Is identifying as an age really a thing now?

[FourteenSixteenTwentyTwo]

My friend works as a lecturer in a collage. There have been quite a few different identities, but at least two have identified as different age groups - a woman in her 40 identified as a 2 year old and another has 'several' identities, man and woman, ages 2-30.

I'd like to say I'm making it up, but I'm not. And I'm really not sure if it's supposed to be ironic or deadly serious. It must be ironic, right?

*Urgh, just imagining that reality show I saw a few years ago about those men who have fetishes to be babies and have a 'mummy' looking after them. Fully nappied up and then spanked

I agree with PPs that I don't believe one lecturer has recently come across such a diverse range of hilarious 'identities', and even if true question their professionalism in sharing and mocking this in their private lives.

The think I struggle with in this age of identifying and calling yourself any pronoun you wish is how anyone else is supposed to know what you are "identifying " as.
If you're a stranger to me how will I know you've decided to be a gender neutral a year old his of love? I will then likely offend you by a dressing you as I see you.

GDPR is about making sure the peoples relevant data is kept, used and stored appropriately. This type of information - it could be argued - wouldn’t come under this anyway because it’s not appropriate for a college to know this is it?

There is no way any of us could possibly know who the heck these people are - unless we actually know them personally in real life and this would be because their identity is a ‘known’ fact a that they share/demonstrate (ie that they ‘identify as’).

And if you know any a&e doctors, you will have heard the ‘guess what I had to retrieve from someone anus this week? And guess how they said it got there’ discussions.

If I went into work tomorrow and said in all seriousness I now identify as The Queen, please do not speak directly to oneself and only refer to me as Ma’am or Your Majesty, they would think I was delusional. Please can someone explain to me why it isn’t?

I hope age identifying isn't a real thing because that could have extremely creepy ramifications.

On the other hand I'm all for accelerating towards pension claiming age too...

furry is not a paraphilia, there are a lot of furries who are under 16, plenty who are on the Ace spectrum. Its outdated thoughts like that that give the whole thing a bad name.

Pup play is a kink, bdsm is a kink, furry isn't a kink... its like any other fandom, like anime, cosplay...etc, where there ARE adults within it that engage in adult behaviour, but the thing in and of itself, is not a kink/paraphilia.

I read a news article about an Italian man who identifies as a hobbit. He even went on a quest and threw a ring into a volcano.

I will try and find the link.

I quite fancy being an elf I think.

Can those people on the boats in the Channel identify as British? I wonder what Priti thinks...

Hobbit story

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/06/what-is-this-if-not-magic-italian-man-living-hobbit

As I have said before, you are welcome not to believe me and report.

As far as GDPR goes I haven’t told you where I live and I don’t know their names. I also don’t know any other identifying features other than ‘college student’. So unless you think you are the person (and even then, you’d have to assume you are the only person to identify as a different age or animal - and we know the animal thing isn’t that unusual- see here: www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/why-be-human-when-you-can-be-otherkin ) then I don’t see any breach.

And this might come as another shock but my friend and I identify as human beings meaning we like to talk and share our absurdities in our days including people we interact with because we are friends.

@Strawbsaturno

If I went into work tomorrow and said in all seriousness I now identify as The Queen, please do not speak directly to oneself and only refer to me as Ma’am or Your Majesty, they would think I was delusional. Please can someone explain to me why it isn’t?

Honestly, I think it’s because its college. Young adults are trying to assert themselves in the real world and the adults just roll their eyes and let them be them.

Honestly, when I think how I was at college I was struggling with a lot of personal issues and I tried to ‘be’ someone who wasn’t really me. College is a chance to reinvent yourself. It’s a little different from deciding you are a goth or whatever, but it all comes under the same branch. I think it’s just ‘identity’ (and the edgier the better) is cooler now.

The world has gone mad and peoples grasp on reality has fallen by the wayside.
guardian.ng/life/oli-london-british-influencer-identifies-as-korean-after-eighteen-surgeries/

This fella has put himself through 18 surgeries and now identifies as Korean

I've decided I am a 70yo billionaire retiree with massive company pensions from the likes of Google. How do I get Google to start paying me? And when do my billions arrive?

Sadly, age Identification has been a "thing" for a while. There is a grown man living a 6yo in America. He was adopted by a couple with a young child who he identifies as his sibling

I can only imagine the trauma that poor child is growing up with.

@EmotionalSupportBear

furry is not a paraphilia, there are a lot of furries who are under 16, plenty who are on the Ace spectrum. Its outdated thoughts like that that give the whole thing a bad name.

Pup play is a kink, bdsm is a kink, furry isn't a kink... its like any other fandom, like anime, cosplay...etc, where there ARE adults within it that engage in adult behaviour, but the thing in and of itself, is not a kink/paraphilia.

So from your very own explanation identifying as a cutesy animal (possibly a ‘furry’) is absolutely reasonable but you also think I’m making it up?

It doesn't matter that its not identifying, i've worked in education, you're not allowed to talk about your students private information.
And quite right too.

Op has not identified any student or educational establishment, though, and we don't even know who op is so there's no link that way, so how this could come under the umbrella of private information is a mystery to me?

when I think how I was at college I was struggling with a lot of personal issues and I tried to ‘be’ someone who wasn’t really me. College is a chance to reinvent yourself

I think these kids are playing with fire, and may end up utterly confused, with MH issues or actual DID. This nonsense should not be encouraged by society

I identify as a size 8.

It doesn't matter that its not identifying, i've worked in education, you're not allowed to talk about your students private information.

One more thing - identity in its very nature isn’t private information. It’s your public identity. It’s not different from me putting a post and saying ‘did you know that this year 80% of college students are girls?’

Hooray, I'm going to be 36 forever!

Can I identify as 6 weeks post birth instead of being 31weeks pregnant 😅😅

I am sorry. I must be thick. I just do not get any of it

A 40 year old woman identifying as a 2 year old.

I think she's either taking the piss, or she has a serious problem with her mental health. Whichever it is, I don't think it's helpful in the long run for the college to take her at face value.

If she's taking the piss, the college should look askance at being made the butt of her joke.

If she has mental health issues, accepting her selfID is likely to entrench her problem, and at the very least delays her getting the help she needs.

So, let's say a 35 year old man gets a 15 yo girlfriend. All ok though because really he's 15 as well?... yikes.