Something very disturbing is going on and it isn't even about the image below. This image just opened a can of worms that refuses to go back in. Here's the story:
Misprint Thursday, a well-known RL and SL artist, was ejected today from SL7B because her exhibit was deemed unfit. The image is below.
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The image is part of an exhibit Misprint created to thank the people who have been a part of her SL collaborations. Misprint added the Barbie images in a show of support for a fellow artist whose work was rejected the previous day from the PG sim after being pre-screened and pre-approved. She chose the Barbie image as a way to ask the question "is this not PG?"
SHAWN Masters, a Moderator for SL7B, approached Misprint and asked her what the textures were about. There was an exchange between SHAWN and Misprint where she stated that the Barbie images were PG and not offensive, to which Mr. Masters replied, "not to the normal mind." The conversation continued with Mr. Masters stating that in SL,
SHAWN Masters: you do have pedifiles
Misprint Thursday: that has nothing to do with these pictures
Misprint defends her art as being PG and states she would like to take it up with Linden Labs. At the point, Mr. Masters points out that "there is one to my right." Misprint speaks to Blondin Linden for several minutes with no response. At this point, Mr. Masters re-enters the conversation by asking
SHAWN Masters: Misprint...do you have children
Misprint Thursday: Shawn-you are out of line
Misprint Thursday: asking me that
Misprint Thursday: that is not your business
Misprint Thursday: and has nothing to do with this
SHAWN Masters: there are on average....20 pedifiles within a 50 mile square
Misprint Thursday: listen
SHAWN Masters: SL is a breeding ground
Misprint Thursday: that has nothing to do with this
Misprint then asks Blondin Linden if he agrees that SL is a breeding ground for pedophiles. Blondin never answered the question. Misprint was then asked again to remove the images which she refused to do, standing by her assertion that the images were PG. Her explanation was met only with "good day mam" from Mr. Masters.
Misprint told Blondin Linden she was cancelling her premium account in protest of the process Linden Labs uses to determine what is PG and non-PG content. Misprint is asked by Blondin Linden to remove the images or be ejected from the sim. Misprint politely refuses and is subsequently ejected from the sim. Her Barbie texture was returned to her.
She was also ejected from the SL7B builders group and no longer has access to the rest of her art installation. Basically, parts of her idea are still standing and she is unable to access them.
This is wrong on so many levels. It's not about the naked Barbies, although that is ridiculous. Children play with Barbies every day. There are millions made off of the manufacture and sales of Barbie clothes. Those clothes don't just miraculously appear on the Barbies, they have to be placed on them somehow. Do you really think that Mom, or god forbid, Dad comes in and changes the clothes for them while the child hides their eyes? But I digress.
What it's really about is the absurdity of SHAWN saying that SL is a "breeding ground for pedophiles" and Blondin Linden not contradicting him, therefore, backing up his claim. The icing on this messed up cake is that a Linden would eject a passionate, creative member of the SL Art community over a naked Barbie and cutting her off from her own work. I can't imagine having my art compromised by anyone, not to mention being isolated from it, knowing that it is being used by the same people who altered it and denied my access to it.
Look out for naked Barbies. If you see one, call Mr. Masters right away! Pedophiles are sure to be nearby!
This is the sort of thing that greatly prompted my departure 7-8 months ago - when people who get off on power get to run stuff they know nothing about - like ART- just because they are friends with someone who runs something on a higher level who give them those little jobs in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThis is appalling. If a naked Barbie was non-pg they would not sell them to kids in RL without covering those FILTHY FILTHY bits.
This really saddens me that art and creativity is being randomly censored by someone who has set himself up as judge, jury and executioner of all our morals. Next we will see book burning I suppose...
ReplyDeletethis is not a stand alone action of LL more artists have been banned from that sim for the same stupid reason...
ReplyDelete
Are you kidding me???
ReplyDeleteIf you look at my recent post, "Does anyone have a title I could borrow," a good part of it describes this creepy sex store I found that specifically sells Barbie, Bratz and My Little Pony AVs for all the sickos who get off on that kind of thing. They're operated with a sex HUD/wind-up key thing. It made me queasy.
How can a store like THAT be up and running, yet using a Barbie in an art exhibit is a crime?
What about all the people who sell doll skins? Are they going to be driven out because of the fact that pedophiles apparently are swarming all over the grid? If that really is true, why don't the Lindens - in good conscience - just kill ALL of Second Life because it provides an environment that apparently fosters the sexual abuse of children? Oh wait - then they wouldn't make any money.
Ugh. Outraged.
wow ... just wow.... i am speechless and disturbed. Furthermore, I too am confused as to what naked barbie dolls have to do with pedophiles. If that was a big deal for them, how much easier would it be to go to Wal-Mart than fight the lag at SL7B?
ReplyDeleteSo I guess not only is SL full of pedophiles but it's also full of underage children too? Or... no... wait... They need to protect the child avatars from pedos. No, wrong again. There are adults behind those avatars. Hmmmm, who is at risk here from a picture of a "naked" barbie doll that is even lacking nipples and genitalia? That's the $64 dollar question of the week.
ReplyDeleteI normally find people who write news and commentary only to hide behind "I did not quack like a journaist" painfully tedious because they used a worldwide public network instead of their diary.
ReplyDeletePeople who peddle fear with questionable tidbits on pedos per meter however make any argument seem much more rational just in principal. When you find the object of fear has all the threat and sex appeal of a stick of gum to your child it's so adjusted your scale of how stupid some can be that you agree even with a man you see writing a story for his newspaper who tells you he is not a journalist.
It just makes more sense in comparison.
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ReplyDeleteHey Joonie! Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. I posted the Dolls for Decency response on my blog.
ReplyDeleteFleep is making a legitimate point, on one hand, but on the other, missing the point entirely.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, didn't this whole thing start because an artist's project for the party (a project which apparently included nudity) was preapproved by LL. Then, once the installation was up, the artist was asked to remove it due to nudity. So apparently, LL isn't even sure what its rules are??
The worst point of all of this is the way it was handled. To claim that SL is a "Breeding ground" for pedophiles is a serious statement, and one which no Linden should support, either overtly or as Blondin did, by ignoring the question. Then to ban the artist from her own work is reprehensible.
Of course, LL can make whatever rules it wants, but I guess there is no guarantee that they will professionally carried out. The whole thing stinks to high heaven. "Your world, your imagination" is ringing hollower and hollower all the time.
Thanks for your work on getting this out there, Joonie. Great job!
xoxo
PDV
What's the difference between a barbie doll and an avatar?
ReplyDeleteYes, it appears Fleep is entirely missing the point - aside from the fact an image of a sexless barbie doll is not the usual definition of nudity (lets ban toys)- the astounding reaction from the mod in question reeks of intolerance and ignorance. This is not what SL7B is about. Or is it?
ReplyDeleteLeaving aside SHAWN's odd comment about "pedifiles" (sic), am I correct in understanding that Misprint's design and concept had been previously approved by the SL7B committee? If so, it seems to me, the time for exclusion or demands for modification should have come about before the public was allowed in.
ReplyDeleteIs a Barbie doll nudity? I certainly don't think so. But if there was a question, a concern, a quibble about the status of these images, opening day was not the time to raise it. Presumably the "powers that be" had adequate time to weigh in.
I hope not to cross paths with Mr. Masters in-world anytime soon. My Mute list is getting full.
Wow. I understand the rule has to be blanket but SHIT. The hardest thing is it was a protest about another build that was originally authorised by LL but then turned down once insitu. LL have a history of not following its own rule. It is not the fact that Shawn follow the rule that LL in itself did not (a rule is a rule - blanket or otherwise), it is the manner in which it was done and Blondin's lack of response that is troubling here.
ReplyDeleteI know Mr. Masters personally. He's a terrific guy and has the best interests of the position he's being responsible in mind. Let's not forget there is two sides to every story, and casting preconceived notions about someone based on... baseless accusations means that you're just hopping some bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteAnd good God. I hate bandwagons. You would do well to remember that. ;)
Now, just to be clear and reiterate, I'm not taking sides or pointing fingers, instead suggesting to not take sides or point fingers. It's the Linden's playground. If you're asked to stop hogging the slide or jumping off the swing at it's apex, then you better do it, or you can enjoy how the sandbox looks, outside the fence.
Oboeteoke!
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ReplyDelete@Anonymous (June 21, 2010 6:10 PM)
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should retract my snap judgement of Mr. Masters. If I could amend my comment, I would. (Particularly my last sentence.) If the transcript is accurate, his defense of the rules was meandering and inelegant at best. But I wasn't there so... yeah.
My main point (the one I should have stuck to) is that the Lab is consistent in its inconsistency. It approved something and then disapproved. That a "naked" Barbie would constitute "nudity" just would not have occurred to me -- especially after the installation had been approved. However, as others here have pointed out, this is LL's party and they can do as they please. I won't let that stop me from pointing and laughing at them from the sidelines.
Two steps forward, one back. That's the way it is done at the Lab.
With so many creative people in SL in so many different ways, it saddens me that some venue of artists get treated like this. Hence the absence in the last couple of years of some wonderful artists we lose out on.
ReplyDeleteWhat an utter load of rubbish. At our house naked Barbies co mingle with baseball gloves, Time Magazines, mail, etc. I never thought of it as pornography. I still don't....
ReplyDeleteIn a case of commenting before knowing the full story, I should apologize to Misprint and anyone else involved, while I still think the "no nudity" policy could be reasonable, clearly the way this judgment call was executed and handled was beyond the pale.
ReplyDelete:(
Not sure how I got here, but the ignorant and alarmist comments by SHAWN Masters got my attention:
ReplyDelete_______
SHAWN Masters: there are on average....20 pedifiles within a 50 mile square
SHAWN Masters: SL is a breeding ground
______
What?? SHAWN may or may not be a "terrific guy" but what evidence did he base this on? Completely uncalled for. Whoever chooses these "moderators" should look for some with more facilitation and people skills, not to mention the ability to recognize and reject sensationalist press memes.
@LDinSTL
ReplyDeleteYou'll note that I didn't defend Shawn's "facts." I only defended him as a person, which Whatcha Eaton caught and understood.
Regardless of Shawn's reasonings, because let's face it, he could have told Misprint that the sky is blue and it would have been a good enough reason, because of the position he's in.
Now, it's not to say that I don't agree with Whatcha's sentiments regarding the Labs. That much is true. However, when Blondin asked Misprint to take it down, she should have complied.
Just because the playground doubles as a concentration camp at times doesn't mean we still can't enjoy ourselves, but only if you like mustard gas.
This isn't Shawn's first rodeo in this. He also hangs out in a location (that's where I met him, many years ago) that has strict rules on "PG." While I realize that many people have Barbie dolls laying around their homes, and I agree his "pedophile" comments weren't necessarily warranted or even true, the fact still stands that in the end, Misprint should have taken down the "display" when asked to.
Another thing. Honestly, is a "naked" Barbie doll any sort of art? That takes what? all of five minutes to create?
The refusal to remove the "art" as well shows that this was some sort of grassroots attempt at pushing the limits, and it didn't fly.
Why?
Because it's Linden Lab's playground.
Regarding Shawn's people skills and facilitation: he's got it. He doesn't express it well at times, but he could have much more of a prick then what was shown here. Shawn is patient and kind, and even had Misprint check in with the Linden if it's okay to have the "art" up or not.
Honestly, the only crime Shawn is guilty of, is the use of factpinions, which he may or may not be right about.
But I'll reiterate one last time: Blondin asked Misprint to remove the "art" and she said "no" (albeit politely, I'm sure) and that was the mistake that was made.
I can't stress enough how much the labs belong to the Lindens, and not us. That's why it's called Linden Labs.
You'd do well to remember that.
This is just crazy, I remember a similiar thing happening a while ago in a game i used to play called animal crossing.
ReplyDeletesome guy wrote a article on how adults shouldn't be playing the game, and how they were all child abusers, absolute crap of course. most people played it with there familys, with other familys. I played it with people my own age,
I can't believe there saying that about our beloved sl, for gods sake we gave them our real life details so no kids would be in our adult sims so we would protect them from perverts!. what more do these people want from us!
Art - the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings.
ReplyDeleteAs a RL artist myself; painter/sculptor/sketch drawing, I must say... I find this shocking and amusing. One has to ask what is Shawns knwoledge and understand and passion for art as a whole. To me it would seem its very little or nothing at all.
No one can label artwork like that, or create a perception and force it onto others. What we see of naked barbie is different in all of us and stirs up different emotions, etc. It's pretty disturbing to think that someone would see a naked plastic doll and immediately connect it to pedophilia. But oh well. Each to their own.
To Misprint, I have not seen your work, and so "naked barbie" is my first. I love it!
I agree with Barbie on this one.
ReplyDeleteMath *is* hard.
-ls/cm
i dont understand two things in this discussion:
ReplyDelete1)
As far as i see, this texture had been checked by a LL-jury before the opening?
And now, after starting the exhibition, ANYone can go and act in the manner of those
who spray acid on pictures, attack them with knifes etc. in galleries or museums
- just because they dont WANT it there for their very own reasons,
claiming to be the moral conscience for all of us?
-irony- I am always glad when others think for me and protect me from making up my own mind -/irony-
2)
This pedophile-discussion also makes no sense to me at all.
WHO shall in this special case become protected - and from WHAT?
It has been pointed out before, aren't Mattel's dolls meant for children to play with them?
Teaching them to become willing consumers who *need* fashionable outfits?
Baby-gender-dolls with genitals were popular in Germany,
to teach children a normal understanding of the diffrences.
In 'Barbie' i always saw an distorting-mirror-picture of an adult human.
Are that breasts on the upper part of the torso?!
Or is it just an production-mistake, none of the controllers recognised?
Also I didn't know that grown-up bodyparts on these dolls attract any pedophile ...
If it had been a naked *Skipper* (the little sister of Barbie)
perhaps then we could wonder about attracting them.
This story makes me roll eyes,
and i wonder if we soon will have to wrap our virtual pixel-dolls in burkas,
because one of our our mind-ayatollahs could feel offended, seeing an pixel-ankle...
I am wondering if this little skirmish was due more to the political content of Misprint's exhibit (her protest of the prior censorship) and not so much the shock value of nude Barbie particles. I suspect that what is also being censored is protest of censorship; the SL7B party wants to keep everything simpatico. They should have ignored it, That would have been cool. But it also seems to me that the exhibit was intended to inspire controversy, and Shawn went for the carrot. All of this is very amusing.
ReplyDeletexxoo Hyp
Thank you Joonie for sharing this in bloglandia. For a quick update I did submit a ticket requesting contact from Linden Labs requesting some resolution. If anyone would like details of that request I can share it but for now I just wanted to say thanks Joonie.
ReplyDelete-Misprint Thursday
Thanks everyone for the comments, regardless of what your take on the situation was. It was great having this dialogue going.
ReplyDeleteMisprint, you're welcome. It was something that needed to be said. Please let us know how things turn out. If you are comfortable doing so, share the details of your request here. Or let us know the best way to find out about that.
Again, thanks everyone for your comments. There were over 1200 hits on this post the first day. Amazing.
Quoting the exchange:
ReplyDeleteSHAWN Masters: there are on average....20 pedifiles within a 50 mile square
Misprint Thursday: listen
SHAWN Masters: SL is a breeding ground
Misprint Thursday: that has nothing to do with this
Shawn has been taken to task for this "irrelevant" statement. I've finally figured it out. What Shawn is referring to is what Misprint was defending: Rose's Susa Bubble display that was rejected from SL7B. So it was relevant, but he didn't explicate his indirect reference. I went and visited Rose's island in SL and looked at the build called "The Kiss" that I presume was what was banned (?), and what Misprint was defending. THIS is the presentation Shawn was referring to in his remark about "pedifilia."
"Susa Bubble" is a character that tells a haunting, mysterious little story on Rose's sim that is here represented as a kind of "Last Supper." "Christ" and "The Apostles" are all represented by the bald, nude little girls (all shown from the waist up) while a voice declares that Susa Two will supplant Susa One. "I am my own person now. My name is Judith." It strikes me as funny that the "nudity" issue was more important than the use of a religious scenario. Pedophiles aren't bred in Second Life. They come in there already pedophiles, and there's no way one can molest a painting. What they do is worse: they pose as parents to adults who for some reason I can't fathom want to be little girls. I admired the art work. It was stunningly imaginative. I'm sorry, I can never remember Rose's last name, and I can't navigate away from this page.
Whatever the reason the comment was made regarding pedophila it was left to hang silent by LL. Shawn further stated was that "SL is a breeding ground for pedophiles" which is pretty far reaching.
ReplyDeleteMister Linden on the scene was silent. That silence remains and is wrong. Whether it was for Rose's work or for mine it was wrong.
In my ticket I submitted to LL I asked for a response to this. I have not received one.
This goes beyond the idea of censorship-now it is an insult to the entire community. Will LL respond? Probably not-they will probably dismiss it as a misguided attempt I suppose.
You know what I want to hear? "SHAWN WAS WRONG WE DON'T AGREE WITH THAT."
Why should I ASSUME that is what not what they believe when I was banned by a Linden and my work returned?
Why should I ASSUME that is not what LL believes when they were silent?
pixel Reanimator created an interesting piece responding and inquiring...this is not being dismissed by artists and others at this point because people realize the reach of the implications:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47413906@N08
-misprint
Shawn endorsed a brand of LL censorship that is overkill and dreadfully misapplied it, and we don't approve of that.
ReplyDeleteShawn was WRONG in asking you a personal question.
Shawn was WRONG in stating that SL is a "breeding ground for pedophiles." It is NOT. They have already been bred in the good ol' REAL world with REAL victims.
pixel Reanimator's write-up about it is awesome and edgy. Botgirl's latest satiric drawing is a hoot.
(HA!! my "word verification" is "fecule," which aptly represents the whole mess. See "feculent." ;))
Great article! Thank you for bringing this to light. Every time this kind of thing happens it needs to be publicized and people like Blondin and Masters need to be shamed.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note: I usually don't like noise happening when I open a new web page. I assume it's an ad and quickly scroll to find it to shut it off so I can read in peace. This time I was pleasantly surprised. I love the "King of Anything" song. I listened to the whole song then muted the music so I could read in peace. Good music choice. :)
Misprint stated:
ReplyDeleteYou know what I want to hear? "SHAWN WAS WRONG WE DON'T AGREE WITH THAT."
Riiiight, that's why the Linden asked you to take it down and "politely" refused.
So, you're as just as wrong as Shawn is. Step up and take responsibility.
Normally, I don't like posting comments that hide behind "anonymous" but I see that there are others that have done so. One is obviously connected to an earlier post that they did sign.
ReplyDeleteThe other comment was written by a "RL artist" and therefore, might have reason to post anonymously. If that commenter would like to add initials, I will consider deleting the comment above.
That said, I would be happy to see the other side represented in an intelligent way. IMO, comparing Shawn's behaviour and Misprint's behaviour is utterly ridiculous. What is the intent behind each? What Misprint did was noble. What Shawn said was ignorant. And what Blondin didn't say was cowardly.
Here is my take on this. There was no "right" or "wrong" in this matter. I am uncomfortable with absolutes. There are, however, facts.
ReplyDelete1) Fact: The SL7B was intended for a "general" audience (represented weirdly by "PG"-- as though 18 year-olds need their parents to accompany them in SL)--in which LL decided what would be offensive to some people. It clearly posted that there was to be "no nudity" at this celebration, and by "nudity" they included representations of nudity by dolls and cartoon characters regardless of the absence or presence of genitalia. (An added irony is that all of us who use avatars are engaging in "representation.") This rule depresses me, because it smacks of the far-right, puritanical rejection of politically controversial art; even the Victorians, that age of horrific sexual repression, honored nudity in their paintings and statues of nymphs and little dimpled cherubs. It seems odd that they would make nudity their primary object of censorship when violence, profanity, racism, sexism and gratuitous abuse would be on the top of my list to proscribe. It seems that LL is trying hard to overcome the reputation it got for rampant sexual activity and has swung the pendulum too far in the other direction.
2) Fact: we have no real intellectual freedom in these SL celebrations, neither at this shindig nor at Burning Life. Second Life apparently doesn't have the First Amendment. It looks upon its venues as privileges in which it has the power to invite or reject. These are private parties we attend where there is a "dress code."
3) Fact: many many artists disagree with the philistine rules imposed on them at these parties. But they can show their work in mature settings, and from now on we know what we are dealing with.
4) Fact: LL is not a monolithic entity or consciousness. It is made up of individual human beings with conflicts and opinions of their own, axes to grind, levels of tolerance and frustration, and dispositions that tend towards leniency or power play. I think Misprint got caught up in a power play. Now I am pretty sure that secretly there is some dispute going on among them about how this was handled. I read film director Peter Greenaway's excoriating letter to one of the Linden's in charge of this event that was posted on Rose's blog. One thing I am very happy about is the reinstatement of Philip Linden.
Suggestion: If we want to make Second Life a better place we go on making our edgy art just as we have done on our mature and adult sims, show our work on Flickr announcing proudly that it was created in SL, and come to these festivals with a warier eye. I endorse the raising of awareness, I do not endorse the repression of protest and I'm as angry as all the rest of you. But if we don't want to piss the landlords off such that this actually marvelous grid becomes a tyranny instead of a cutting edge opportunity for a brand new artform (something Greenaway scolded Ms. Linden for ignoring), then boycott the festivals. Or move to inWorldz.
As for deleting the note by Anonymous, Joon, you are engaging in the same treatment Masters and Linden showed Misprint and you have exactly the same privilege to do so: this is YOUR BLOG and that was THEIR PARTY. The comment was a little rudely written, yes, but it made one point I agree with: we ARE responsible for understanding the rules, and now we know that protest as well will get some bouncer mad at us. I support Misprint's opposal, but I disagree with the "right/wrong" argument. I think all of this is far far far far more complex than that.
Pace vobiscum,
Hypatia
PS: I hope that before anybody hops on one statement of mine out of context that they go back and reread my entire post. ;)
I fail to see what's noble about breaking the rules, Joonie. It's not about what Shawn said, it's about Misprint's refusal to do what she was told to do.
ReplyDeleteShawn's comment was wrong, yes. It was wrong factually, it was wrong on principal, it was wrong all around.
But you can't just have Misprint acting like the martyr, it doesn't work that way. What you all have failed to realize is that Blondin is a LINDEN. Blondin doesn't have to say anything to anyone, and doesn't even need a reason. Blondin's request to remove the "art" was a request, and it could have been just done.
Then what? If Blondin had just removed Misprint and her "art" without saying anything, what then? You'd all cry foul because there was no reason behind it?
There was a reason. It was stated. If the reason isn't good enough for you, then perhaps you shouldn't be on Second Life. It's not fair, no. But being in Second Life is a privilege, not a right.
Once you all learn that, then perhaps some of you won't try to push the boundaries as much.
Rules were broken. 'Nuff said.
-Ti
PS. Joonie, I realize you don't like Anon comments. However, there's been Anon comments already posted, and for this blog article, you should continue to allow it.
My apologies to Joonie. I mispelled your name, and I misrepresented what you said above.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderfully decent forum. Thank you for hosting it.
xxoo
Hyp