Gender Confusion

[TheFaithfulStone]

So, I've noticed that we have kind of a weird balance of genders on Hypography. You know like 90% male. I guess that's not that odd for the internet, but I keep mistaking posters for female when they aren't.

 

Now, I'm not going to name names, as to who's in the "thought-they-were-a-girl" crowd, but I just find it fascinating what the internet leads us to believe about people that informs all of our interactions - poorly.

 

Furthermore, how many times might we have said something to someone on the internet that we never would have said to them face to face - and not just because there aren't any real consequence for shooting your mouth off on the internet - but because you simply wouldn't talk to (men, women, children, muslims, the elderly, hot chicks, nerdy looking guys etc) like that.

 

Just how wrong are our opinions about who the other people on Hypography really are?

 

Is it a utopia when everything about you is blind text, and there aren't any pre-concieved notions, or is it the opposite - where you have no framework for interacting with other people, and people take jokes seriously.

 

TFS

[Mercedes Benzene]

It may be true that there is an unbalanced population of genders here on Hypography, and yes it may sometimes be difficult to distinguish...

...but... I really don't have a problem with it. I'll talk to anyone regardless of gender, race, age, and the other things you mentioned.

 

To me, they're just people. :Whistle:

[Turtle]

So, I've noticed that we have kind of a weird balance of genders on Hypography. You know like 90% male. I guess that's not that odd for the internet, but I keep mistaking posters for female when they aren't.

Always a thought provoking problem for me whether to dispatch Brotherly or Sisterly conduct.:eek: :lol:

Now, I'm not going to name names, as to who's in the "thought-they-were-a-girl" crowd, but I just find it fascinating what the internet leads us to believe about people that informs all of our interactions - poorly.

Unless it's germain, I prefer to keep gender out of it.

 

Furthermore, how many times might we have said something to someone on the internet that we never would have said to them face to face...

99.356% of the time for me.

 

Just how wrong are our opinions about who the other people on Hypography really are?

.644% wrong for me.:hyper:

 

Is it a utopia when everything about you is blind text, and there aren't any pre-concieved notions, or is it the opposite - where you have no framework for interacting with other people, and people take jokes seriously.

 

TFS

 

Utopia! Where the framewwork is that everbody is blind text & no preconceived notions. In Utopia, you are your words. :) Viva la Hypography!!!!:hihi: :Whistle:

[TheBigDog]

I am in the rare group of people who has actually scored with another Hypographer! :)

 

I am always impressed with how well the content of everyone's opinions is taken, regardless of their age, gender, education, etc. The anonimity of the internet helps some, but the class of the people who congregate at this intellectual watering hole is the biggest part.

 

Bill

[Mercedes Benzene]

I am in the rare group of people who has actually scored with another Hypographer!

 

errrr....

:)

[Turtle]

errrr....

:)

 

He's married to one of us.;) He may have gone too far in presuming other pairs haven't made it though.:D

[TheBigDog]

errrr....

:)

Do I have to spell it out for you? :D I am too much of a gentleman. ;)

 

Bill

[Mercedes Benzene]

Do I have to spell it out for you? I am too much of a gentleman.

 

I'm just messing with you.

I found it humorous. :)

[Jay-qu]

To me, they're just people. :)

 

Exactly the way I feel, everyone is just a person I dont really think of it as girl/guy though sometimes it is obvious. I like how it works

[CraigD]

A gender disparity I noticed a while back is that there appear to be no female posters in the hyper-popular 6441 thread.

 

I recall worrying that female members might be offended by the Desiree la'Tush character – female spacefight enthusiasts are often dedicated feminists. When no offense appeared to result, despite Desiree’s long and lurid adventures, I concluded that hardly any women were following the thread.

[TheFaithfulStone]

Well, it's not just about Gender.

 

Who knew for instance that Mercedes Benzene was 16 years old? (Just turned.) Would you talk about certain subjects with a 16 year old, or chide them for not voting or something?

 

TFS

[Turtle]

Well, it's not just about Gender.

 

Who knew for instance that Mercedes Benzene was 16 years old? (Just turned.) Would you talk about certain subjects with a 16 year old, or chide them for not voting or something?

 

TFS

 

Again, it does not matter! Whether it's gender, age, race, physical ability, god awful ugly puss, stinky feet, or whatever silly distracting bias one-to-one contact gimps up communication with, it is of no concern or interest to me. Bunch of damn gossip making a gallimaufry of this unique-in-the-age-of-people method of communication called the world wide web. :hihi: If you press me, I'll tell you what I really think.:eek2:

[IDMclean]

It's interesting to note that According to DeMause, we are most likely using our so called "social alters" in our conduct here.

 

I know that I am, as I free admit that I am wearing a mask. It makes social interaction easier, which says archives because I am not a terribly good socailite.

 

I try not to bend my perceptions to much regarding people's various traits. I talk to people as I wish to be talked to inturn.

[TheFaithfulStone]

Okay, let me throw out a hypo(graphy)thetical.

 

Let us say that Bob is blind.

 

Bob & Alice are arguing some point about some diagram, and Alice is getting frustrated at Bob's inability to grasp her point.

 

She types "Why can't you understand this! It's right there for you to see, just look at it damn it!"

 

Of course, Bob can't look at. If Bob and Alice were interacting in Real Life, Alice would never tell Bob to "Just look" at something.

 

What I'm saying is that we talk to people differently based on things we can't learn about them in a text-forum. When we don't learn these things, we make assumptions that are not necessarily well founded. For instance Alice assumed Bob could see - she had no reason not to - she couldn't see his white cane, or his dark glasses.

 

Are we more "Invisible" in the Ralph Ellison sense when we DON'T have difference to get in the way of communication, because we tend to assume the whole world is just like us?

 

TFS

[Turtle]

Okay, let me throw out a hypo(graphy)thetical.

...

 

TFS

 

Since blind Bob is typing it is his obligation to in some way communicate by typing that he can't access the drawing (perhaps simply by typing "I can't access the drawing"; if he doesn't, then a scolding is in order.

 

What I'm saying is that we talk to people differently based on things we can't learn about them in a text-forum. When we don't learn these things, we make assumptions that are not necessarily well founded.

 

What I'm saying is we should talk to people differently here because it's a different medium. Just as radio is a different medium than TV is different from print is different from oratory, etc.. I am not here to interact with people; I'm here to interact with people's ideas. Not only do I not give a rat's patut about your gender, your diplomas, your wife's aunt's bunion, or your splendiforous beauty, I lose respect for the typer when they bring up such things. It's simply not germain here.:eek2:

[pgrmdave]

I think that it is different when you know where a person is coming from with their ideas, and gender, along with other physical attributes that you cannot know over the web, plays a big part in that. I couldn't discourse on what it feels like to be female, or of a minority race, or rich, or homeless, or old, or talk about what it is like in certain parts of the world where I've never been. Likewise, I'm more qualified than many here to talk about what the American school system is like, or what New Jersey, or NYC is like, and other topics about which I have first hand knowledge. However, when discussions such as those come up, people tend to tell you why they think the way they do, so it doesn't tend to be much of a problem.

[TheFaithfulStone]

Since blind Bob is typing it is his obligation to in some way communicate by typing that he can't access the drawing (perhaps simply by typing "I can't access the drawing"; if he doesn't, then a scolding is in order.

 

What if it's not an actual issue, but just an insensitive comment? Bob is bitching about not having a job or something. Alice tells Bob "Get off your *** and get one" only Bob is paraplegic.

 

Of course, it's obvious that Alice only meant that figuratively, but she might have phrased it differently had she known.

 

I'm not particularly comfortable with the notion of people as nothing more than a vector for the exchange of ideas - especially not in the social interaction aspect of the forum (and there is a social interaction aspect, it's not all dry factual scientific debate.)

 

And I'm saying that although we can't KNOW certain things about people, we "fill in the blanks" with what we suspect the information is, and it's not always well-founded.

 

Fer'instnce. There is a poster who rabidly defends Israel and everything it does. He (I assume) has a vaugely "jewish" sounding handle. I assumed that this poster was either a) Israeli B) Jewish.

 

Would I have assumed his handle was "jewish" sounding if he hadn't been such an ardent Israeli supporter?

 

Would I have assumed he was a member of said group if he hadn't had a "jewish" sounding handle?

 

Of course, these assumption are MY problem and not his, but is it possible to NOT form these assumptions about people, and having formed them to have them NOT affect the discourse in some way?

 

TFS