Previously 'pretending'

[Q]

Hi,

This is just a quick question that was running through my mind... I often see people say some variation on, 'I was pretending to be [relevant gender] now I'm not pretending'.

I keep wondering if people say this in a literal sense or not?

I can't think of any pretending I've ever done... that might be a product of my upbringing though... filtering out some things due to considerations of self preservation maybe, but no pretending... all my interests are pretty much gender neutral...

So, I was just curious - what does this 'pretending' involve?