cavernio (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} cavernio) wrote,@ 2007-03-05 15:23:00 |
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While perusing for articles which might be of interest to my boss, I came across an interesting sounding one about sex differences in persuasion in person compared to online. Although the experiment itself was pretty neat, the introduction was actually the most interesting part for me, firstly because, unlike every journal article I've read for the past 6 months, its about a topic which I've learned nothing about, and it doesn't rehash the findings of articles which I've already read myself. Secondly, I found a theory discussed in it pertained to me in a particular fashion. Essentially, it says that for in-gender'dyads' (I take it this mean for groups of 2 people), those people will act more stereotyipcal for that sex, as compared with a man and a woman. The stereotypical way for men to act, apparently, is to be more competitive, whereas for women it's to be cooperative. Now, usually, I find that I don't feel like I fit into stereotypical ways of acting, but the more I think about it, the more this seems to ring absolutely true for me. I would say that I'm a fairly competitive person. I like debating/arguing, and I like games. And I also often feel more comfortable around men than women for many things, and when I think about it, those are largely competitive things. I find myself worrying about making women feel stupid or hurt if I state my mind about things which they don't agree with; I'm worried they'll take it too personally or something. And I suppose that this leads me to probably being more pleasant to be with when I'm with women, but also makes me feel a little less like my actual self I think.
This also made me think about why I often make male characters etc. online. I suppose I like being able to openly compete with someone, and I've definitely gotten the impression that men are more likely to do that when they think I'm a guy. I know that I come off as masculine on-line too, because there's been a couple of instances where people have sworn that I'm a guy, even though I've played a female character and said I was actually female. I've never used Vent or other verbal means of communication to game before, (family and friends aside: they know I'm a woman already) and although being able to communicate through speaking is definitely a plus, I think it's a little disappointing that people know your actual gender when using those things.
I used to go into chatrooms and not announce my gender purposefully and I'd start ranting about "It doesn't matter what sex I am" and it'd piss people off. Once, people started saying I was a transvestite, which is kinda funny because at that time, I wasn't actually sure what a transvestite was.
I'm definitely a fan of the anonymity being online gives because of the removal of so much stereotyping, and I'm a little saddened when I see the internet becoming a place where people put up pictures of themselves all the time.
This also made me think about why I often make male characters etc. online. I suppose I like being able to openly compete with someone, and I've definitely gotten the impression that men are more likely to do that when they think I'm a guy. I know that I come off as masculine on-line too, because there's been a couple of instances where people have sworn that I'm a guy, even though I've played a female character and said I was actually female. I've never used Vent or other verbal means of communication to game before, (family and friends aside: they know I'm a woman already) and although being able to communicate through speaking is definitely a plus, I think it's a little disappointing that people know your actual gender when using those things.
I used to go into chatrooms and not announce my gender purposefully and I'd start ranting about "It doesn't matter what sex I am" and it'd piss people off. Once, people started saying I was a transvestite, which is kinda funny because at that time, I wasn't actually sure what a transvestite was.
I'm definitely a fan of the anonymity being online gives because of the removal of so much stereotyping, and I'm a little saddened when I see the internet becoming a place where people put up pictures of themselves all the time.
