Mairead McConnell -- Post 6 Grrrrl

[I saw Mairead McConnell at the beach one day and begged her to pose for us here at Post 6. Thankfully, she agreed. She is beautiful and smart, and it was a pleasure to work with her, I only hope I've done her justice. -Timothy Morpork]

I've now been in SL for almost three years. Like most, I've had my phases- been winged,  a vampire, a pole dancer etc. etc., but now I've settled with being me. Well that is to say me with a  few subtle improvements. I'm not heavily tattooed and I don't have cat ears or a tail in real life. So the more observant of you will notice I'm a bbw. I don't really like that as a moniker, but it's what most people use, so I will stick with it. I am in short a big woman, fat if you like. That's up to you of course.

Now I could say of course I'm some kind of ambassador for bbw's, working for size acceptance everywhere I go but that's not true. I just want everyone to be happy- fat, thin, furry,  winged whatever- it's all the same to me.

I help to write a magazine for larger avatars called Big Beautiful Women.  [available here - the editrix] Ultimately, it centres around shopping, as most women's magazines do, but I also have page of my own to rant about whatever I want which is great. By the way,  I stuck that in just as the obligatory  shopping comment- seems to be a theme with the comments and didnt want to break the trend!

There are some sims catering for bbw avs although I dont frequent them as much as I used to. I prefer sitting at Laguna Nude Beach and chit chatting with whoever's there. So that's me- I'm big, myself, and I sit on a  beach all day.

Comments

[O'Connell]

Timothy you are a sick fuck! :D

[Gross]

You know, I come to SL to escape from fat ugly people in RL. I really don't need to see fat ugly people in SL. Sorry, but that's just gross.

[Persephone Bolero]

I think she's lovely. The law of supply and demand makes the short, overweight, and flat chested simply more attractive in SL.

[Elora Henig]

Bravo, Mr.Morpork. I believe that in SL we should applaud those who express their freedom to be any form they choose. Diversity IS the spice of life.

[Applauding Loudly]

Fantastic choice for a Post 6 Girrl, and thank you Mairead for sharing your big sexy bod with us. Timothy- You're proving again and again why Post 6 is a celebration, not just a flesh show. Thank you both for the courage to show that all avatars can be beautiful.

[Coke]

I want my two minutes back!

[Flo2]

She's big-and-beautiful: OK, I can absolutely accept it.
She's writing for a magazine centers around shopping: OK, I can accept it.
She sits on a beach all day in SL while she's online??: That's no. I'm trying to accept it, but I can't. :))

[Bunny Brickworks]

Kudos for being brave enough to show your curves in the Herald, Mairead.

It's interesting to see people's reactions when they see big/fat/curvy/plus-sized women in SL. Two weeks ago there was a blogger challenge: twist your avi's shape and make a curvy girl, a big one with hips and boobs, with body fat and muscles. And when the first pics showed up in blogs and on flickr, the reactions were surprising. An overwhelming part of men supported the curvy babes, asked their SL girlfriends NOT to change back to the thin swizzle sticks they were before. A surprisingly large number of women who participated said they suddenly felt very sensual and comfy in their shapes and didn't want to change back to their usual size. And though my avi always had paddings in the right places, I must admit that I thought I was looking like a crack whore when I changed again.

SL has distorted our view of what is 'normal' just like fashion magazines do in RL. And just like in RL, the SL fashion industry makes being a curvy babe a rocky road. Ever tried to adjust prim skirts or sculpted attachments to a shape that has more than 10% body fat? Not to mention poses that make your hands look as if they get eaten by your hips...

So congrats on this post. Ignore the haters, they always hate :)

[addison mortlock]

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Well proportioned and beautiful shape.

[Hold On]

@Coke
Is that two more minutes you could spend as a "Herald Reporter" (or, in your case, making libelous cartoons) you drama-ridden fathead? If so, please, no thanks.

@Mairead
big girls are great, and so are your pictures. Most guys won't admit they like a girl with a little meat on her bones till closing time at the bar. Thank you for being brave enough to show all while we're still sober.

[Odette]

What a fabulous choice! :D It's really awesome to see variety! I've been seeing more and more 'bbw' avatars lately and I think it's fabulous! I'm inspired to make my own bbw shape now. ^^

All the O'Connells, Gross's and Coke's out there can suck it. They'd be lucky to get someone have this beautiful in real life. I'm sure at least one of them will come back with 'my wife/gfriend/all the women i date are trim and i keep myself in shape yada yada'. But you know what? I have my doubts. Losers that can't see past a woman's exterior to see the real her, usually are also the one's that complain how women are only looking for guys with money.

*mwah* Mairead! - I'll totes be dropping you a notecard. :D

[:O]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Reverse Writer]

What's wrong with its eyes? They're all bugged out. Is Timothy holding a slice of cake just beyond the camera?

[Darkley]

I have no issue with BBW avatars, although Mairead seems to have no neck and the skin has really harsh underboob shading meant for larger breasts

[Mairead Mcconnell]

thanks for making me look so wonderfull Timothy

[Hylee]

Good for you Mairead! I think you are quite pretty! The people who use phrases like "fat and ugly" only show themselves as who they really are. Bigots! And it's not gross.... It's honest. Wow! Honesty in SL....

[janeforyou Barbara]

BRAVE!!!!!!
Nice to se a "Fullbodye" women in SL (am to skinny i know) but kudos to Mairead!!

[Barefoot Ballinger]

Gorgeous Mai!

[icallbullshit]

"Most guys won't admit they like a girl with a little meat on her bones till closing time at the bar."

Sorry, I call bullshit!

"Most guys" is a generalization and when its slim pickins (no pun intended) at closin' time, the guys that end up bringing home the fat skanks are pretty much bored with their right (or left) hands - or better yet, just tired of f**cking the neighbor's livestock.

Buried "hole" stinks, lit·er·al·ly and fig'u·ra·tive·ly.

Words to ur skanky motha!

and word to all you fat ass bishes hiding behind your intertube connextions that crave real dick but kno that you ever get!

ROFL

[J0RI Tokyo]

absolutely gorgeous !

[Selonna Torok]

Finally, some diversity! Although, I wish skin designers would allow for more "soft" stomachs - it always looks slightly odd to me to see toned stomach skin over portulence.

[Pappy Enoch]

Hoo whee. I are in luv.

Miz McConnell, hows about you, me, a twelve pak, an a pound o' Crisco?

[Mary Elizabeth]

The shape fine, the face is fine, but those clothes are really poorly done.

[Kae]

Wow great. Pixel porn for shut-ins too shut-in to show their face at Wal-Mart.

She looks like she should be riding a meat wagon power scooter.

[Mairead Mcconnell]

lmao @ the stereotyping.......bug eyed because of cake....eating crispo (which btw I had to google not all brand names are universal fool)
a quick note about the skin its the best I could find that was my natural shade I didnt want to look like a tangerine so its the best I could come up with yes the shadings a little harsh and the bellys not quite right but most of the skins made for bbws arent this high quality so I make do with what I can get.
@Flo yes I posted on the bbw av thread but never got much of a response.

[Mai Mcconnell]

@ bare I expected some bad comments If you sign up for this its expected but from someone I know....ouch

[Pappy Enoch]

Miss Mcconnell, you done said "lmao @ the stereotyping....eating crispo"

Ma'am, it am "CrisCo" and it ain't for eating in our lovey-dove case.

It am for rubbin' on you, rubbin' on me, rolling nekkid in pastry-flour, and making us one great big ol' "Love Dumpling," as we says down Enoch Holler way.

An for the record: We loves big gals in Enoch-Holler. I are rite large myself, as you may know. There am more to love!

I ain't making fun (more than usual). Don't listen to them stuck-up skinny old city folks. They drinks so much Starfucks Coffee that they shake all the time and done slimmed down to bags o' bones.

BIG AM BEAUTIFUL! BIGGER AM BEAUTIFULER!

[Mai Mcconnell]

@ bare *grovels* im sorryyyy i was reading the names the wrong way round oops

[Skye D.]

So nice to see someone in SL who's comfortable looking, well, real. I started off as a tall skinny thing, but as time has progressed I keep adding a little padding. I think it looks sexier, myself.

[Debbie Hazelnut]

Ignore the haters Mai, you look awesome and I love your style.

Timothy you so rock Post 6. Each week your models are either interesting in style or in bio, (sometimes both) and your pictures are always good, usually great, and sometimes fantastic. I know you take a lot of sh*t from readers, so I thought you might like some love. Call me if you want that love in person ;-)

[Mai Mcconnell]

im sorry pappy for my misunderstanding after previous comments i was somewhat on the defensive lol

[Yak]

Mairead you are brave and beautiful because you are so YOU !
And all those Barbie dolls out there who indeed think that a photoshopped shape is the norm, and that a thigh should have the diameter of an arm, will never get close to your level of beauty and integrity.

[marilyn murphy]

mai. i am very glad that you have received support for your avatars size. i hate it when people are critical based on appearances.
nobody talks about the health issue involved here. i think that the health issue is the sole objection i have to a person of your size. if indeed you are of these proportions in real life i do wish you well, and hope that you remain healthy and happy. im not about to lecture anyone about anything, but i personally worry about the health of those i know that are your size. good luck to you.

[val]

Umm...yeah ok. I mean, hmm like, please don't rez this around me. Thanks.

[Pappy Enoch]

@ Miss Mcconnell, who said "i was somewhat on the defensive lol"

/me blushes like a prize Tomater at the State Fair. I think you done the rite thing. I are tired of them-there fake swizzel-stick gals and muscle boys. They am all the same.

Ma'am, them mean rascals am after you something fierce, but I loves being different in SL. I been a go-rilla, a rite purty gal, a Gorean Blutarch of Buggtusslistan, James Dean, and a chikkin to get a good story for the Herald (and them gals loves me sum'fin terrible).

Be all you kin be: it am true in the Army and in SL, too!

[MachineCode]

I laughed when I saw this. I click my SLH link every so often and whenever I see a post 6 I just laugh. Especially with the last couple. It's not even the bizarre angle taken to intentionally pick things to please off-center fetishists. I know that this is the internet, and that kind of thing is still not acceptable by most people but will be tolerated because this is a silly place.

What I laugh at is always the graphical elements themselves, the hard work people have put into texturing and posing their avatars so their predefined oiled up skin and shadowed underbra look like they should actually be there. Right now, look at the pictures and tell me they don't look completely ridiculous.

The most annoying and revolting part about this is that it's ubiquitous throughout Second Life, and it looks EVEN WORSE when you're actually amongst the throng.

Your game looks like ass. You should just give up.

[Skye D.]

I'm Mai's size in RL, and am perfectly fine. My blood pressure is normal, my cholesterol hovers around 155-165. Just because someone is bigger doesn't mean that they're a heart attack waiting to happen. For some of us, it's just genetics. My body has stabilized at the size it is now, and I have no major health issues whatsoever.

According the utterly stupid BMI index, I hover on the brink of "Mordibly obese". But I eat fairly healthy, exercise regularly, and still stay right around a U.S. size 16. My endurance isn't what it used to be, but I consider myself a good example of "Big doesn't necessarily = unhealthy".

[Faerie]

Originality is a wonderful thing. Thank you Timothy and Mairead.

[Ynottoo]

Oh yes, the horse tail really sets it all off. Make it go away mommy!

[Mai Mcconnell]

*flicks her zippo and lights a cigarette while picking at the last few crumbs of her chocolate cake breakfast* oh yeah I is healthy too!

[The GrownUps]

@MachineCode (Oh Dear?) said:
Your game looks like ass. You should just give up.

Well, considering that porn is like a multi-billion dollar industry, and 90% of the male population is thinking about sex several times a minute, I'd say that a game that looks like ass would be a huge hit. Which means your comment is fairly retarded, as you're trying to say "Your game is unattractive" but in fact you said "Your game looks like something that billions of people across the planet are thinking about right this second."

Oh hold it, were you slinging slang? Oh, I'm sorry, your nerdy moniker belied your attempt at being a hipster who says pithy things like "This coffee tastes like ass" and "That was an epic fail." Perhaps you should crank down the dial on angry cool and express yourself in clear language, because you suck at being hip.

For example, you said this:
I click my SLH link every so often and whenever I see a post 6 I just laugh.

But then you said this:
The most annoying and revolting part about this is that it's ubiquitous throughout Second Life, and it looks EVEN WORSE when you're actually amongst the throng.
Your game looks like ass. You should just give up.

Which leads me to wonder, "IF IT SUCKS WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Did you mean to have such an obviously conflicted view here? Did you really mean to say "Your game sucks but I play it and even read a blog about it?"

Go outside, make some flesh and blood friends, clean your glasses, find a girl, get a dog...you know, live your life for some purpose other than coming here to be a dick.

Keep up the good work, SL Herald.

[Carmen]

If someone is happy at the size they are and there are no health issues caused by the weight of that person, be it heart problems, joint problems diabetes etc then its perfectly acceptable. I thnk that your avatar is beautiful and if its a true reflection of yourself then that is wonderful too.
In fact i have seen more women with health problems through been excessively thin than those that are to look at over weight and most that are generally unhappy people compared to those that are heavier.
Timothy great pic's and great choice of subject.

[icallbullshit]

@ The GrownUps

Talk about hemorRhAGING butt-hurt-ness! God Damn!

(And no I'm not MachineCode or Oh Dear for that matter.)

That said, I laughed at your spew. Follow your own f**king advice and get a life; and I only say this b/c it would appear that you have a seizure in your future - from the looks of it...

Chill.
Relax.
Meditate.
ASSHOLE!

[Comeon Please]

Come on, at least post another story or something. You going to make us look at this every time we come for a week?

[Nimil Blackflag]

wonderful choice for post 6 this time around! timothy i was hard on you when you started, but you have really improved both in girl choice as well as photography.

[MachineCode]

Did you really mean to say "Your game sucks but I play it and even read a blog about it?"

I don't play SL and I glance at this blog once in a while.

Probably to laugh at people like you, hurrrr.

[All Seeing Eye]

lmao SLRome is being burned to the ground by invading PNuns, LL is giving permanent marketing advantage to Pink Linden's buddies, and an article about a nekid big girl gets twice as many or more comments? Whatever. This entire thing gets worse daily.

[The GrownUps]

@MachineCode said
I don't play SL and I glance at this blog once in a while. Probably to laugh at people like you, hurrrr.

Thank you for being such a perfect idiot. If you were smarter, you would have known that that was precisely my point. You come here to be a dick. Your world-view embraces the idea that telling people their stuff sucks is ok. This means you probably also spend an enormous amount of time at websites about bowling and knitting and fishing, telling them about what losers they are for liking that hobby. Or, you ONLY feel the need to come to THIS blog "once in a while" to tell us how cool you are and how dorky we are. Uh-huh.

Have you ever noticed that the politicians who hold family values up the highest are the biggest philanderers? Have you ever noticed that the religious leaders who are the most judgmental from the pulpit are the ones that get caught in a horrendous scandal? That's what you and Oh Dear remind me of- someone who protests too much. "I don't spend my time in SL, it's for losers, I just come here to laugh at you!" I suspect in truth you are logged into the grid more than most of the people who read this blog and you hate yourself for it. That's why you make us listen to you "BAWWWing" week after week about what losers we are.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there's another reason you come here to tell us that the game looks like ass. Enlighten us, please, with the shining path of your intellect and life's story. Or, stfu and go bother the bowlers or the knitters or some other group to which you (purportedly) don't belong.

@icallbullslit said
Talk about hemorRhAGING butt-hurt-ness!

I don't even know where to start with you. I suspect someone will have to help you sound out the bigger words, so I won't expect a response anytime soon, but really, dude, if you're over the age of 17 please just do us all a favor and never reproduce.

When my children were in their teens and I would ask them about something they had done, I learned that if they immediately gave me the "Why are you freaking out about this?" question, it meant that I had struck a nerve, as I am always calm and never freak out, (even under gunfire, and I have the medals to prove that).

Anyhow, eventually they grew out of that, which is why I say that if you're over 17 and still in the "why are you freaking out about this" stage, and still using terms like "butt-hurt" it's really time to do some self-evaluation about who you are and where you're headed.

MachineCode said "This" and I replied with "That." It's called discussion, but just because you're slow, I'll clarify that for the record, I am not butt-hurt, not BAWWWWWWing, or even all that interested in this. I've been reading the Herald since at least 2005 and I get tired of people like Oh Dear and MachineCode trolling these threads, so it's time someone trolled back.

I like Second Life, don't see how it's all that different a hobby than knitting, doing crosswords or rebuilding a classic car, and I just don't understand why someone who says they don't play this game would want to waste their life reading and commenting on a blog about it. Please enlighten me.

[mootykips]

i like how you people bitch about popular media promoting an unhealthy body image and then glorify the morbidly obese

machinecode and co are right as usual but with 14-year-old "butthurt the cake is a lie epic fail lulz for the winnery" terminology. no matter how retarded the way they put their point across is, it's still infinitely more insightful than your big sack of words there, esteemed internet blog poster "The GrownUps", and as usual, anybody who needs to justify their own point by claiming some smug sense of superiority through some condescending name is usually dumb (and as heavy) as bricks

pps whining about how people that comment on a blog have no life is great because i'm pretty sure visiting a site, leaving a quick comment, then going to go walk dogs while skateboarding and throwing barbells at the sun or whatever Totally Not Nerdy I Promise activity you think is the epitome of what you should be doing with your time is a lot less of a time-wasted than investing months/years into a n64-tier video game where you pretend to do all those things on a computer while converting your real money into virtual money so you can play the fake dog dick stock market. as much as i'm sure it would be fun for you to have your own e-harem of SL haters to verbally slap at you so you could get attention 24/7, nobody is really doing that. perhaps your inability to decouple elaborate fantasy from reality is why you are trying really hard to justify the existence of fat people in a video game.

[The GrownUps]

@mootykips

I think you missed my point. It's ok, we can't all be smart and Walmart will love having you work for them.