Gender Identity and Erotic Story Authorship

[AchtungNight]

Interesting. Rowan, Cameron and Hunter are fairly common boy's names here in Oz, the others I'd identity more readily as women. Except River Phoenix, I guess, but he probably doesn't count any more. Okay, Cameron Diaz, but she's American.

Keri Russell has a son named River while River Tam was my favorite female character in the film Serenity. It still counts as a name for both genders imo.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Interesting. Rowan, Cameron and Hunter are fairly common boy's names here in Oz, the others I'd identity more readily as women. Except River Phoenix, I guess, but he probably doesn't count any more. Okay, Cameron Diaz, but she's American.

Whereas apart from Rowan (50:50 among youth of my acquaintance), in the UK I'd expect all of those names to be male except possibly River - Cameron is a very common boy name atm, and a classic in Scotland.

But actually I'd assume Hunter and Parker to be Americans more than anything, and Avery and Emery probably too. The 'make a surname into a forename' trend hasn't taken off here that much. Even Madison is unusual.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Unsex names continued, Dallas, Montana, Denver, Huston, Cheyenne, Abilene, Aspen, Havana, Memphis, and Sydney (all are unisex but many are also used by strippers as their non de plum).

Whereas apart from Rowan (50:50 among youth of my acquaintance), in the UK I'd expect all of those names to be male except possibly River - Cameron is a very common boy name atm, and a classic in Scotland.

But actually I'd assume Hunter and Parker to be Americans more than anything, and Avery and Emery probably too. The 'make a surname into a forename' trend hasn't taken off here that much. Even Madison is unusual.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Unsex names continued, Dallas, Montana, Denver, Huston, Cheyenne, Abilene, Aspen, Havana, Memphis, and Sydney (all are unisex but many are also used by strippers as their non de plum).

Apart from Dallas Campbell (Scottish TV presenter) and various women in films/TV called Sydney, I've never even heard of anyone with any of those names. Possibly if I paid more attention to the American teen dramas my niece likes?

Sidney was unisex but almost no-one has been called it since the 50s (and Thatcher's 'Tell Sid' privatisation campaign scuppered the name totally).

There's probably a British Cheyenne about, but I guarantee she's a girl and pronounces it chay-enn, just like my whole school did when we did the Mighty Mississippi musical.

 

[MillieDynamite]

According to my mum, Harper, Ainsley, Jamie, Jordan, and Bobbie are all commonly used unisex names used in both the UK and Australia.

Apart from Dallas Campbell (Scottish TV presenter) and various women in films/TV called Sydney, I've never even heard of anyone with any of those names. Possibly if I paid more attention to the American teen dramas my niece likes?

Sidney was unisex but almost no-one has been called it since the 50s (and Thatcher's 'Tell Sid' privatisation campaign scuppered the name totally).

There's probably a British Cheyenne about, but I guarantee she's a girl and pronounces it chay-enn, just like my whole school did when we did the Mighty Mississippi musical.

 

[ElectricBlue]

According to my mum, Harper, Ainsley, Jamie, Jordan, and Bobbie are all commonly used unisex names used in both the UK and Australia.

Harper and Ainsley, girl's names in Oz; agree the other three names could be either. Bobbie and Jamie as boy's names, though, would be fairly "old" names, I think.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Harper and Ainsley, girl's names in Oz; agree the other three names could be either. Bobbie and Jamie as boy's names, though, would be fairly "old" names, I think.

Ainsley would be unusual for anyone in the UK under 40 - and if a boy everyone would think of TV chef Ainsley Harriot, or a girl Ainsley off West Wing. I've never met any others. Harper, again never met one, probably a girl after Harper Lee. Again, I'd assume American before girl or boy.

Jordan UK is definitely a boy - it was a very common name for lads in their 20s (for the oldest, their mums were NKOTB fans), but definitely the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. The only female Jordan was the topless model Katie Price, so that probably affected take-up.

Bobbie likely female (especially with -ie, but same with Bobby), Jamie could be either but more likely male just because James/Jamie is in the top few boys names still.

I remember a story on Lit where the main characters were called Clay and Chase and it took me until page 2 to realise one was male and the other female. I think there were a couple other names that were confusing - a girl Eli? - but the author clearly hadn't considered the potential problem.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Interesting. Rowan, Cameron and Hunter are fairly common boy's names here in Oz, the others I'd identity more readily as women. Except River Phoenix, I guess, but he probably doesn't count any more. Okay, Cameron Diaz, but she's American.

OTOH, I've known more female Rowans than male in Australia.

According to my mum, Harper, Ainsley, Jamie, Jordan, and Bobbie are all commonly used unisex names used in both the UK and Australia.

Hmm. I can think of a couple of Australian Jordans - one is a moderately well-known entertainer who transitioned male-to-female and kept the name, so that's definitely legit!

This article has a tool that shows Australian name frequencies over time. https://www.theguardian.com/news/da...alian-baby-names-of-the-past-century-revealed

I'd never heard of anybody being called Harper here, but apparently it's become common in the last ten years. I don't know a lot of kids of that age so apparently I missed it. OTOH, no hits for Ainsley or Bobbie (or Roberta) but it looks like they only have names which made the top hundred for that year in a state or territory.

River seems to have taken off very recently, maybe Firefly related.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Bobby is the more common spelling for men, but I have met 5 men with it spelled Bobbie. Then there is Jamie Doran and Jamie Fox, come to mind. The second Doctor's companion, Jamie McCrimmon. And several other Jamie's are out there.

Harper and Ainsley, girl's names in Oz; agree the other three names could be either. Bobbie and Jamie as boy's names, though, would be fairly "old" names, I think.

Harper Lee was a famous female writer here in the States. However, she only wrote one Novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a previous one that remained unpublished until after her death. Harper Goff was an American musician, football player Harper LeBel, and others. But, of course, these are all Americans. I don't have access to Mum today to get the Brits or Auzies, today.

OTOH, I've known more female Rowans than male in Australia.



Hmm. I can think of a couple of Australian Jordans - one is a moderately well-known entertainer who transitioned male-to-female and kept the name, so that's definitely legit!

This article has a tool that shows Australian name frequencies over time. https://www.theguardian.com/news/da...alian-baby-names-of-the-past-century-revealed

I'd never heard of anybody being called Harper here, but apparently it's become common in the last ten years. I don't know a lot of kids of that age so apparently I missed it. OTOH, no hits for Ainsley or Bobbie (or Roberta) but it looks like they only have names which made the top hundred for that year in a state or territory.

River seems to have taken off very recently, maybe Firefly related.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

A generation of Brits had to do To Kill a Mockingbird for English GCSE (exams age 16), so know Harper Lee, but it was Posh&Becks calling their daughter Harper in 2011 that got people considering it as a name.

Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef/scourge of school dinners possibly helped Oliver become the most popular British boy name in recent years, but James and Jamie are still up there - most male Jamie's are officially James still.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have a friend who's named James. He goes by James, and when someone calls him Jim, he corrects them. But Jo and I have always called him Jimbo, and he doesn't correct us. But, no one else dares to call him by our nickname for him. Cause we so special.

A generation of Brits had to do To Kill a Mockingbird for English GCSE (exams age 16), so know Harper Lee, but it was Posh&Becks calling their daughter Harper in 2011 that got people considering it as a name.

Jamie Oliver the Naked Chef/scourge of school dinners possibly helped Oliver become the most popular British boy name in recent years, but James and Jamie are still up there - most male Jamie's are officially James still.

 

[Paul_Chance]

The marketing people will tell you "pen names matter". How much they matter depends on the genre. I would imagine the same holds true for lit.

All things being equal, in certain genres, a piece written by a female pen name will get more views that a piece written by a male pen name, and vice-versa. Gender neutral pen names probably fall somewhere in a goldilocks zone.

The creation of a persona to accompany the pen name also works in certain genres. So, if you want to go that route, create something simple, cool, and memorable.

 

[MillieDynamite]

MSDestruction, how does that work for a woman writing about femdoms?

The marketing people will tell you "pen names matter". How much they matter depends on the genre. I would imagine the same holds true for lit.

All things being equal, in certain genres, a piece written by a female pen name will get more views that a piece written by a male pen name, and vice-versa. Gender neutral pen names probably fall somewhere in a goldilocks zone.

The creation of a persona to accompany the pen name also works in certain genres. So, if you want to go that route, create something simple, cool, and memorable.

 

[Paul_Chance]

MSDestruction, how does that work for a woman writing about femdoms?

LOL - that would be good. The name immediately makes me think of someone writing hardcore and explicit FemDom.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yup, me too. But I think I'll stick with what a have.

LOL - that would be good. The name immediately makes me think of someone writing hardcore and explicit FemDom.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Yup, me too. But I think I'll stick with what a have.

Yeah, from a marketing standpoint, you've got a good one.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Why thank you, I'm rather fond of it.

Yeah, from a marketing standpoint, you've got a good one.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Apart from Dallas Campbell (Scottish TV presenter) and various women in films/TV called Sydney, I've never even heard of anyone with any of those names. Possibly if I paid more attention to the American teen dramas my niece likes?

Sidney was unisex but almost no-one has been called it since the 50s (and Thatcher's 'Tell Sid' privatisation campaign scuppered the name totally).

There's probably a British Cheyenne about, but I guarantee she's a girl and pronounces it chay-enn, just like my whole school did when we did the Mighty Mississippi musical.

Do you like Horror Movies, Sydney?

 

[MillieDynamite]

It's Sidney; she wasn't the one who got the phone call with that question.

Do you like Horror Movies, Sydney?

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

It's Sidney; she wasn't the one who got the phone call with that question.

Drew Barrymore, right? Who'd she play?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Don't remember, don't care, she was the first victim. She could have been called 'Dead Girl Gone' for all I know.

 

[MattblackUK]

It was the publisher was decided to use J. K. Rowling as a non-feminine sounding name.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

According to my mum, Harper, Ainsley, Jamie, Jordan, and Bobbie are all commonly used unisex names used in both the UK and Australia.

The IE Bobbie seems more like the female version. I do know a Bobbie Jo and Bobby Joe, though, both women. Factoid, when the latter gets drunk, she starts talking in Gaelic.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Why thank you, I'm rather fond of it.

Your name sounds like it could be a self titled action novel. Sometimes I think of Millie in Helluva Boss. Not suggesting you should do it, but a bit of her personality combined with your old days of harlotry, in a action novel sounds kinda interesting.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Unsex names continued, Dallas, Montana, Denver, Huston, Cheyenne, Abilene, Aspen, Havana, Memphis, and Sydney (all are unisex but many are also used by strippers as their non de plum).

The only Houston I ever knew.