• Resol van Lemmy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    8 months ago

    I meant the fact that my real name “Imrane” (a male name) looks too similar to “Imane” (a female name). Just the absence of the letter R makes people think I’m something else entirely.

    And I used to use my real name on social media until about a year ago. I guess that was kind of on me.

    • Taniwha420@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      8 months ago

      Oh man, I think it’s the ‘e’ at the end of your name, which in a bunch of Romance languages would make it feminine. If it’s any consolation, solid men’s English names like ‘Lindsay’ and ‘Ashley’ are almost exclusively women’s names now for the same reason. (The “-y” or “-ie” marks a cutesy diminutive version, i.e. “bird” to “birdy”.)

      I don’t think it’s the similarity to “Imane” (unless this is happening in your home culture) because I have never heard of that name before. However, I have seen “Imran” and I would have assumed that “Imrane” was the feminine version because of that ‘e’.

      Wasn’t Imran Khan a famous cricketer?

      • Resol van Lemmy@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        8 months ago

        Nope, that is not the case at all. A lot of Arabic names tend to be written with an E at the end in countries that experienced colonialism from the French, just to match French phonetics. I happened to be taught to spell my name this way.

    • locuester
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      I have a girls name and my last name is a very popular Asian female name too.

      My entire life I get misgendered on phone, email, chat. It’s not a big deal. Hell, it can be an advantage - I’ve gotten more than one job interview because they expect a woman.