started by Souzou Eien’s own Draconias Timeless in the hopes of  “inspiring more designers to create clothing and accessories for other-gendered and non-typical Avatars in Second Life.” There is a list of designers and bloggers on the website ( including my own little blog ) and applications are still being accepted for both designers and bloggers.  I am currently serving as one of the  moderators for the group along with Ehrin Core, a long time champion and exemplar of genderfabulosity. Please take some time to check out the website and join the in world and Flckr groups if this type of fashion appeals to you.

website

http://the-androgyne-initiative.weebly.com/

Flckr

Genre Androgynous Round – open until Nov 12th

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Analog%20Dog%20Hair/34/196/3081

 

Credits:

Available at Genre

~*Souzou Eien*~ – Mystic Crystal Necklace – Draconias Timeless

mainstore

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jinn/159/156/2512

Skin:  Pink Fuel “Ash” Lid 1 blonde thin Boi skin – mochi.milena

mainstore

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Illusory/127/163/3996

Jacket:  A:S:S – Mason suit – photos.nikolaidis

mainstore

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Touch%20of%20Decadance/134/207/23

Other items:

Hair:  Wasabi Pills “Clementine”  Seafoam

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Coraline/202/125/1005

Pants:  :::insanya::: Liquid Latex Capris – Leo – FemBoy Edition 1  ( femboy hunt gift )  tatyana.ultsch

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/District/171/191/28

Shoes:  Latreia- Testify Grey – hera.aviatik

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nightscape/79/160/21

Eyes – Ikon Immortal Eyes – Turquoise

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/IKON/143/128/502

Stockings:  Mosquito’s Way Black #3  – camilla.limondi

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Prince%20Island/162/226/22

Madrid Solo –  Male lip mix – Shine only   –   madrid.solo

Manscara – Squinty Eyes

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jiradic/166/208/37

SLink Casual Hands and SLink High Feet – siddean.munro

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Slink/43/121/24