OK, seriously, why does everyone gotta be a man?

[madqatter]

One guy called me "dude" and claimed it was a gender neutral term when I called him on it.

FWIW, I've met women who call each other "dude" and even "man" in casual conversation (e.g. "Dude, what are you talking about?"). How likely this is probably varies by region, age, etc.

One even tried to say that I could have been a guy using his girlfriend's pic for his avatar! WOW! I'm still trying to get my head around why any guy would do that.

I've known men and boys on forums to use photos of girlfriends, wives, daughters, and other women (e.g. actors, models) as profile pics. I've also known women and girls to use photos of men as profile pics. It happens. I've used opposite sex avatars before.

Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not disagreeing with you about sexism. I've seen a lot of misogyny of the kinds you describe on internet fora. Twenty years ago the misogyny was so bad that most of the women I knew would not even reveal online that they were women. It's generally better than that now, but many online "spaces" and people are still profoundly sexist.

 

[madqatter]

I have to say the vibe here at ECF has seemed much more friendly so far than some of of my gaming site experiences.

I think it tends to be better here, too.

 

[sonicdsl]

I can't believe someone resurrected this thread!



Sent while moderating ECF via Tapatalk 4

 

[Holly Yoho]

Another girl, checking in!

 

[FlamingoTutu]

I usually don’t judge a poster by their avatar. If I did, the human males and females would be far outnumbered by the sheer volume of dogs, cats, birds, horses, frogs, etc. and it’s downright embarrassing having to ask if they are a he, she or it.