Pretending to be what we are not
 

I am sure that the internet gives many opportunities to disguise ourselves and give no hint of who we really are.

Anonymity is a brilliant way of talking about things-- that otherwise would not be said or spoken/written about.
we hear of young people who are lured into A Net relationship with someone who pretends to be what they are not.

Paedophiles often use this as a way of contacting girls-- then grooming them and eventually finding a way of meeting-- it can be dangerous when girls are open and probably reveal things they should not--thinking that they have been conversing with a girl of their own age.


we all know we have to be wary.


On forums such as this there are several people who I had thought were male-- when in fact they were female and vice versa.

Mind you-- often their way of writing does reveal their sex, even if not many of us notice it.


I can understand wanting to remain anonymous. after all it can be extremely dangerous to reveal true identity on the internet.


I do wonder why some use photos that can make one think they are one sex or the other. But-- really-- what is the point of that?

Any thoughts on this?

Post Deleted.

Someone once wrote:
The reality of the internet: "Where men are men, women are men, and children are cops."

On a serious note, you answered your own inquiry. Anonymity on the web gives us the power to say or do things we would not normally say or do on the internet. This could include saying things that are hateful often without direct reprocussion.
This can also explain sex identity. I've known female video gamers who choose male avatars to avoid harassment from male counterparts who would normally not be so rude. I've met male video gamers who choose to use female avatars as they like to dupe dumb users. These are just two examples of how people can use anonymity to be whoever they want to be. And that's exactly why they do it.

I don't hide here the fact I'm a male in his 40s.... I've posted on Facer 3.0 and I have no reason to hide who I am. I've engaged people in conversations here who turns out are much younger than myself, but I don't have an issue with that, since the conversations have remained strictly on the up and up....

The only time I've pretended to be of another gender is when role-playing on WoW or Fallout 3.... If I'm going to spend hours watching an avatar, I'd rather have the image be of a more pleasing aesthetic nature....:D

Agree. In games that's my choice sometimes.

But on the net, why should I lie? I'm a guy, I'm still young, but I'm getting more elevated conversations by showing the truth, not by hiding it.

I've never lied about my gender. I have never been in a situation where being a guy would have been benefitial, so I haven't had to.

about 10 years ago when I first discovered forums I used to pretend to be much older/younger, a different ethnicity, even the opposite sex.

the reason I did it was always the same, to see first hand how different people of different nationalities, ages, and gender get treated by those who can anonymously say what they really think.

it was an eye opening experience, this is when I first truly discovered that the world is an incredibly sexist, ageist and racist place where people judge subconsciously and consciously at every turn.

for example, dogsbody, do you think you would have replied to robins threads the same way had you known? do you think any of us guys would reply so kindly to Suki's comments? ;) hehe sorry Suki but it's true! You really push the whole in-your-face-equality thing around a lot :P
and if you were a guy I wouldn't have said it so kindly :P

I often find myself thinking "damn, if I'd known I might have softened the blows..."

I think you are absolutley right JAMES. Maybe we are programmed to respond to certain things in certain ways.

by the way, what's up with the caps names DOGSBODY? I noticed you do that a lot, ...

No idea James. My fingers go their own way. LOL

I was the recipient of one such confusion (people thought I was female). On Facebook, I habe revealed a lot of information about myself, because I have nothing to hide, & have no fear of any 'weirdo's' out there. I feel if want to make friends online, the more I detail, the less worried the person may be, asking themselves "Who is this person? I know nothing about them". The info I've put, I hope, gives the person an image in their mind of what sort of person I am. Now here's the advertising part, hehe: facebook.com/JamboP26

Sorry everybody. Double post. (It because I'm on PS3 browser)

I think what is more annoying is when people pretend to be Japanese. They will change so much as how they act, dress, their diet and who they speak to to try to emulate a typical Japanese person.

If you think that's creepy you should see Japanese people pretending to be western, idolizing to a point of sickness.

Aah, visions of Elvis, but with different eyes. :rolleyes: But that's not creepy to me - sometimes its an improvement and a mark of some unrealized talent.

Back on topic.....
Back before there was a WWW, I moderated a bulletin board under an assumed identity for a while. It was at the request of the owner. As James pointed out, people do indeed treat you differently based on their perceptions. And dogsbody is soooo right about the gender (and other aspects) showing through in the writing. It's very hard to mask.

I was passing as a male on a male-only site because (1) no women were allowed, (2) they had problems with a few users that I had special insight about from running my own BBS, and (3) I was game for the challenge. I kept my age fairly accurate, but I still did a lot of editing of my comments for gender bias.

I finally "blew" my own cover. A very close friend was moving across country and was begging to meet "Max". I had given him a cold shoulder online and I wasn't believed when I told the truth in person. Then when the owner verified my story I almost lost a friend. Fortunately the reasons made sense later and we have remained friends for the last 20 years.

Jambo I tought you were a chick too.

Hahahah xD

Not sure if that's a good thing or not... Anyway, I'm glad I make my points get across, that's the whole point of being in a forum, so yeah I'll take that as a compliment and not hold it against you. ;)

Really? Hahaha. Wow. Might I ask what made you think that?

Anyways - I'm a hypocrite, sarcastic and usually can be annoying. Both on the interwebs and out of 'em.

No idea. Maybe all the pink in your signature and the fact that it's mostly girls who write the name of their favorite rock bands in there, dunno.

Yeah, the chick avatar, pink hair, pink sigs, pink everywhere...
Being gay is ok too, nothing to be ashamed of! ;)

I guess all the pink doesn't help. In response to my avatar, that's Ayane from the Dead or Alive video game series. I just adore her. I'd say I was a slightly more feminine breed of male. hehe. I'm also bi for cross-dressing J-Rockers e.g. Bou, Rame, Shinya (early Dir En Grey days). I guess that could explain a lot. lol. My name is James, btw

Damn! I love to mess up with quotes!

I can see that, JasonTakeshi. Ahaha :p

Im most cases, I think it`s more a way to present yourself as something you wish you were rather than a form of protecting yourself.

Or at least that is my experience on this forum. We seem to get waves of people wanting to say they`re Japanese, or that they live in Japan... When it is very very clear they are lying.

I`m quite happy with who I am and have never felt the need to represent myself as something / someone I am not.

Sometimes people just like to have fun. I absentmindedly originally replied to this thread without taking into consideration that I too have an avatar that can possibly be misleading.
Granted, it's a young Japanese girl with a 9, and I tend to come off like an @ss a lot of the time, so I think people just generally know I'm a guy :D

I'm a Martian. It said so in a book. "Men are from Mars"

I know, but do people actually check out profiles? I know I don't, after getting used to them saying N/A all the time.

Ive come a little late to this as its gone in a couple of tangents, so ill try to answer in some kind of order.

1) No I have never pretended to be other that what I am! Be it a different gender, age etc.

Ive known others that have point in case being in games and using female avatars as there better to look at....ok fine if it dosent hurt anyone WTH

2) Have i ever hid who I am?

no, wont make excuses here im English 6.2 30 years slightley over weight, enjoy reading..........if you want to "groom" me go ahead i like a laugh as much as the next guy.

3) Avatars

somtimes its just for fun....dont look into it too much.

4) Gay/bi pink writing

who cares? judge the person not there orientation.

I filled out that profile thing on here, but clearly, nobody checked it out. I figured the pink would make my sig stand out. ..& it sort of developed from there.

I always loved your avatar. So cute :p

Sorry everyone. My PS3 keeps coming up with errors leading to double posts