Hijab 🧕🏽

Please can our avatars look more like us? I wear hijab :woman_with_headscarf:t4: so would like the option to cover my hair under the helmet and we are arm and leg warmers! my friend would like a longer beard option :joy: we just take virtual reality too seriously!

The avatars could all do with a big update - blonde hair, different hair length, more customisation options please!

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I just recently fell in love with zwift and also wear the hijab so would love my avatar to look at least a bit more than me :slight_smile:

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Just bumping this back up - good idea

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I wonder if a hijab would cause the same issues as long hair for the graphics team?

Sorry for the typo that should read wear** arm and leg warmers!

Hijab can hit the shoulders so shouldn’t have graphic limitations?! If I can buy several different frames and wheelsets in the drop shop I’m sure someone at zwift is clever enough to make it happen! Thanks for your comments :woman_with_headscarf:t4:

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Agreed! It would be great to see avatars more reflective of the diversity around us.

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Agreed - let’s make this happen ZwiftHQ. Above-the-shoulder hijab plus arm/leg covered options surely aren’t beyond the geniuses who created the wonderful world of watopia.

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ZwiftHQ - agreed with previous comments made. With diversity in cycling being an issue where there are many barriers to entry, I think it would be a very positive move from
Zwift to allow for avatars to best represent users to what they would look like out cycling in real life.
Whether that be a hijab for a Muslim woman, or perhaps a turban for a Sikh man.

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Definitely think a hijab should be created - it’s a relatively small action to make cycling far more accessible to everyone. If you can’t see it, you can’t be it. Zwift cycling is often particularly suited to women, who maybe don’t feel comfortable going outside in winter or alone - offering the hijab option would be such a good way to show women that everyone is welcome in the cycling world.

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Definitely agree with this. More diversity and representation in the game would be a massive step forward.

Appreciate the limitations the graphic design will cause but it would be good if Zwift to at least have the discussion to see what could be accommodated as it might not be that big an ask.

Hey there! I completely agree with your post. Virtual reality games like Zwift need to represent diversity and offer customization options for players to make their avatars more personal.

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Adding my support to this request, as well - it would be great to see the hijab as an option!

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“Dinosaurs and robots, no problem! Hijabs and long hair? That’s gonna be a bit difficult.” :joy:

I get it - sometimes we run into weird issues because of the limitations of our tools, and something that seems like it should be simple is actually impossible. This one is a bit surreal :grin:.

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:confused: ycling has problems of access and representation. But I’m pretty sure that cyclists are much more diverse than what Zwift avatars lead me to believe.

I’m going to tag @James_Zwift on this so I know someone has taken a long look at it :slight_smile: (And now of course hoping you still have a job, James… :confused: )

This is about more than just someone wanting an avatar to look a certain way. It’s about including everyone into the world. It’s very important, in little ways and big ways.

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The issue with adding a hijab is, I am guessing, exactly the same as that of adding long hair or a ponytail: It crosses the head/torso barrier. Zwift has previously indicated that having personalization elements that cross from the head to the torso are ‘troublesome’.

Not being a programmer, I truly have no idea what it would entail to make this work. But I would guess that if a ponytail could be implemented a hijab could be, also.

I would think a turban would not be anymore difficult than adding a new helmet or hat, though.

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The cyclists and track athletes I see wearing hijabs have them tucked under their jerseys/shirts. It could be done in Zwift with a head/neck skin alone, nothing involving the torso.

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I’m sure that some compromise hijab-a-like would be possible, even if it didn’t look fully realistic.

Sleeve and tight length could be a bit more problematic as it would involve new artwork for all of the existing kit. However, perhaps a subset could be created relatively quickly.

A dinosaur or robot (which is what we see a certain times of year) doesn’t have that barrier.

It shouldn’t be that difficult to achieve.

Perhaps also have triathlon kit for the triathletes.

Us runners have vests now so a tri kit is doable with matching colour shorts and vest.