[ptgatsby]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

Some people leaped right in with open arms.

Meaning, offering support and all that? Or to comment in general? (Was this reflected in RL at all, or is it a board persona thing?)

A few people have read my blog but didn't comment at all yet. Either it was just interesting to them but they didn't really have anything to say about it, or they had some personal opinion about it they didn't want to voice at this time, but I can't speak for them either way.

Heh, that was my reaction. I was a bit confused at first, since it wasn't something I had anticipated. But after the reaction passed, I realised I had nothing to say anyway! It's not exactly like I'm the supportive type in the first place, but how can I offer any sense of support when I have no clue what you are going through! True to type there, I suppose. The reactions are probably a mix of uncertainty more than anything else.

What's funny is that they are not the only ones still learning and figuring things out. I learn too. What can I expect? What should I expect? There is learning occurring on both ends.

Learning is good! Although I am more interested in how other people react, others will be more interested in what you go through... And you get to do what you wanted to do as well as follow your (?) nature and explain/teach others. Seems pretty good to me

Hmm, that is a good point. I don't know. How much did I change? I did write my blog and communications in a more natural style, so I did change somewhat and that might have affected how others responded -- but there were those who reacted very quickly in positive ways, so it seemed less about "my changing" and simply a change on their part in how to perceive me.

To put it in context, I had to read your blog twice before I could figure out exactly what was going on. Your writing was far more stylized and I couldn't skim over it like I normally read posts. So yes, huge difference! I just wasn't sure how much it changed in your PMs or other posts (I didn't notice a huge difference)...

I expect a certain amount of the support was personal - women especially tend to have a bond with those they related to, such that any change in that person (even if it makes the relationship impossible) tends to be ignored. So I'd be curious about how different each gender did react to you.

I also suspect that you got support because you were friends already, and you needed support... IMO, that probably played a bigger role than any understanding change (which I think would be more gradual). Empathy goes a huge way in relationships... and in relationship bonds! I don't believe you will get it to the same degree going forward (with new people).

Yes, this isn't really just being female on a board, since I was known "beforehand" -- it's much more like "coming out" in real life, except you only are dealing with the "virtual me" and not my physical presence (and the obvious large dichotomy between my virtual image and my physical image).

I find that interesting as well... I already have a good idea of what to expect in your RL, but very little online. (Reason for this is that I've read a fair bit about gender psychology, which includes stories from those that underwent sex changes or similar). A second 'dataset' will help understand our own reactions that much better... how environments change us without us even being aware of it.

You do. you've definitely always been one of the generally "unbiased" ones.

Oh, I love the " " in there