Intentionally misleading people about your gender
 

On internet land...... Why?

I don't understand the need for anyone to intentionally avoid mentioning if they are male or female - surely it matters not if a person is male or female but why do some people avoid saying if what gender they are - I mean those people who don't intially let on either way: and are happy for people to assume they are female when they are actually male: or vice versa.

Why would anyone intentionally do this - to later reveal their true gender at a later stage?

Has anyone done this? if so, why did you feel the need? :conf:

TiBB is quite famous for this.

While I don't understand pretending to be the other sex on the forum, I can get why people would leave it anonymous, it would generally mean they're just seen as a poster on a forum, rather than being a male poster or a female poster lol

I'm actually a female called Gladys.

Feel a massive burden lifting from my shoulders.

:joker:

well im barbra on the weekends.

i have a rusty fanny

i can confirm this

I've seen confusion over member's genders and had people ask me mine but I've never seen anyone keep it intentionally ambiguous.

It wouldn't bother me if people did that,I don't really understand why anyone would want to on here or other areas of the internet.
I don't mind saying I am male.
Anyway,I have been on tibb for near 2 years now and I still haven't a clue if some members are male or female.

If people want to remain anonymous then I see no problem with that, that's their prerogative really.

I understand the anonymous thing but just pretending to be another gender? :conf2: Why?

The thing about being anonymous is you arent really tricking anyone or misleading them about who you are. However if you are pretending to be the opposite sex, you are decieving people, tricking them into thinking you're someone you're not, and this brings your whole personality into question.

It's not pretending to be another gender, it's remaining anonymous

Okay not disclosing your gender because you want to remain anonymous makes perfect sense.

To create a fake identity is just needlessly compacted, I mean I can't think why someone would want to bother with being fake like that unless they were a compulsive liar or something idk.

oh yeah definitely but I was responding to what was asked in the OP. I can see that it would make perfect sense for people to be a bit wary on a new forum to not want to reveal details about themselves and then to later when they felt more comfortable with people :shrug:

:joker:

I agree, once you admit to a gender you are stereotyped ......

-becomes suspicious of pyramid- :suspect:

:bigsmile:

But it's a gender...

Why does a gender matter? They're not going to get judged if they're fe/male.

well now I'm dubious to respond to you because you have cooties. :S

I dont understand the point but I dont really care either. I get over it very quickly when real identities get found as long as theyre not an old man pretending to be a young girl or whatever.

Urgh I wondered if it would come down to that...Where did you find that gif?....

:joker:

:joker:

I honestly am not that bothered about it tbh as yes it's a bit weird but unless some paedophile was doing it to get hold of a child then I don't have a problem with it.

Scott's living room.

Burn it!

if you make an assumption, then they are not misleading you. you are just being a presumptuous or prejudice person.

i honestly don't know the gender of most of the posters here, and i never think about it. Doesn't matter to me.

I think it's an attention thing and partly a fantasy thing. I've long maintained that all users of internet chat sites have one thing in common - we all, at the time of signing up, feel like we lack something. This depends entirely on your age, stage of life and a variety of factors, but it boils down to this basic thing. Taking our community as an example, we all signed up to talk about Big Brother. Presumably we did this because we couldn't talk about it to friends we have in real life, or because we couldn't talk about it in the detail we wanted to, or because we just don't have any friends. Maybe those of us who stick around in off season, again only to begin with, did so because it's better than sitting around feeling lonely in our real lives. I personally have a wide circle of friends - but back when I was 13 I felt like the loneliest person in the world and this place was a wonderful escape for me. So I think, going back to the OP's question, some people would choose to lie about their gender to give themselves a bit of mystery. Sometimes it really sucks having to be who you really are in the real world. Maybe you don't like yourself very much and you want to play a role. Of course, most people get found out because it's hard to keep up such a lie if you start to get to know people - and the more you get to know people, the more betrayed they feel when they find out you were lying. So it's never a good idea but I think I understand some of the reasons why people do it.

I don't think that applies here though Greg as the OP isn't saying people who lie about their gender..........just chose not to reveal it straight away. I would have thought that's more of a cautious move

You know Zee... what you have written above makes a lot of sense and a lot of thought has gone into your reply, rather than just a defensive kind of reply - but it does pose the question as you say: why the need for kind of wanting other to believe something that is not true, intentionally. Ambiguity is one thing, but to want others to believe a poster is one thing, when they are not - that seems weird.

I'm laughing at InOne's comment though that Tibb is known for it! Oh dear.... !!! How true that is though, I have no idea? I know many on here as happily male or female, and some that I have no idea which makes no difference to how I regard them as a poster. Their gender does not define them: but their posts do.

I joined as me, as Pyramid* and that's who I was on DS, had no need to hide anything, or to pretend because I wasn't known on here - a great many other posters from DS came over with me but I think the 'less than friendly welcome and hard time' they got from some on Tibb, made them abandon it again. :bawling:


As for Lemonjam. I'm actually Cleopatra, risen from the depths of ancient Egypt - given I'm probably one of the oldest on here! Resurrected from the sands of time. :D

I think it just gives a greater degree of anonymity really

To clarify: it's more to do with what is done with intent - intent to allow others to believe one thing whilst knowing it to be untrue but it to suit a purpose - whatever that may be.

I'm sure it must happen all over the internet. It's at what stage that all unravels I guess, you know - what else have others been led to believe for whatever reason.

It's a strange thing really. I do understand anonymity - but intentionally being misleading.

goodness: only today I was reading something in the (yes..the good old DM) about well..... here you can read it for yourself.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-websites.html

NOTE: I am not at all suggesting anyone on Tibb falls into this category before you all shoot me down in flames. But that is the ultimate danger and risk that is taken.

If it is kept up.

If it is not. Then it's less to do with anonymity as more to do with deception with intent is it not? :conf:

Think it was about 3 over 2 years.

No necessarily, there's been people on here who either didn't reveal their identity or pretended to be another gender purely because they were nervous of revealing any details about themselves online, then when they became more comfortable on the forum and got to know people better, felt that they could relax a bit.

Pretending to be another gender isn't quite the same as revealing an identity or revealing personal details....- it's not quite like divulging your bank account details or such.

The word 'pretending' says it all. What else might someone be pretending about? I think Zee replied and gave very good reasons & comments tbh, it's why I asked the question and the replies are interesting. It's good to see how people view different scenarious.

Well I'd say it gives an extra level of security, more protection against people knowing too much about you maybe, some people on here can be quite intrusive :p

The best way to remain anonymous is not to give any sort of info.
See: Reggie

I dont think its neccessary though, and I like to have a face to the person Im talking to.