Assessing Gender Authenticity in Computer-Mediated Language Use

Abstract

Although a substantial body of research exists on gender differences in computer-mediated communication, relatively little empirical attention has been directed toward how people perform a different gender online, or to what behavioral cues other participants attend in assessing others’ real-life gender. This study analyzes deceptive gender performances and assessments of their authenticity in The Turing Game, a publicly available synchronous text chat environment that supports spontaneous identity games. Content analysis of game logs shows that contestants produce stereotypical content when attempting to pass as the opposite gender, as well as giving off stylistic cues to their real-life gender. However, contrary to previous evidence that people judge online gender authenticity on the basis of linguistic styles, the judges in The Turing Game base their assessments mostly on stereotyped content, leading to a high rate of error. These findings are interpreted in terms of signal costs and conscious accessibility of cues.

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