Internet Gender Issues

[smileyeagle1021]

I've always gone by Flyndaran or KBantar, yet I don't think anyone has ever mistaken me for female.

umm... I thought you were a female

[Flyndaran]

umm... I thought you were a female

Really? What gave that impression?

[kamn]

<snip> Also I don't talk like a woman whatever that means. <snip>

My friend has the opposite. Very male name, but get mistaken for a female, most of the time by females. Supposedly, males don't use emoticons in a conversation and if they do, they will be the standard ones. Was fun to hear the reactions of everyone in the guild when he got on Vent though

[unholypet]

Female! Often mistaken for a male because of my, quoted," brashness, bluntness, spelling and grammar (??), and the attitude."

[Peppergirl]

I use Peppergirl, which is obviously female - but I never meant it in a cutesy way, it's actually from the name "Pepper" who is my parents dog. I call her peppergirl sometimes, and it just stuck. So yeah, I guess it is a little cutesy to name myself after a dog I love. Or disturbing.

I also use Firebrat, and I've never been mistaken for a male with that, either. But, I do find some validity to Boozy's comment about writing in a sterotypical 'female' or 'male' way. I know I am very 'female' in my writing, so even if I used a male-ish name, I think it would be obvious I am female.

[Nyoibo]

I don't usually have a problem with people picking my gender online, it's usually in real life that I have the problem.

[BroomJockey]

So yeah, I guess it is a little cutesy to name myself after a dog I love. Or disturbing.

"This Junior, what does it mean?"

"Henry, Jones, Junior."

"Dad, I prefer 'Indiana.'"

"We called the dog Indiana."

"You are named after the dog?"

[Peppergirl]

"This Junior, what does it mean?"

"Henry, Jones, Junior."

"Dad, I prefer 'Indiana.'"

"We called the dog Indiana."

"You are named after the dog?"

Heh. Love that movie.

Now you've done it....gonna call myself 'Peppergirl Jr.' now.

[Greenday]

I use Peppergirl, which is obviously female

It is? Crap...

Just kidding. Haven't really messed up too many people on here, but every now and then I do.

[Kalli]

Interestingly, I'm mistaken for male quite a lot, despite having a feminine username. I think this is because of what Boozy said - you hit the nail smack on the head there.

Also, males who say that they create female wow characters because "people give you stuff and hit on you when you're a female!" Are full of shit. I've been playing a female character with a feminine name on the most dickhead-soaked server since release day, and I'm very rarely taken for a female.

That's purely a gaming thing though, on forums it's different, usually people guess I'm a female from the name, although like Boozy my tone is often masculine.

It was a lot worse even 5 years ago in regards to games, I used to play a lot of RTS and FPS fairly seriously, and never once did someone assume I was female, despite Kali being my name for the last 10 years. In WoW, a few people assume im female, and a few more actually ask.

B) Female gamers rarely identify themselves since depending on the game community the reaction or unwanted attention can be problematic. This is typically problematic in the aforementioned action games dominated by younger male players.

This.

I used to get extremely pissed when I used to play CoD and a clan member would call me "she" in chat, because I'd spend the rest of the skrim copping "HEY BABE DON'T GET ANGRY LOL PMS" and/or "OMG! <Insert Teammate Here> got killed by a GIRL! HAHAHAHA!" from the opposing team.

Even to the point of when i'd accidentally say something like "my boyfriend", people would automatically assume I was a gay dude, because that was more likely than being a chick playing AOE or COD. Being a girl gamer was a huge thing even 5 years ago.

That kind of shit doesn't normally go down anymore, especially since I play MMO's now, although if you're in an argument (especially of the typical internet variety), you still don't want people knowing you're female.

I was having this epic argument with a fuckbat during a pug just the other day actually, when a guildy piped up "Careful dude, her husband is in this raid". GG, argument over, I lose no matter what.

Not that I'm having a whinge about it, it's simply amusing and really quite sociologically interesting.

[Nyoibo]

Also, males who say that they create female wow characters because "people give you stuff and hit on you when you're a female!" Are full of shit. I've been playing a female character with a feminine name on the most dickhead-soaked server since release day, and I'm very rarely taken for a female.

The best answer I've heard for a guy playing a female character was something along the lines of "If I have to stare at an ass for hours on end them it's damn well going to be a nice shapely ass" I agree.

[Rapscallion]

The best answer I've heard for a guy playing a female character was something along the lines of "If I have to stare at an ass for hours on end them it's damn well going to be a nice shapely ass" I agree.

I was about to say something along those lines. Mates of mine always play male characters and wonder why I play female characters. It's simple - I'm heterosexual and don't really want to stare at a male from behind for ages.

They've yet to come up with an answer to that one.

Rapscallion

[Mytical]

Wow...how long are these posts allowed to be? Sooo many games, sooo many forums...sooo many names. Would be here for quite some time. I have played female avatars, been mistaken for female. Even made female avatars on MMO (cause I agree that if I am going to stare at something, it is not going to be some guys hairy behind). Its also a little more complicated then that for me, but not something that I am going to discuss online .

Anyhow, just remember the internet is : Where guys are guys, females are guys, and teens are FBI agents. As long as you avoid cybering (which I have never really understood or gotten into), you should be ok

[smileyeagle1021]

Really? What gave that impression?

I honestly don't know...

I use Peppergirl, which is obviously female

Holy Crap, you're a woman

[Kalli]

The best answer I've heard for a guy playing a female character was something along the lines of "If I have to stare at an ass for hours on end them it's damn well going to be a nice shapely ass" I agree.

Precisely, that makes perfect sense, and it's obviously why they play female characters. What I don't get is why they don't just say that.