Has anyone pretended to be transgender or lie about a photo?

[Shawn Sunshine]

I am just wondering if in the past..people have come on here pretending to be trans just to get in close with somEone in a deceptive way. I also wonder if people have posted other people's pictures and said it was them. I ask this because I need to know just for peace of mind.

[marsh monster]

I don't know of it happening here, although with human nature being the way it is and as many members this site has had over the years, I'm sure its happened, even if no one actually caught them.


And this reminds me of an incident not on this site, but on a yahoo group I ended up with about 11 years ago. It was an active group, but the owners got into a tiff and I was asked to take ownership to solve the issues. I did and then decided to add another owner as I don't think one person should have all the say in an active community. Anyhoo, we checked up on people before allowing them in and one bright soul actually had stolen a pic of me they found online and tried to pass it off as their own. It was just dumb luck they actually tried to join a group that I co-owned. The other co-owner alerted me to it and it took a bit, but finally got the picture down from the other persons profile.

There are lots of fake people and fake lives on the net these days and it stands to reason that a few would find their way into trans spaces. But you can't run around worrying too much about it or you get to where you trust no one and that's not healthy.

[enigmaticrorschach]

and this is why i tend to avoid posting pics. its happen to me before. but as far as pretend, not aware that i have. i well aware of who i am so there's no need to pretend

[Ms Grace]

It does happen and it has happened here. The moderators try to keep across phoneys but of course we can't always pick everyone. Usually the fakes give themselves away one way or another. If you ever suspect a forum member of posting fake details or stolen photos never challenge them about it - you should report their post to the moderators using the report function. We will look into it and sort it out.

[bibilinda]

I know for a fact that some people used to post my pictures without my permission, during my first year on HRT, before orchi and t-shave, when I was very active on Youtube and Flickr, pretending they were theirs, presenting themselves as TGs, CDs, even cis women or what have you, using a made-up name along with my images, obviously without my knowledge and permission. I knew about that through TG friends at the time, or owners of TG support sites where I posted, just like this one, and even a bunch of years later by my BF who has helped inform me about it so I can get rid of a lot of stuff that was posted without my permission. At this point I think there is nothing left, and thank God I was smart enough to never ever posting any real info about me. But if that happened to me, I see no reason why it wouldn't happen to others. I find it so pathetic, the fact of using other people's pictures, videos or what have you as their own. I think such practice is done just by a loser among losers but it's always a learning experience to realize it does happen, so one can be more careful when posting stuff on the Web.

Cheers

Bibi B.

[FTMax]

I can't speak for here, but I am a moderator of an LGBTQ tumblr submission blog, and people have submitted false pictures before. I've gotten messages from the real subjects of those pictures saying that the pictures were stolen and they would like the posts removed. Once I get a proof picture in response (time stamped with them holding a username sign in the picture), I'll take it down.

But the harm has already been done in that case. People have already liked the post, potentially responded with messages, and are in contact with a dishonest person. I'm sure they have all sorts of reasons for doing it, but it's ridiculous. It happens all too often.

[Zoetrope]

Yikes ... that screams determined, desperate, and dangerous!

Just direct them over to Fetlife, where there are plenty of CD/TV/TS folk actually wanting the attention.

(That's not a dig. That's a personal recommendation ...)

[iKate]

I took down most if not all of my photos here. One guy (a new member, cisgender I assume) started getting creepy.

[enigmaticrorschach]

yea, i should take down my photos as well. now i'm kinda scared someone might actually impersonate me.

[Marly]

well I'll be first to confess that I have done so a long time ago out a feeling of need to express myself.I wasn't done in order to get close to someone though...rather to feel and express as myself, and to not be ignored/shunned by the group who were exchanging tips and talking about issues. But I never posted a pic of myself or anyone. I actually used a cartoon icon much like I am doing now. And no, here I openly disclose(d) that I am working toward HRT. My therapist and I had this very same kinda discussion a few days ago

[Marly]

Yikes ... that screams determined, desperate, and dangerous!

Just direct them over to Fetlife, where there are plenty of CD/TV/TS folk actually wanting the attention.

(That's not a dig. That's a personal recommendation ...)

I agree. I have a profile on fetlife and have seen a few suspicious profiles. Fortunately, the admins there are pretty efficient and users also report misuses.

[LeaP]

Depends on what you mean by transgender, perhaps.  If you take it in the broadest sense possible, I suppose even playing at gender in a forum qualifies.  If you specifically mean transsexual, well, transsexuality is rare, so the number of actual transsexuals in a heavily-trafficed transsexual  forum is logically a small percentage of those posting.  That doesn't mean those posts shouldn't be there, of course.  Non-trans people comment, and people take time to figure out what's going on in their heads, too! 


Imposters.  Their presence is more than an irritation.  They can be dangerous to the extent that they are advising people who need help.  Trans people can hit crisis points where they are extraordinarily vulnerable and make life changes that are sensitive and risky.  People who screw with other people's lives and put them at risk have a really serious psychological problem.

[Shawn Sunshine]

Well I'm more referring to people who use fake photos. Photos of cisgender women. The cartoons are great thOugh. I sometimes use a superhero image. Like  supergirl. Just I feel like offended w hen I think it's very possible that someone is lying.

[Squircle]

Well I'm more referring to people who use fake photos. Photos of cisgender women. The cartoons are great thOugh. I sometimes use a superhero image. Like  supergirl. Just I feel like offended w hen I think it's very possible that someone is lying.

It happened on a forum I used to be on. She presented herself as having had the 'perfect' transition, and there were constant shots of 'her' on beaches in bikinis. It turned out she, whoever she was, was not trans at all.

Thing is, I've been using photoshop professionally for around 15 years, and I can spot when a photo has been through it and had more done than simple grading tweaks quite easily. I've seen it on here. There's obviously degrees to this, from a light bit of retouching to pasting a face onto a different body (which is what this girl was doing in some shots). I never call anyone out on it but I'm always amazed by what people will be taken in by. i remember with her I just avoided any contact.

If people just steal photos outright though then it's harder to spot who's not genuine. Usually they give themselves away by a series of little inconsistencies but it often takes some people getting close to them, and then getting hurt when they put two and two together.

[Zoetrope]

I suppose I can't judge really. I pretended to be cis-female for a number of years on IRC (back before I began transition). Eventually it just felt so bogus that I was compelled to out myself ...

(I was pretending to be cis-female, so I could get close to other cis people, with them believing I was cis-female. Sounds similar when you put it that way ...)

[Cindy]

I will reiterate what Grace said.

If you have a problem with an avatar or think someone is misrepresenting themselves report it.

We do check and we will provide advice to people who have fallen into this trap.

[marsh monster]

Well I'm more referring to people who use fake photos. Photos of cisgender women. The cartoons are great thOugh. I sometimes use a superhero image. Like  supergirl. Just I feel like offended w hen I think it's very possible that someone is lying.

I've always been open about never using my real pics.

[Zumbagirl]

I've been a victim in the long ago past of people who used my pictures to create fake profiles. It's usually the wannabe crowd and when they see someone authentic looking with a picture and then find out it's a TS woman, well it only gets worse from there. I don't keep pictures online anymore because I worry about coworkers finding profiles of someone on a dating site, or yahoo or whatever who might be let's just keep it nice and say a pervert and then pretending to be me. That's why I say keep the internet profile low while transitioning and save one's self from grief. It will be worth it in the end.

[Shawn Sunshine]

I suppose I can't judge really. I pretended to be cis-female for a number of years on IRC (back before I began transition). Eventually it just felt so bogus that I was compelled to out myself ...

(I was pretending to be cis-female, so I could get close to other cis people, with them believing I was cis-female. Sounds similar when you put it that way ...)

I've done kinda the irc thing. Posting in online charts to see how people react..those anonymous chats. They read me as female and nothing but. Of course I also play as women in games...for my own peace of mind.

[Emily E]

I guess I'm guilty of presenting as female to other people online as I've never played a male in MMORPGs but it was never to get close to anyone or anything it was just because I liked being a girl doing whatever.  And before someone complains my avatar isn't really a picture of me