What’s in a name?

[Paige.]

Buddy List vs. Friends List

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and bought a product for the first time because it jumped out at me. It was “New and improved”, packaged in a different container with new eye catching colors. I had passed this item hundreds of times but this is the first time I have brought it home to try.

I started thinking about the wave of interest that is spreading like wildfire through this forum…the new Friends List. I know Admin will jump all over me if I make a mistake here but it seems to me the Friends List is a re-make of the Buddy List, updated with eye catching photos and visitor friendly comment boxes. Before this Forum makeover, I had some secret admirers, but no one was my buddy. Now I have friends. Re-packaging has brought success to an old product.

Then I started thinking about CD’s being containers of feminine aspects. CD’s are just men that are packaged “new and improved”, with eye catching colors and containers. Scattered throughout this section of the forum there are several threads addressing the question of having a feminine name and why do you need one etc, etc. For those who have argued against the importance of having a fem name, don’t you think it would be better if your “new and improved” container had a name that matched the contents?

[Alex!]

What a thought provoking concept. I wish I had something profound to add here, but I'm afraid I don't.

I picked my name randomly when it became clear two years ago I needed a user ID for Flickr. "Andrea" was my first girlfriend. "Michelle Forbes" is an actress I've seen now and then. Seemed to work ok. Sometimes, I think about changing my name to better suit who I've become over these months of poliching my image and attitude. I think I want to be an Alexandra. The name seems to capture an attitude that I have.

Anyway, I do believe that male crossdressers, particularly those who really put care into their femme appearance, better appreciate the finer sex. On the other hand, perhaps this is me feeling like I need to justify my crossdressing. And compared to the suits I wear to work, women definitely have more access to fun stuff to make the "package" more attractive. In the animal kingdom, usually the guy has flash - great feathers, extra shiny fur, dazzling fronds, awesome dance moves, etc. while the girl is drab. Not so among humans!

I seem to be babbling now, so I'll stop :)

[boy2girl31]

I think that giving people you talk to a femine name to address you by completes the package and helps those who "pass" to not be discovered but is in general not a nessary thing. "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet"

[AlexandraK]

great choice for a future name :)


I ended up choosing mine after flirting with Alyssa/Angelica for a few years, because it's the feminine version of my own name. Hard to beat being called "Alex" when the other person is thinking of you as a woman, even if it's what you go by every day :).

[TGMarla]

Hi! I'm the new and improved product, packaged as "Marla!" For what it's worth, I think this is an interesting observation you have made here. Kinda useless, but hey, most rhetorical observation is! That's what philosophy is all about.

And I'll tell you what....I really enjoy the repackaging bit....alot! :D

[dhampir]

We should feel free to explore as many names as we need, and as many costumes, to find our authentic self.

[victoriamwilliams1]

When I was young I went by Marcia (Mar-See-A) Ann Carter Then when I move the first time I changed my my name to Connie Marie Conway then to Victoria Michelle Johnson when I started again, then I guess I did not like Johnson so I decided to make up a wedding and marry a Williams:) I think the next question is for those of use who are married and that is what is your maiden name if asked?

It is very important to have a fem name to me. When I first started I had to get used to responding to my female name and now I have no problems even if I am addressed as Ms. Williams or Victoria

[Alice B]

Mine is a simple expansion of my real name. Not a great deal of thought put into it and it was my wife who coined the name.

[Vivian Best]

There isn't much I can add to the repackaging comment. I can say that I chose my name in honor of a woman (deceased now) that I admired and respected very much.

[Julie York]

I think a name is quite important on a forum. It defines you, gives a memorable tag to a person so people remember you and often shows your personality.




And if you want friends it's probably best to avoid something like "Pantylicker234"


:D:D

[Staci G]

Simple I got mine from an old girlfriend she was a stripper and Staci was her stage name

[Jamie M]

And if you want friends it's probably best to avoid something like "Pantylicker234"


:D:D

i don't know, round here you'd probably be inudated with requests for your services with a name like that , better make sure you stock up on listerene first though :devil:

[Paige.]

I think I should try to clarify, at least a little, the intent of my post. I didn't mean to ask or question the origin of your fem name. That has been beaten to death.

I also agree with Julia York (you are a funny lady Julia), that a fem name is not so very important on a forum such as this.

I was thinking more in a personal sense of how you see yourself, or how you identify with the "package" that looks out at you from the mirror when you are putting on your lipstick. Do you see yourself as "The Trucker" for example, or as some other non-feminine name? I doubt it, even though the name you use may be cool for a forum ID.

I was just thinking that all CD's should have a fem name for themselves even if it is private and known only to you in the inner recess of your mind. A name that you can identify with internally, one that matches the outer container you have created. How you arrive at this name and what it means is immaterial and may be nobody's business but yours.

Maybe it's as Marla pointed out. It's rhetorical and philosophical and doesn't mean much. I was trying to make a relationship between successful marketing tactics and individuals.

Thank you all for your comments.

[Kate Simmons]

The name I use here is not my real femme name, it's a title really. Salandra is Atlantean for "keeper" and indeed Sal keeps my whole person intact and balances and stabilizes the integration, not to mention it's a bit unique and sort of defines who I am and what I stand for. It's also easy to remember but a lot of the true meaning tied up in it is know to myself and myself alone.:)

[vikki2020]

I could be shopping, or looking at an add, and when I see something that appeals to my fem side,that little file in my brain labeled "vikki" pops up.I think that whether you have a regular fem name on display or not, your right, Page, everyone has that "brand name" somewhere in their marketing.

[Ashley Lynn Swift]

Buddy List vs. Friends List

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and bought a product for the first time because it jumped out at me. It was “New and improved”, packaged in a different container with new eye catching colors. I had passed this item hundreds of times but this is the first time I have brought it home to try.

I started thinking about the wave of interest that is spreading like wildfire through this forum…the new Friends List. I know Admin will jump all over me if I make a mistake here but it seems to me the Friends List is a re-make of the Buddy List, updated with eye catching photos and visitor friendly comment boxes. Before this Forum makeover, I had some secret admirers, but no one was my buddy. Now I have friends. Re-packaging has brought success to an old product.

Then I started thinking about CD’s being containers of feminine aspects. CD’s are just men that are packaged “new and improved”, with eye catching colors and containers. Scattered throughout this section of the forum there are several threads addressing the question of having a feminine name and why do you need one etc, etc. For those who have argued against the importance of having a fem name, don’t you think it would be better if your “new and improved” container had a name that matched the contents?

Sorry Paige I guess I just forgot to add you to my buddy list, you were my first buddy on this forum. Plus i really didn't get into all the other things on the forum origanally, it wasn't until after i racked up the $500 phone bill in March that I really started all of that, of course that was after the makeover.

[postal_rebecca]

You brought up a great point.

The name one chooses for them self is "who they are". The name I chose for myself, I cannot even remember how it came to be. It is not even remotely close to my make name, and she has two forms of her name;Rebecca and 'becca.

Rebecca is used when I feel "womanly" and truly comfortable with myself. Rebecca deserves ...respect...by not only myself, but from others. 'becca on the other hand is more fun and casual with her friends or acquaintances.

So, in short, I agree with you about the "name of the product". It helps to "complete the package".

[Stormgirl]

Just think of Johnny Rotten but a female version of the name,that's how I got Jenny Rotten. I'm not a punk with a bad attitude though and I actually prefer listening to metal to punk rock. I guess you want more friends Paige?

[bobbie_1048]

Silly me !! I cheated and just changed the spelling of a nickname i'd had for years

[PheonaP]

Oh! So you're the REAL MR BLOBBIE.

Blobbie!, Blobbie!, Blobbie! :hugs:

[Julie York]

[QUOTE=Paige.;1309171]I also agree with Julia York (you are a funny lady Julia), that a fem name is not so very important on a forum such as this. /QUOTE]

I'm Julie York. The pretty one is Julia Smith.


I know what you mean Paige. It's actually an undefinable thing you feel and sense like a smell or a colour or sensation, and you give it a name to be able to refer to it in some solid form. Like the smell of a flower is......erm....."Rose"..that'll do!

:D