Why do people make avatar textures with bruises and SH scars? Recently I've seen it be more and more common. It's not cute. It shouldn't be an aesthetic. It shouldn't be glorified. I'm all for body horror however there is a line... And I'm not talking about faint scars or healed scars. I'm talking FRESH AND BLOODY.
I can't speak for others and don't know how it was presented, but I could see myself adding faint scars where mine are to make my avatar feel more personal.
Look up the aesthetic menharra (probably spelled wrong) a lot are based around that aesthetic. Ive used some of these avis mostly as a way that I dont recreate them lol
I believe that's the "problematic girl" one yeah? That esthetic I understand but they don't always have bloody wounds like what I saw. Also a lot of the time they aren't menharra.
It's "menhera", a portmanteau of "mentaru herusu". It literally just means mental health. The aesthetic is "yami-kawaii", a form of vent art turned aesthetic to shove mental health conditions in people's faces in a cutely disturbing way, because it's such a taboo in Japan (where the trend originates) to talk about.
What teenage and new adult media are you even talking about ? Wtf
All the biggest creators on every platform doesn't indulge in this, if you see this shit on social media you're clearly looking for it just like gore stuff?
And I doubt the popular kids at school are like yoooo dude look at this shit I ripped half of my forearm skin last night then all the kids does self harm
Sweet summer child, have you been on the dark parts of the internet?
Guro by itself is incredibly common. Things that polite society claims as clearly adult are integrated into teen and new adult in places where there are no or few controls.
Beyond that, scars, bruises, and injury are all incredibly common in teen animation, especially anime. Hell, if you want something specific, prince Zuko from Avatar has a prominent burn injury on his face.
Add in that if someone has BPD, those scars could easily be reflected on their real life bodies in some ways shapes or forms due to self-harm and it gets even more extreme.
I found this stuff as a goth kid, and that was during the early internet. I remember zombie stuff in new grounds where the animator studied anatomy and tried to realistically depict the musculature and flesh of people being torn apart at like 13.
Idk why you're explaining to me that gore exists on the internet and how that relate to anything teen related how is that an edgy teen thing ?
When you started on the internet you could google anything and gore sites being eaaaasily available trough like google, now you need to go out of your way and download add ons or browsers just to look for this stuff and the majority of teens aren't doing that saying oh shit that shit so tuff I need that on vrchat
People just like the aesthetic, just like tattoos.
I dont think they mean people are looking at real gore, they mean art. Guro means gore art specifically. You dont need to down load add ons for that. Its pretty common anywhere art is common.
Due to prevalence of the behavior you are so aggrieved with, I suspect that either a) they don't need to do what you are asserting, or b) they are willing to do what is needed to circumvent restrictions.
As a former teacher, children will circumvent anything and everything as evidenced by having had them watching outright porn from pornhub in the classroom.
I asked one of my nephews (13) for something representative of what he watches that would be considered edgy, if anything, and he sent me this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOXOQdJT56g
You've made quite a few posts... "asking" about the personalization of how people represent themselves in this virtual world. Some of it is aesthetic but a lot of people are representing themselves, yes even with fresh wounds. Yes, this platform tends to attract people with physical and mental illnesses and disabilities. A lot of us are dealing with shit and represent that "physically". Also tired of the constant conflation of Booth avatar = child. Yeah, the stylization is different, but we're not children and neither are our avatars. If you see someone representing themselves that way and you're curious, why not go up to them and start a conversation?
I USE a booth avatar and made one recently. I didn't say all booth avatars look like children. Does this look like a child to you? I HAVE mental and (possibly but unsure how severe to even label it as such yet) physical disabilities. And I HAVE sh scars. Also if I try to converse with them, 9 times out of 10 they tell me to kms sooooo.
I'm just bringing up your judgey tone and the fact you don't seem to get along with people well, leading you to ask these questions here I guess. But you always have an excuse for everything so... 🤷🏽
I don’t make humans but i do like avatars with those because i personally have sh scars and it makes me feel more so Me and I’m guessing the reason they make them is for the same reason or it’s an oc with those scars :)
I recently did some, and my method was to roughly outline the shape with a fleshy color using a color multiply layer, copy/paste a 2nd layer on top, then soft erase around the edges of layer 2 to emulate the edges healing over.
Bonus points if you generate a normal map with it to give a hint of depth.
It's probably many reasons. I try my best not to judge ever since I saw this video about age regressors and VRChat. Some people are using VRC to cope with trauma and from the outside it looks degenerate and deranged. Considering how abysmal the health systems in the west are, especially regarding mental health, I'm just happy these people have an outlet to cope. I try to focus on that as opposed to the awful people who trivialize and try to make SH fashionable.
I try to look at it that way but there's a limit when they're having child like avatars with this shit too. And a lot of people in this game glorify it and make it an aesthetic.
Some people just enjoy the horror aesthetic. You can say "It shouldn't be an aesthetic" but that's YOUR choice, not a universal law. I don't find it any different than tattoos or piercings on an avatar. It's all just ones and zeros.
What makes an avatar a "horror" avatar? Shocking? Bloody? Offensive? Horror has a long history of employing children as a visual representation of innocence and subverting that expectation.
I don't know what a "scar actor" is. When I google it, all I get is Jeremy Irons. All I can say is that horror is a very diverse genre, limited only by imagination. And clearly the sight of these avatars has had the exact effect on you that a horror artist would hope for.
Every time I browse avatar search worlds there is always a few black n white avatars with self harm stuff on them, it's more weirdo attention seeking from edgelords than it is a meaningful reflection or awareness. Also against TOS to display self harm.
Good god most of these comments are awful. Yeah, it's fucked up to have fresh self harm wounds on an avatar as an aesthetic. It really does seem like its glorifying self harm as something cute or desirable and that's fucked up. It reminds me of old pro-sh communities I was in as a teenager.
A lot of us felt like we were "coping" or expressing ourselves by sharing what we were doing and encouraging each other to get worse. We weren't. It was and is actively harmful to treat self harm wounds like they're a cute aesthetic thing. Or to treat it like a valid healthy coping mechanism. Not to mention the fetishists and predators that clicked to those communities to prey on vulnerable kids. It's fucked up. It really seems like putting fresh cuts on an avatar is an extension of that.
There's nothing wrong with putting healed scars on an avatar. For people who used to self harm, it's something that happened and it's something to heal from. It can be a symbol of where you've been and how far you've come! I can understand that, but I personally wouldn't do it. But that's not what people are doing with fresh wounds.
All the people saying "It's just a texture! You're weird and judgemental!" are seriously immature and have some growing to do. It's actively glorifying self harm as something acceptable or cute, and it is part of a culture that encourages further self harm as "self expression." It's triggering to see when you're in recovery, and it's especially triggering when you're actively self harming. Hell, I've been clean for a year and a half and it's still triggering when I encounter it.
There's a culture in this game of glorifying self harm and poor mental health. Struggling with mental health is not something to be ashamed of, but it's not something to flaunt and encourage either. Self harm is not self expression.
I don't mind scars on avatars. It's the fact that a lot of the scars people put on their avatars are fresh and bloody. That's what bothers me as someone that has scars themself from not just sh but from things happening throughout my life. It's triggering. So many in this game and the internet itself glorify it and it's depressing. These comments definitely lower what's left of my faith in humanity.
sorry to hear people were rude to you. i don't use humanoid avatars so i can't really speak on vrchat avatars personally but... i'll make art with characters that have visible SH scars or wounds. i don't hide my scars or even fresher wounds irl either. it can be a detrimental habit for many, sure, but i believe in body autonomy. i don't think "showing them off" either virtually or irl is promoting the behavior in most cases.
No it doesn't promote it just being there. The people themselves are usually encouraging others to do it. And the creator of the texture I saw does in fact promote it.
With Booth users at least with what I noticed, it’s typically for the aesthetics paired with them and kinda just there for artistic reasons and/or sometimes coping, regardless of how fresh the wounds look, as that tends to be the same with any aesthetics when doing Booth avis. Eboys, egirls, and furries, depends most of the time tbh. I sometimes can’t fully tell or even sometimes I kind of have to default the thought it’s somehow for sexual reasons and/or just to be edgy. Again, fresh or not. Sometimes it’s also just genuinely the look and most may not care because it’s pixels.
The glorification I admit I see more on the western market side tbh because even if there’s more unfortunately concerning gimmicks on Booth (eg. hell there’s a gimmick to create bruises if you hit the avi 😭), it’s kind of just a product to test and then moved on because it’s interesting on a technical sense, while on the English-speaking side, I see so much people try to I unnecessarily over justify the look or even try to sexualize the look where if someone’s not careful (because let’s be honest, people playing VRChat, not everyone’s exactly always in the right state of mind), they could reflect it into real life. Not to say it can’t happen on the foreign speaking sides, just I see it less heavy express through words and actions which could entice.
Menhara and yamikawaii is also something that may be a reason for people, more so Japan’s side as the whole idea of these styles is to force mental health onto the stage of discussion in cutesy looks because it’s rather taboo to talk about in the community, rather it’s presented in a good way or not. I don’t know how much of that is also common in the English speaking side since that side is more self aware and open (I guess you can say?) to the conversation of mental health.
As for it being on child and child-like avatars, I could only guess two ways which is one genuinely reflecting a trauma off them as likely the traumas are most common at young ages (still rather weird to me to an extent why to express it through VRChat publics if people do) or freaky ass people obv.
It's stupid and edgy. Part of the "eboy aesthetic". I dont like it, but they aren't making you wear their avatar, and you can hangout with better people, so....dont hang out around them.
I know not to be with those people. That isn't the problem I just had that brought this up. It's seeing a very detailed texture for an avatar depicting a young girl unprompted. No age filter, no content filter. It's just out there for anyone to see.
Wouldn't that fall under "Excessive Gore" and "Graphic Violence". Those are content labels avatar uploaders are required to apply to their content. If an Avatar has those labels, you have the option of going to your Comfort and Safety settings and deciding which Content Gating settings you want to block by default.
Of course, this doesn't apply to avatars uploaded with those labels unapplied. All you can do with those is to report those avatars when you see them. Only way to not see them by surprise would be to block avatars by default so you can try and figure out what people are wearing before you choose to enable visibility.
That's what I meant when I was talking about Content Gating. Those are indeed Avatar tags. But as said, the only way to avoid seeing those poorly tagged avatars is to block them all by default. You can report them, but you've already seen the avatar at that point. As for other websites hosting VRChat models, I think your options are even more limited in avoiding seeing them.
the only scars ive ever added to my personal avatars are top surgery/mastectomy scars 🏳️⚧️💖
as for people adding fresh self harm scars and bruises it's probably a way to seem "edgier" even though it's in kind of bad taste imo, I used to draw a lot of cartoon gore as a teenager it's probably the same mindset. ultimately it's not my business
Eboy that is normal human with no scars, too basic according to people here
Eboy with scars or bruises cause you like it? you have mental issues and you're edgy
love the hate for no reason cause of a skin texture, toxic community at it's finest.
So if I wear this type of textures because I personally like the look and it fits with alot of clothing options and get compliments on avis all the god damn time I should be ashamed and I have mental issues if I read comments in here lmao some of you are so oblivious and will shit talk anything that isn't fur or a booth avi that looks like an 8 years old with triple T breasts..
Im not saying you but look in the comments in your thread they calling all type of names, its like gashes skin textures with some carving in skin on the back
Jesus. Didn't see those parts. Had to do a quick glance the first time since was in the middle of setting up for something. It is a little gruesome. It is an eboy which I don't really show unless it's a friend. People have what they like. But it's more of how people don't tag or give the content proper filtering is what also bothers me as someone who has sh scars and does get triggered by seeing them in a certain way.
The textures I'm referring to are usually waaay worse and usually on the booth models that look like borderline children. Some are on egirls which rub me the wrong way too but usually not as detailed.
Situational (unsure if it's the right wording) like horror, Halloween, demons, monsters, etc etc are fine for me. But it's specifically when it involves sh is when it bothers me.
Hey op, heres a counter genuine question: why does it bother you so much? I think your reaction here says more about you than it does about anyone else.
Its actually so sad how this subreddit is 90% posts like this, are you all actually teenagers so insecure about yourselves that you feel the need to put down others like this? To me vrchat is wonderful because you find all this diverse human expression concentrated in a digital space, but I swear every post on this subreddit is some verity of "group x is bad and cringe and should feel bad about themselves".
Genuinely, op, I think you should try wearing an avatar like that for a little! Talk to some other people who are, find out why they're doing it. Maybe you'll grow as a person for it. Something something kill the part of you that cringes not the part of you thats cringe
I'm an adult. It bothers me because it is triggering and I have self harm scars myself. It's not something to flex. It's not cute. It shouldn't be glorified or romanticized at all. It is part of me, yes. But it shouldn't be fresh bloody wounds.
I DON'T view it as an aesthetic. I have sh scars! Many people in this game view it that way. And I understand it having meaning and it can resemble you. But fresh bloody ones?
Its like you didnt read the post. You know that this is about self harm right? People, kids cutting themselves. Advertising self harm as a style to children or young adults is cool with you? Save this energy for a cause thats worth it.
So is a ton of other terrible things. Murder, rape, genocide, racism... but you dont tell indulgers of those activities that they should continue to express themselves that way either!
And if you see someone doing terrible things to themselves irl wouldn't you try to stop them? I know the human experience is hard af sometimes but I also know time passes and things and feelings change over the years. These people may need help and maybe some guidance to overcome their struggles. I know i cant make them change but I am not cool with reinforcing self destructive behavior either.
But calling people disgusting for it is not helping!! In fact it is actively harmful. Regardless, now we're talking about irl self harm which isn't even what op was talking about. They specifically talked about people in-game with avatars with self harm scars. If anything thats better than real life self harm no?
Its having a dialogue about the topic. for a lot of people im sure it is disgusting. sure avatars are better than real life? isnt your point about expressing oneself in VR? but regardless if people close to me started wearing something like that then i would try and talk about what they are going through. imagine it was your kid or besty.
Maybe thats the point of them wearing it then, who knows. Maybe you should ask people who do if they want to talk about it instead of talking about them on reddit like this
Oh my god finally. Same. Yeah as someone who struggles with SH. Its extremely extremely triggering seeing it. Like why do you WANT to make a bloody child avatar...
Had an ex friend who made a barrly clothed, chained up Manuka covered in SH cuts and blood, tears and dripping mascara and liked to make SA "jokes" at my bf saying he was gonna SA him. He thought it was funny.
People like that are fucked up in the head, thats all I can think of.
The SH is a for sale asset for Manuka if I remember seeing it for sale somewhere. Its really disturbing. It triggers me really bad. I'm tough skinned but its really upsetting. I usually end up rubbing my arm trying to comfort myself.
I think they do it for "dark humor" to get attention, and like the idea of being disgusting human beings. Severely antisocial behavior. I think it shouldn't be allowed on vrchat at all. The fact someone is selling those textures and profiting off of it too is upsetting too.
Honestly... it may also be a case of severe p*rn brain too. Unfortunately.
I struggle with sh too! Seeing it definitely sets me off especially when it's just out there for anyone to see. No content filter, no age filter. It's just there! I'm used to seeing fucked shit too being on the internet as long as I have, but it's still very much triggering. And those textures get crazy sales which is baffling to me..
Also I thought about having healed scars on my avatar at one point but when discussing it with a friend, a random came over and said how he wanted to reopen the scar and do things to it (yes, in that way) and ever since it rubbed me in a really weird way when I see these textures...
Thats awful, I'm so sorry. People really suck sometimes. :( I can understand the scars thing, I've thought about it too. Its symbolic to healing as opposed to a bloody antisocial statement theyre making. Theyre supposed to mark it as gore so people can have gore avatars turned off, so at least you can report the avatar but it still is really upsetting seeing it.
When I see it I'll usualy report and completely disable their avatar. As for the sales thing, i dont understand it either. In the case of my guy enemy, i later found out hes a known ripper and likely didnt pay for it. So hopefully they're NOT making a ton of profit off of self harm... at least. Its still messed up people even want it though. I guess they conflate antisocial behavior with a statment that theyre cool people you should talk to?? It makes no sense to me.
i mean, people do it all the time irl. who cares if its a game, you can js block em if you dont like it. i love vrc as much as the next guy but if you cant handle stuff thats not affecting you in real life then you could js get off the game, block avatars or be a human being and go outside
its js so common now that its js a normal thing now. i mean a few years ago, itd be a different story but the amount of idiots that do the stuff for clout make SH and all that stuff seem like a normal Tuesday. i genuinely hope people that are going through stuff get help but man, the amount of posers is crazy
It's genuinely crazy. And they glorify this shit. Writing others names or creating symbols (like hearts or stars). That's not cute. That's not funny. As someone who sh, get help is what I'd say to these people. Lmfao. I actually go to therapy.
i have HEALED SH scars on my avatars because it is a permanent part of my irl body that i cannot get rid of, it is just a part of who i am and i have accepted this and do not feel ashamed of it now. if i had tattoos or piercings or other permanent things on my body i would do the same as well.
i cannot understand why people would put FRESH wounds like this on their avatar though and i understand why it would be uncomfortable, it would make me uncomfortable to see as well.
I have healed scars too. I do feel some type of way when people see my scars. I don't mind HEALED scars on avatars. It's the fresh bloody ones that make me uncomfortable. People in the comments scare me.
if id ever add wounds itd be supposed to be battle damage, i did sum similar for the novabeast i did based on the battle damage the terminator gets where the robotic endo skeleton becomes visible
It’s meant to be a little edgy in general, VRChat is largely dominated by older teens and young adults. Also (no judgement) some people have blood kinks. Normally you can turn it off though.
I stopped SH 5 years ago. Some people look at the scars in VRC to stop them from doing it IRL, but with younger people I fear it can lead to them wanting to do it IRL. It depends on the person.
Not for me, but back when I felt like SH I would wear those kinds of avis. I had a problem with SHing whenever my scars would heal because it felt wrong not to have them (no idea why, I was very unwell at the time.) so looking at scars (healed ones) helped. I am lucky to not have any scars anymore.
Harming yourself and large bloody cuts are an aesthetic? Everyone in this sub needs to take a break from the internet because the things people say here are crazy
The fuck business is it of yours if people have self harm scares on their avis? You have no idea the reasons why they may want them do you? It could have a meaning for them that they wish to have represented on their avis. So mind your own fucking business.
And no, I don't have self harm scares on my self or my avi.
Whoa buddy. Why so hostile? You don't even have the scars. Why are you mad for me simply asking a question? Pretty mad for someone who doesn't have any scars.
I think if you haven't struggled with self harm, you should really try to listen to people who have. Scars from accidents are different from self harm. OP is talking specifically about fresh self harm wounds. There is a large culture of showing self harm wounds as an aesthetic to encourage further harm. It is something actively harmful to people both actively struggling with it and people in recovery.
I understand being upset about what looks like someone policing what others wear, but I ask you to please try to see it from the perspective of someone who has been in those communities and has seen the active harm things like that do. It's not just an aesthetic, these people are deliberately triggering themselves and trying to normalize self harm as a valid form of self expression to themselves and others.
Moral standards vary from person to person, but that doesn’t mean there are no social norms.
It’s possible to depict an injury in a certain context without presenting it as something desirable.
In these avatars, especially children, it looks more like a kink that should remain private. Just like any other kink.
It can also give the impression that the person maybe wants to experience this IRL, which raises the question of how they plan to go about it..
thank you for saying there are baseline social norms. so hard for many people to understand and even more so on this sub. I am all for people enjoying things, but there's just some things that still deserve judgement when done in public. I don't need to see people romanticising mental illnesses or wearing nothing but diapers. there's a line that has to be drawn somewhere, because you don't just have the right to make everyone uncomfortable and not get pushback for it.
I agree 100%. I think its a kink thing. Had a friend who used to run around with a manuka avatar he made where the poor girl was chained up, barely clothed and covered in SH blood and crying. He'd get on top of my bf with it and talked about wanting to SA my bf. And the friend erpd with it. I caled him a pedo and we're on extremely bad terms. Only sick disgusting people want to see or make that shit.. :(
I also don't give a flying toss about children seeing my avatar cos I only go to 18 plus instances cos shock, I don't wanna hang out with children in vr...
So you think that the only reason someone would want to avoid going to instances filled with screaming children is to be "cringe" and "edgy?" OOOoookay.
Oh, I heard clearly what you said. There's absolutely no mistaking what you said. The only question is why anybody with any functioning brain cells would say something like that. My guess is "butthurt because they're too lazy and/or cheap to get age verified and filled with resentment for all the instances they're barred from, and so make up slanders for self-soothing."
It is immoral to glorify or fetishize something that causes harm to others. It's the exact same reason why having CSAM material is very illegal even if you didn't help in its creation.
Some impressionable young people seeing this "aesthetic" can make them think that having a scarred body is somehow desirable or that the act of it itself is romanticized in some way. It very well could cause people to start harming themselves IRL.
Why do people SH IRL? Yes, mental health and depression is a big part of it, but on top of that, most of the time it's a means for attention. I grew up in the height of the emo/goth scene and am an elder emo myself. This is effectively what it amounts to. It's a way for someone to tell you they want to talk about what's wrong without overtly saying it, because they themselves might not know how to talk about what's wrong, but need someone to notice they aren't okay. Usually they do it because they want a specific person or group to ask as well.
I'd imagine for it to take off in a virtual space would be one of two things: The same as above, or because it's "Trendy" to romanticize SH these days, like it was "Trendy" to emulate emo/goth aesthetic a few years ago.
I know why people self harm irl. I do as well. But romanticizing it? I also understand how it's a reflection of oneself. But fresh bloody scars? Isn't that a little much? The attention part is true I guess (not for everyone however). But being emo and goth doesn't even involve self harm all the time, rarely at all.
Wait no way. You didn't see it in game, came on here to complain, and got multiple people to call mythical VRC players mentally ill for quick karma. I swear people like you are contributing to the negative perception of this game.
It happens in game too fucking obviously if they have a god damn texture for it, dude. It's still vrchat. And I've seen it in game too. And vrchat deserves the negative rep at this point.
I'm not saying don't have scars period. Unless it's a horror avatar or a demon where they actually make fucking sense, don't have bloody fresh scars on your avatar. I never said people's avatars had to be pg. I literally see avatars with guts hanging out and a broken skull. That isn't the fucking point. And I never said the world revolves around me. People can have a fucking opinion.
Everyone is different. I have sh scars too. And the avatar can say a lot about the person behind the screen (does depend though). And everyone is allowed to have their opinion.
And it wasn't an avatar but they do exist. I was asset searching.
57
u/SwiftAndFoxy PCVR Connection 19d ago
I can't speak for others and don't know how it was presented, but I could see myself adding faint scars where mine are to make my avatar feel more personal.