# Who here thought I was a woman... and WHY? A poll of sorts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269 "2003-08-14T23:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/1 "2003-08-14T23:32:10Z")
I finally get a pic posted in a blatant flirt thread… do I get any “Looking good, 'Beast!”, or “OOO, dat ‘Beast is one FINE looking hunk o’ man!”??? nOOOOO!!! I get “I always thought you were a woman”. What is upo with that?!?!?! ---
**Author:** ![skeptic\_ev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@skeptic\_ev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skeptic_ev)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/2 "2003-08-14T23:35:12Z")
Um … Verbena is a woman’s name. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/3 "2003-08-15T00:03:54Z")
ah… well… I see… I know of no women with that name… It is a place… and probably more well known as a plant… and most women I know would be… put off… by being referred to as a “beast”… or in my case THE 'Beast! so, should I change my name, then? ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/4 "2003-08-15T00:05:38Z")
No offense, I thought you were a chick too… buddy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/5 "2003-08-15T00:09:52Z")
I didn’t think you were a chick, but then I’ve been to Verbena. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![White\_Ink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@White\_Ink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Ink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/6 "2003-08-15T00:18:32Z")
Don’t change your name, but yeah, I thougth you were a chick until I was reading your take on the bachelor parties thread. ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/7 "2003-08-15T00:59:29Z")
I think the “-na” ending on verbena was what made me think it was feminine. Well, I learned something new the day I clicked on your picture 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![green\_dragon\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/13edae/32.png) [@green\_dragon\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_dragon_1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/8 "2003-08-15T01:07:07Z")
People always felt compelled to ask if I was a girl or a guy…even after I added the line to my sig clarifying the issue. It kinda sucks. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/9 "2003-08-15T01:40:47Z")
While I tend to not spend much time contemplating gender on the SDMB, I would note that there are _far_ more women than men who are named for [flowers](http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/pictures/verbena.jpg) and _far, far_ more women than men that will self-identify with or using flowers. I don’t think there is anything wrong with using a flower as a man’s name or username, but it is certainly a rare event in English. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/10 "2003-08-15T01:46:05Z")
not named for a FLOWER!!! I am named for a little country town… thats… named… for… a… flower. It’s really quite manly… my hometown… (blushes) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/11 "2003-08-15T01:51:11Z")
I think it was Ellen O’Hara who always smelled of lemon verbena . . . Yeah, sorry man, but your handle’s kinda girly. (Not that there’s anything WRONG with having a crossover nick, but you will confuse people from time to time. Just ask **CrankyAsAnOldMan**. . .) ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/12 "2003-08-15T02:02:31Z")
Sorry, Beastie. I thought you were a chick too. That whole plant/feminine thing. You could always have the mods change it to **VerbenaBeast hunky piece o’ man meat** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/13 "2003-08-15T02:23:12Z")
I knew you were a guy. ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/14 "2003-08-15T02:43:34Z")
Well, there was a poster called Devena… I wasn’t sure if you were a guy or not, though… ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/15 "2003-08-15T02:48:46Z")
_raises hand_ ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/16 "2003-08-15T02:53:49Z")
DeVena is my sister… she is named for our High School yearbook… and a restaurant in Verbena… named after the yearbook… ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/17 "2003-08-15T03:03:06Z")
I actually wasn’t sure – the beast part threw me off a bit. On the other hand, I had **Muffin** ’s gender wrong for quite a long time. I tried to make a fairly gender-neutral handle, but it turns out that my handle does often give people an impression that I am of one gender instead of the other. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/18 "2003-08-15T03:21:18Z")
Both [you](http://profiles.yahoo.com/verbenabeast) and [I](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cpeek001/peek13.jpg) are unattractive women verbenabeast. Simply accept the hand of cards life has dealt you with grace instead of this silly “I’m really a man” pose. You’re not fooling anyone. Our sisterhood is powerful, do not deny it. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/19 "2003-08-15T03:38:12Z")
I thought you were a woman, too. That shirt with the lace up collar isn’t helping to convince me otherwise. 😃 Incidentally, I still always think **Green Bean** is a guy. It’s always a surprise when she posts something that forces me to remember she isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269/20 "2003-08-15T03:39:41Z")
I always thought you were a guy. Don’t know why I assumed that. [ego stroking] Your astrounding masculinity must have radiated clear through the whole of the internet and into my home. [/ego stroking]. If it makes you feel any better, people usually think I’m a guy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-thought-i-was-a-woman-and-why-a-poll-of-sorts/195269.md?page=2)