The "Who's Really a Boy?" Game

[kateamdahl]

I admit, I sometimes play the "Who's Really a Boy?" guessing game. That's a bad name for it: I should really probably call it the "Whose First Life Self Is a Man?" game, but that doesn't have the same sparkle

Comments

[cyfishy]

I personally see gender as more of a social construct than a biological imperative. Yes, there are certain differences, but I think those differences are amplified and sometimes a bit twisted by what society keeps telling us those differences mean. I mean, if we're irretrievably wired by our sexual biology, then why do we still have people who chide men for being 'sissies' or women for being 'unladylike'? Surely, if these things are 'innate' then we wouldn't need societal pressure to hold these notions in place.

Obviously, I'm a big fan of SL's ability to explore different gender roles (even though, as I often say, the only thing that really changes when I'm in boyshape is what pronoun I use when I emote.) Even in the primitive days of BBSs and such, I sometimes took a male name to see if I'd be treated any differently. (I was. Funnily enough, when I was male, I was seen as contentious, whereas when I was female, I was seen as bringing new insights to the conversation. At one point, I revealed myself as female and some of my detractors fell over themselves to apologize and make sure that no harm was done when they flamed me. Then again, this was back in the days when girls on computers were fewer and farther in between than they are today.)

I only get annoyed with people who bend gender when they actively and repeatedly lie about their sexual identity in RL. The correct answers, in my book, are (a) the truth or (b) the fact that it's really nobody's business anyway. If you keep insisting you're really a girl in RL and it's painfully obvious that you aren't in any way, you're just embarrassing yourself. Knock it off.