tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281443754502891373.post958547985794603183..comments2023-09-16T09:09:18.691-04:00Comments on Kittywampus - now at kittywampus.wordpress.com: Academics AnonymousSungoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02153155221248240952noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281443754502891373.post-7353826819411158572008-04-13T19:54:00.000-04:002008-04-13T19:54:00.000-04:00Kochanie, I'm glad you're here, and I appreciate y...Kochanie, I'm glad you're here, and I appreciate your piping up. I like the idea of GK monitoring the cyber-litterbox. In her lifetime, she suffered greatly from indigestion (she had a little hairball issue) so she's well qualified. :-)<BR/><BR/>I agree that Amber has a lot of guts. I also think it makes her pretty vulnerable in ways that I know I wouldn't want to take on. What I write is a whole lot less centered on sex than what she does - or you do - and yet I'm glad not to have my name out there for all and sundry. <BR/><BR/>The nice thing about pseudonymity is that you can "come out" to individuals whenever it's comfortable but still be protected from the trolls and stalkers.<BR/><BR/>I do think pseudonymity sometimes lets people experiment with tweaking their identities. Certainly people might be bolder online, even if what they're expressing is still absolutely in line with their core values. People get a lot more naked, literally and figuratively. But deviating from one's basic ideas and values would be hard to maintain in a consistent and credible way, so I have to agree with you and A in France.<BR/><BR/>I do something similar in the classroom sometimes when I relate an anecdote. I might attribute it to someone other than its originator. Or I'll change an unimportant detail or two for the sake of people's privacy. I encourage students to do the same.<BR/><BR/>And finally, you are so right that everything related to the body is devalued. It's not just sex, it's everything corporeal - except for sports, I suppose. My own work deals with the history of bodies, which is a growing research field, but there are also plenty of historians who think it should remain a marginal topic. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your thoughtful words, as always, Kochanie.Sungoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02153155221248240952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281443754502891373.post-17185817421342178792008-04-13T17:56:00.000-04:002008-04-13T17:56:00.000-04:00Sungold:I've been lurking here, quietly enjoying y...Sungold:<BR/><BR/>I've been lurking here, quietly enjoying your thoughtful posts and photographs. It's time to make my presence known. ;-)<BR/><BR/>Congratulations on your first troll! I am in complete agreement with your moderation policy, i.e., <EM> I'll delete liberally, if I must.</EM> Appropriate to put the warning under Grey Kitty's picture. Perhaps this is an opportune time to announce Grey Kitty's appointment as Director of Scat, overseeing the cyber-litterbox.<BR/><BR/>I think that the issue of online anonymity vs. transparency is a critical one. While I admire bloggers who blog eponymously, such as Amber Rhea, I am aware how invasive that practice can be. It takes a great deal of courage to blog under one's own name <B>and</B> to blog about stigmatized topics such as sex. <BR/><BR/>However, we have responsibilities to family and loved ones and the loss of a job or professional status for conduct deemed unprofessional, such as sex blogging, is a real possibility for many. And yes, stalkers do exist and can disrupt one's sense of safety. So I cannot find fault with anyone who blogs anonymously, as I do. <BR/><BR/><EM>If you use a pseudonym, you develop a consistent persona over time. In fact, it'd be really hard to do otherwise. You also feel a sense of responsibility to your readers.</EM><BR/><BR/>I think that is a very important distinction between blogging anonymously with the intent to deceive and blogging under a pen name for your own protection. I think it was A in France who made the observation that in real life most bloggers do not differ from their online personae. You may attribute a statement to a "friend" rather than to your spouse, but that change does not alter the underlying truth of what you are trying to convey.<BR/><BR/>As for the lack of professionalism associated with writing about the mundane, the quotidian -- well, that's our culture's devaluing of the body and the tasks associated with it.<BR/><BR/>However, if we don't challenge the status quo and write openly about sex, how will the stigma ever be removed? <BR/><BR/>Thank you for this very thoughtful post.J.B. Kochaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03731276067288327319noreply@blogger.com