When I first walked into Black Planet, a sci-fi-themed erotic adult night club, I stood around for a few minutes. I started to jump and fly a little, but quickly realized this wasn’t proper sex club etiquette—some clubs even ban it. This particular club offers live music every day from 2 PM to 4 PM, and I arrived just in time. Neon phallic shapes lit up the room and a figure with large black wings led the dance floor. The dark electro pumped throughout the club as I stood there, beneath the purple and blue lights, unsure of what to do. Don’t worry, I didn’t break my quarantine, but being in my virtual club atmosphere, I had flashbacks of the real-life club. The stench of sweat and beer came rushing back. However, I felt content in Black Planet, sitting in my pajamas in real life, completely nude in Second Life.
There are burlesque clubs, nude beaches, sacred forests, roleplay clubs, and swingers resorts. It’s a catalog of sexual preferences.
When MistressLove was a sex worker a few years ago, she remembers teleporting a patron to an island to perform for him. “He kept telling me how he could never do this in real life and how his shyness prevented him from visiting a real club.” For some sex-club beginners, SL offers the ability to learn more about a certain kink or fetish. Workshops, seminars, conversations, and libraries geared towards sexual interests are available for avatars to explore. Users can indulge in their desires without any restraints. “I loved being able to work as a dancer and an escort. It’s something I would never do in real life. I would never own a dungeon in real life either. I love being someone else on Second Life, and I love being able to please people and give them what they want.” MistressLove may not be making millions off of her sex work and sex club, but she says, “I’m a disabled woman who suffers from chronic illness. I couldn’t get up and dance on a stage even if you paid me in real life! Second Life has given me the freedom to be who I fantasize about. I don’t think I would be a sex worker if I was able-bodied per se, but I do enjoy being able to dance, slide down a pole, perform sexual acts, do backbends, and whatever else all while sitting in a wheelchair in real life. That’s worth so much more than the money.”
Since she’s not working during the pandemic, HaileyNicole has been playing SL every day. Normally, she plays four days a week at night. When HaileyNicole first reached out to me, she mentioned that SL can be judged and stereotyped. I asked about this, via e-mail correspondence, and she explained that SL is seen as something that features adult content and is played by someone who is “in a basement that never sees daylight.”
You can be a banker, real estate agent, wedding planner, tattoo artist, a person who sits in a camping chair (long durations of sitting can earn you the small amount of L$1 per 10 minutes), or a sex worker in the groundbreaking reality of Second Life.
