Hi all,
Gwen,
The thing about the avatars is that they fulfill a very specific function: as Stephanie said, they're meant to convey some sense of a member's personality to the forum. As such, the avatar one chooses to use can be funky and creative; it can set a mood or impart a 'tone of character.' I think my own avatar falls into this category. Although it's really me in the photo, it's obvious (I hope) that it's an "idealized me." I play around with the lighting and contrast in order to "soften" some of the signs of aging on my face but the lips, the eyes, the face are genuinely me. I offset this photographic sleight of hand by posting photos of myself "au naturel" (in boy mode) on the forum's gallery.
When I first joined the forum, I posted photos of myself (using a cheap little webcam, which is all I had at the time) that I thought truly represented how I saw myself. I soon realized, however, that "how I truly saw myself" was only part of the picture (pun intended
). It wasn't very long before I felt the need to come clean regarding my appearance, at which point I posted boy mode photos.
So. Regarding the "are you for real?" part, yes, in my case, this is me. However, regarding the underlying question ("Do you look that good
en femme in real life?"), the answer is, of course, absolutely not! I'd have to spend three days getting ready to go out in order to look even a fraction as good as I think my avatar makes me look. And even then, I don't think I could ever achieve that look. But, again, in my mind, this is what I look like. And I want others to know that, in my mind, this is, indeed, what I look like. Again, I offset this by the 'truth' that I post on the gallery.
So, Gwen, don't ever be afraid to get funky or creative or as real as you want to be in your avatar. Like Stephanie said, it's the character and personality that comes out in your words and thoughts that paint the best picture for the rest of us.
Love,
CJ
, I am not intimidated!
Not everyone is comfortable posting their own picture as an avatar so the nice thing about them is that one can use whatever picture feels right for them. Sometimes even a cartoon can reveal their sense of humour so I always look for that. I personally think the most important thing is what's contained in a person's writing and how they express themselves. The pictures can be an element of their 'personality', whether it's them or not. 
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