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Why I Write Under My Own Name
A small gesture towards online responsibility for our words
Some folk here on Medium write under their own names and some write under pseudonyms. Some write under the leafy branches of a favorite tree or under the influence of far too much coffee, but those are other matters entirely.
I completely understand why a woman who is writing about sexuality or other potentially contentious topics, would choose to write under a nom de plume. In these days of Internet hysteria and trolling it can be both unwise and unsafe for those who are potentially vulnerable to expose themselves to possible harm.
Fortunately for me, I don’t feel particularly vulnerable. I’m male, I have over forty-five years of experience in unarmed (and armed) combat, I’m thick-skinned so I don’t really care if some people don’t like or agree with my take on the subjects I write about, and if what I’ve written may adversely impact my professional life then that’s fine because chances are I wouldn’t want to work for or with those who take serious exception to my productions.
That said, I also recognize that in our modern era in which one of the most popular sports is Internet Lynching, none of us are really immune to the malfeasances of others. I choose, however, to incur some unknown degree of risk because I believe that whenever possible we should stand…
