The influence of avatars

[Eiddy]

I wouldn't have known you are a female. I thought you were a guy that had a Latin based name.

Nice to meet you.

 

[Kingfisher]

Eiddy - you added a pronunciation to your user title, cool.
i have been saying your name in my head as: eye-dee

 

[Fidelia]

That's funny! There are so few Hispanic or Latin background people where I live that it never occurred to me that someone might think that. I chose the name I have because:

1) I play fiddle and teach it for a living so both the avatar and name reflect that.
2) Fidelia also comes from the root fideles meaning faithful. Faithfulness/loyalty are very important to me.
3) The ia, was so that people would know that I was female!

Nice to meet you too. I've seen you around the forum. I also liked it that you added the pronunciation for your name.

 

[Eiddy]

Yeah, I thought it might be helpful to know.

Eid pronounced eye-eed is the day of the feast, also my hubby's last name, with my own twist.

 

[Eiddy]

That's funny! There are so few Hispanic or Latin background people where I live that it never occurred to me that someone might think that. I chose the name I have because:

1) I play fiddle and teach it for a living so both the avatar and name reflect that.
2) Fidelia also comes from the root fideles meaning faithful. Faithfulness/loyalty are very important to me.
3) The ia, was so that people would know that I was female!

Nice to meet you too. I've seen you around the forum. I also liked it that you added the pronunciation for your name.

See how each colors the world with their own perceptions. It is always nice to observe these subtle differences in POV's.

 

[mortabunt]

It's hard to tell the diference between male and female people on this board by names. Why do you think rpeople such as black cat (INFP) say that they're male, while people like EJCC (ESTJ) say that they're female. It's because even here, there is a bias for males to be T's and for females to be F's. Now, if you've seen Jennifer, you've probably thought that she was female. That's because of her avatar.

 

[EJCC]

It's hard to tell the diference between male and female people on this board by names. Why do you think rpeople such as black cat (INFP) say that they're male, while people like EJCC (ESTJ) say that they're female. It's because even here, there is a bias for males to be T's and for females to be F's.

Agreed. +1

Now, if you've seen Jennifer, you've probably thought that she was female. That's because of her avatar.

...It's really because of her being named "Jennifer"... But even if that wasn't her name, yes, the avatar would help.

p.s. I also blame my avatar for the gender mistakes on my part, since my avatar character (Gromit ) is male. But I suppose I write like a guy. Who knows.

 

[BlackCat]

Agreed. +1

Yep. INFP is generally associated with femininity, and ESTJ with masculinity. Hence why we tell people in our sigs.

p.s. I also blame my avatar for the gender mistakes on my part, since my avatar character (Gromit ) is male. But I suppose I write like a guy. Who knows.

I actually got a very feminine and gentle vibe from your avatar. But that's probably different from others' views and feels.

 

[EJCC]

I actually got a very feminine and gentle vibe from your avatar. But that's probably different from others' views and feels.

Well, in an abstract (and traditional, i.e. knitting=feminine) way, yeah, you're right. And honestly, your current avatar is pretty masculine, too. So if it were all up to the avatars here, maybe the signatures wouldn't be required

And that's where the stereotypes about INFPs and ESTJs come in.

But ANYWAYS, I should answer the OP now...
Avatars definitely affect me. Some people's avatars on this site (not naming names, because I can't remember most of them, but they're almost all ENTs) really irritate me, and probably affect how I think of them and how I react to their posts.
I chose mine because I like Gromit, and I like knitting, and I've seen all the Wallace and Gromit movies like 100x apiece (can't WAIT for the next one to come out in the US), and the picture is cute. I haven't changed it because I didn't want to at first, and once I felt like I might be ready to, I realized that if I changed it, everyone would get confused, and no one would know who I am anymore. So, unless I find another good picture of Gromit, this one isn't gonna go anytime soon.

 

[BlackCat]

Well, in an abstract (and traditional, i.e. knitting=feminine) way, yeah, you're right. And honestly, your current avatar is pretty masculine, too. So if it were all up to the avatars here, maybe the signatures wouldn't be required

That's actually what I was thinking with your avatar. And it's cool to hear that my avatar is masculine.

And that's where the stereotypes about INFPs and ESTJs come in.

I should remove my sig and change my avatar to a picture of a fairy or something and see what happens. You should remove your sig and get a picture of a military leader or something and see what happens.

 

[violet_crown]

Does the gender of the avatar make a difference? All the avatars that I have used or considered have a man in the picture even though I'm not one. I used to have Einstein playing a violin and now I got some old man busking. I also had a couple of Anora Spence pictures, but didn't think they'd show up as well here.

I always thought you were a woman because of your username .

It's hard to tell the diference between male and female people on this board by names. Why do you think rpeople such as black cat (INFP) say that they're male, while people like EJCC (ESTJ) say that they're female. It's because even here, there is a bias for males to be T's and for females to be F's. Now, if you've seen Jennifer, you've probably thought that she was female. That's because of her avatar.

I think this is a really interesting point. I have noticed this bias in myself where I will read someones post and hear a "masculine" voice or read another and perceive it to be more "feminine", and hadn't been able to pinpoint the difference. I agree with you because I think with few exceptions, male Fs on this board tend to mimic the terser writing style I associate with Ts. On the other hand, female Ts don't mimic the F writing style, which is probably by virtue of their type. So not getting the actual content of a post, I'll conclude that a female T would be more likely to have her gender mistaken than a male F.

Also, Jennifer apparently has a perverse sense of humor.

 

[EJCC]

Out of curiosity (and I don't mean for this to derail the thread): what exactly is the F writing style? As wind-up rex suggested (correctly), I just write the way I write, without trying to mimic anything.

 

[Fluffywolf]

The only difference I can see between T and F writing styles that seems common among both. Is the confrontational aspect of them both.

F's seem to be much less confrontational than T's in general.

But other than that I wouldn't look too much into this.

 

[Fidelia]

Thank you Wind-up Rex. I kind of figured before that people would generally figure out from what I wrote that I am female if they didn't get it from my username. I was thinking maybe I would need to put something on there like EJCC. Glad if I don't need to.

On the other hand, I would have assumed EJCC was a girl, even without the signature she has, despite being a T. And yet, I don't think she stands out as being extremely direct and confrontational...The Gromit avatar has something to do with it, but I think her communication style does as well.

 

[violet_crown]

Out of curiosity (and I don't mean for this to derail the thread): what exactly is the F writing style? As wind-up rex suggested (correctly), I just write the way I write, without trying to mimic anything.

I think that if were to briefly sum up the differences I've noticed between the F and T writing style it would be the difference between communicating (F-type) and transmitting (T-type). I believe when a T speaks, that person is doing their best to capture an abstraction to the best of their ability so that it can be understood by those around them. The plays the thing, sorta speak.

On the other hand, I think that everything about the way an F communicates carries some aspect of what their trying to express. It's like they write holistically. I think thats why the aesthetic of a post matters more to a F: you put more happy, dancing smileys in your post you will have a post that has a more happy and smiley flavor. The end. I think the emotional preference also gives a more wandering quality to a F post: ideas are arranged in terms of their relevance to the complete emotional composition being presented as opposed to their rational relationship to each other. Finally, I think that there's a valuational quality to how they write. More talk in terms of right and wrong that a T (STs talk about things being more or less correct, I think).

Exception to all this: INFJs. They all sound like "warmer" Ts to me.

 

[/DG/]

I find that people usually mistake me on forums for being male or they have to ask me what my gender I am. I like to pick gender neutral names and avatars, but I don't do it on purpose. But maybe I just post more T-like...

*edit* Wow. That post didn't contribute to the conversation at all. lol

 

[BlackCat]

I find that people usually mistake me on forums for being male or they have to ask me what my gender I am. I like to pick gender neutral names and avatars, but I don't do it on purpose. But maybe I just post more T-like...

*edit* Wow. That post didn't contribute to the conversation at all. lol

Eh don't worry about it.

You always seemed quite feminine to me.

 

[/DG/]

Eh don't worry about it.

You always seemed quite feminine to me.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, just an observation...

And I had nothing else to post about.

 

[Fluffywolf]

He who quotes the Homer in pink, is most likely a she. Teehee.

 

[mortabunt]

I am evil Homer, I am evil Homer!