Body customization male/female discrepancy

Dear Zwift, why is it that heavier male cyclists look absolutely jacked, while the female avatar looks the same or just has a larger butt/hips? Body customization would be a huge upgrade to Zwift and help encourage some body diversity in the sport of cycling. I worked hard for my muscles and it makes me sad every time I see my poor avatar’s spindly little arms! Thanks for considering.

I agree 100% on more customization options, but I think the fundamental difference between the male and female avatar sets is that there are three avatars for males (small, medium, and large), but only two for females (small and medium). Perhaps someone at Zwift can explain why only males get a large avatar.

I’m not from Zwift, but I seem to recall someone in another thread (also not a Zwift staffer) saying something along the lines of “It would not be a good thing if I ever called my wife ‘large’”.

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:100: people should have the choice of an avatar that looks the way they want, whether they look like that IRL or not. It’s OK for avatars to be fanciful or aspirational.

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I am not much of a gamer, but are there any games that allow the, seemingly, unlimited customization some Zwifters seem to want? For me, just the few options we have seem fine, but I’m likely oblivious to the reasons people want more options, since my IRL shape is pretty similar to the M men’s avatar.

If you look at the original request, it’s from a rider whose avatar doesn’t reflect their IRL body type. I think the best solution is to trust the user to choose. There’s nothing harmful about that IMO.

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You are right: nothing harmful. But it seems that trying to program something like this would be onerous, and the last thing Zwift needs right now is MORE things to load!

Loads. But I don’t think anyone’s asking for unlimited customisation really, just a few more options.

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Maybe just a few more would do it, but it seems like there are quite a few different iterations of ‘what I want my avatar to look like’ going in the Forum. And once you add ‘a few more’ it might just open the flood gates of ‘why can’t I have what I want?’

I’ve seen requests for longer hair.
I’ve seen requests for different body shapes/styles.
I’ve seen requests for amputees.

Other than that, I have nothing further to contribute to this at the moment.

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There’s more than a few already though, it’s just a bit limited. Doesn’t bother me personally but a game that plays heavily on the social interaction factor should probably have more options for people to make something a bit more individual, that they feel more closely represents them.

This forum allows for any avatar, why bother when we could just all have this:
image

It’s part of the social thing, comes with the territory.

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Where exactly can you go to do whatever customization that’s allowed? New to Zwift and haven’t seen that—and where to change the jersey and those awful tall socks?? TY

I’m new to zwift—how/where do you change appearance of your avatar to whatever level allowed?? Can’t find in profile or settings…??
TY for any help you can give me.

Go to Menu → Garage. There you should find options to change everything (bike, wheels, hair, jersey, skin color, socks, headwear, etc.) And on the right side will be the ‘Drop Shop’ where you can purchase new bikes and wheels as you your Drops (Zwift currency) and gain levels.

This may help (or may not): Avatar Customization

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Thx so much! I’ll work on it, my avatar is awful lol

As a gamer, yes, loads of games allow this. More and more as time goes on. And it seems particularly important in the fitness and especially cycling space, where this so much body … homogenization.

You’ve already admitted that your thin male avatar looks like a lot you - I think you’ve forfeited your opinion validity on this, friend. Unfortunately we are not all thin white men. No need to jump in and comment if you disagree.

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To the contrary, I am always entitled to my opinion. You may not like it, but I still get to have it. Also, I didn’t say I had the ‘thin’ male avatar.

Good to know, thanks. As I mentioned, I am not a gamer so I’m not aware of what is going on in that space. I’ll have to ask our kids what their experience is in this area when we see them next week.

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