Gender

Webster-Merriam online dictionary defines Gender as: 1 a: a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms b: membership of a word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c: an inflectional form showing membership in such a subclass
2 a: sex b: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.

Gender Bending (Webster-Merriam online dictionary)
A person who dresses and behaves like a member of the opposite sex

To save you the trouble of over analyzing lets just use the second definition of gender and keep in mind the term gender bender; the behavioral, cultural or psychological traits of a particular sex. In my adventures into Second Life I chose to create a female avatar, black, curvaceous and as well a lesbian. My reasons for doing so were partly to see what it would be like, as well as how the media has sensationalized the black woman as well as lesbians. The combination is like a powder keg in marketing and sex appeal; just think of Girls Gone Wild. Who doesn’t want to see lesbian sex, well as long as the women are extremely beautiful? If anything that’s probably the biggest seller in porn. But I digress, the only things I have in common with this avatar is that I am black and I love women. Second Life hasn’t proven to make my inquiry very informative. I have been able to make friends and as far as I can tell they think I am a woman. There aren’t many conversations that would arouse the question of Am I a Real woman? Most people go about their business, offer help, and talk to me, as I am just a person. I think when it come to Avatars, people just assume you are who you say you are and don’t try to go past it.
Now on the other hand I have yet to make it to the all-adult version of SL. Maybe I will encounter this once given entrance. But my age verification for some reason wasn’t remembered when I created the account. So my current dilemma is do I want to go through that process just to finish this experiment. I have been told some interesting things about this World and I kind of want to see it myself. I will say this; SL is totally gender friendly, if that is a term. But as regards to other people’s preferences and lifestyles, they are totally friendly and ask you to respect everyone in the various subgroups throughout Second Life. It’s basically whatever you want your life to be. Welcome to the Matrix kids!

Do you consider your gender as your identity? If you chose an avatar opposite of your sex, does this avatar still reflect you in personality, behaviorally or culturally? How do you define your gender in relation to yourself?