"There's only one hard and fast rule in running: sometimes you have to run one hard and fast."








Wednesday, November 19, 2014

What I learned from being a woman

[That title should get some interest...]

When I joined Twitter, the only thing I could think of that changed frequently and for which I didn't have decent information sources was fashion and then I thought that I might get treated differently as a man than I would be as a woman. So, I decided to take on a female identity and I needed a photo that wasn't of any actual person and I just happened to have one from face research I'd done.



I thought it would be interesting to see if I'd be treated any differently if people thought I was female. I never misrepresented myself, never acted any differently, just used the photo of a pretty girl. I wondered if I'd get insight as to why women on social media always seem to be a mutual admiration society for pointless accomplishments. Honestly, this is what it sounds like to me sometimes:
"I was the 37th left-handed woman to finish the marathon!"
"That's amazing! I shaved off one of my eyebrows!"
"Wow. I Wish I could do that."

[Feel free to comment with what men sound like.]

What I discovered was that, at least on Twitter, women follow people who give them something (which sounds mercenary, but is practical), whereas men tend to follow with the hope that something will come from it and "unfollow" frequently. Everything else I learned was about men (including myself) and how they act around women!

There's a guy I ignored because he wasn't interesting and then he said something amusing, so I responded... and I was DELUGED with comments from him. Whoa, dude!, back off - and I know I've been that guy, thinking to make the most of an opportunity and just completely overdoing it, misreading the situation.

There's the young guy who said "You're hot!" and my thought was "AND???????" Really, does that approach ever work (it didn't the one time I can recall doing something similar, when I was maybe 17)? I ignored him and wondered, very briefly, if he thought "stuck-up bitch!" and then forgot about him until I started writing this.

There's the guy who hired a woman who looks a bit like the photo I used just before he retired. I think he just likes feeling connected to some people and enjoys seeing their faces pop up his screen each day. Because of something written in my profile and some political stuff I've commented on, he has complete deniability: if anyone ever questioned why he was following me, he could explain it away without anyone (read: his wife) being able to say he was chasing after pretty girls. Yeah, I've been that guy, too.

So, in my experience, the question of "Is life easier for attractive women?" gets answered: yes, but just barely. Not enough to matter.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love this!
Jennifer in Nebraska