Festivities and Controversies

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth and all of that jazz.  I'm not sure how long this will be because I really wanted to just touch base and say Merry Christmas.  However, I've been reading a lot over the last few weeks that has made me wonder what it is we do as models in SL and who it really matters to.  As the year drew to a close I told you all that I was stepping out of my comfort zone/shell more and was entering more contests and castings---some of which I knew that it was slim to no chance that I would win a darn thing or make the cut.  Was it frustrating to not place or make it?  Well of course and it is just natural to look for reasons as to why it is but I know pretty well that it's truly look of the draw.  Whereas one person may love the way I style and look another will, and has, said that I'm not thin enough or tall enough or whatever enough.  Now I could change all of that and try again but that's not really being true to myself so the best thing to do is just accept the judgment of those doing the judging and keep moving forward with the people who appreciate what I do.

A model I've worked with quite a few times let her frustration out for the world to see.  Part of me was saying good for her but damn she just torpedoed her career and another part was saying hmmm maybe that should have been password protected for those you trust and them alone.  She was totally entitled to voice an opinion and people are equally entitled to react to that opinion.  The problem really is that we don't really have any explanation for not being the it girl and without it---especially if something starts to look "odd"---we just can have a crap ton of resentment begin to build up.  The few times I have found myself there I took a long break from contests and only cast for shows I was dying to be in and let the chips fall where they may.  It's impossible for someone to not have a reaction to being rejected but when that feeling starts to overwhelm us we gotta find something else to do. 

This is true right now as another chapter in the Miss Virtual World saga has come to an end.  I was able to watch it on metaverse tv without the crashing in Patch which was delightful.  However, as I watched I think that my radar for what anyone may be looking for is totally off.  Granted the final show is just a part of who makes it to the finals but I'll say I was partially stunned by who did and didn't make the cut.  Not as stunned by Serene winning but still hadn't pegged her for the eventual winner.  The uproar has cropped up afterward has made me think the same things I thought last year.  Not that it's necessary because the contest is what it is and people will continue to enter as it is such a great opportunity, but if there was slightly more transparency in what was happening then people wouldn't be as able to launch totally baseless attacks against the winners or finalists.  By that I mean, for the Miss America pageant and a few others, as different things occur the scores are tabulated and announced during each round when you get to the finalists.  Would it require a lot of effort to do so in SL?  Well I can imagine that yes it would as lag and crashes can make score reporting difficult.  Would some super anal person still say that someone was judged more leniently or more harshly?  Yes of course they would as we tend to champion our friends or the underdog or whatever but it could also show that someone has just been routinely better throughout the process.  I'm not sure what the answer is to the mountain of controversy that crops up after major contests and really I'm not sure anyone wants the answer either.  Controversy keeps us talking if nothing else and it gets at least a few new people interested for everyone one it turns off. 

It would be interesting for something like MVW to have actual pageants for each country but logistically that could be problematic.  Regardless, as others have said more eloquently than me---as models we are not forced to do anything really.  I haven't really done any nude work for example.  However, as long as contests have huge prizes attached and the opportunity for tons of exposure they will always be on the checklist of those aspiring to even just work more than they do now let alone be famous.  If we can't tolerate the losing/not being selected then maybe a break is necessary unless we want to work twice as hard and recreate ourselves a few dozen times until we are "model perfect" which most of us I believe aren't.  We have RLs and we have to attend to them and in this case SHOULD if our drive to win a title no one outside our fashion pixel community will care about is driving us over the edge.

All we can ultimately do as the big contests have wound themselves down for the year is going into the new year hopeful and appreciative for what we have now.  Thanks to all the designers who have allowed me to blog their new goodies.  Thank you the agencies who think my slightly shorter curvy shape is worth working their runways.  Thank you to all the models who have been helpful and funny and a place to vent before during and after a show.  And thank you to all of those who feel a need to be creative and give me something to think, blog and talk about.  Have a great holiday all.