1. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Gender Guesser tool for guessing the authors gender

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by peachalulu, Sep 18, 2014.

    http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.php

    Anyone want to put it to the test. I don't know how accurate it is but it looks like fun. I tried out a section from Not Pink and came out weak male on both sides - which is neat makes it sound as gender neutral as the protag. And I came out male & weak male for Moonshot. And Male and Female for Moonlight my advantage.
    Interesting to think that if the author is fully immersed in the character they can achieve a shift in what might be their normal language.
     
    Artist369 likes this.
  2. Renee J

    Renee J Senior Member

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    It guessed me as female informal and weak female formal.
     
  3. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    With prose it called me a girl. With a blog scribble it identified me in .0002 as a 'strong male.'
     
  4. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    It had a fifty-fifty chance and was wrong. Twice. Weak Male for both for me - how very wrong!
     
  5. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    According to this site, this is what my writing tells about me:

    Informally, I'm a male. Formally, I'm a female.
     
  6. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I gave it two separate scenes from the same book and got the following:

    This is the intro scene
    [​IMG]

    And this is about a chapter in:
    [​IMG]
     
  7. thewordsmith

    thewordsmith Contributor Contributor

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    Hah! I love it! Five out of Five it got me wrong!


    And then nine out of ten.


    And, moving right along, 14 out of 15.

    Hmmmmm. What is that saying about me???
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2014
  8. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    It says little about you, but speaks volumes about gender stereotyping.
     
    S S, Hubardo, Okon and 2 others like this.
  9. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    So far, it is right about every sample of my writing I have entered into it (at least 20 samples), except for one very weak verdict on a short sample. And even for that sample, the informal verdict is strong and correct; only the weak formal verdict is incorrect.
     
  10. Joshua A

    Joshua A Member

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    [​IMG]

    Considering that I wrote this piece of fiction from a very aggressive female perspective, I think it did well.
     
  11. elynne

    elynne Active Member

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    YES THIS EXACTLY THANK YOU. :|
     
  12. Miss Red

    Miss Red Member

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    First Round
    Item analyzed: Field Trip; a challenge post for Jeff Goin's 500 words for a month challenge.
    It's location: My tumblr blog.
    Verdict?

    [​IMG]

    ------
    Second Round

    Item analyzed: A crime genre fanfiction on Joker titled "Joker's Bargain" (Written in January)
    It's location: Archive of our own Orphan Account
    Verdict?
    [​IMG]

    Third Round
    Item analyzed: A work in progress story i've been working on called Osamu's Locket.
    It's location: In a secret treasure trove on my hard drive.
    Verdict?
    -------
    [​IMG]



    I could play with this all day. xD
     
  13. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Actually, it really depends on the quality of the research that formed the basis of algorithm. I've seen this research before. I see nothing wrong with the premise that if you analyze enough authors' works there might be consistent gender differences.

    That doesn't mean the web site's algorithm is valid, and it also matters if one uses a large enough sample of writing from the author. I would imagine as well that culture matters and the research used here was done using a British source of papers.

    http://u.cs.biu.ac.il/~koppel/papers/male-female-text-final.pdf

    They only claim an 80% accuracy in results. Given @cutecat22's observation that one might be right 50% of the time by chance, 80% isn't all that great. (Actually it depends on some other factors like which gender produces more work, but the bottom line is the same, men and women may not write all that differently.)

    And they may be going by very few variables to make their determination.
    The paper is mildly informative and worth a read for anyone who is interested in the subject.
     
  14. PensiveQuill

    PensiveQuill Senior Member

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    I analysed both a sexual tension (not sex) scene and then a completely innocuous scene of first draft prose. Came up as male on both. Analysed my most polished piece, a bit of Flash Fiction in the Moonshot contest and it came up as Male on both too, even though I think the story is a bit girly.
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2014
  15. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    The beginning of my sci-fi story for the 2013 contest came out as weak male and the ending which was rushed and needed more editing came out weak female.

    My posts in the debate room come out as male. I'm not surprised there.
     
  16. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    do you think this proves that as writers, we are able to get into a character's mindset regardless of whether they are male/female and write from that perspective in such a way that we almost 'take on' that character's persona?

    I guess what I'm trying to say, is, did the researchers take into account the sex and point of view of the character/s in each submitted piece of writing?

    How does that affect the outcome of the verdict?

    And, if you are male and you are writing from a female point of view and the gender guesser guesses you are female, does that mean your writing is spot on??
     
    Okon likes this.
  17. thewordsmith

    thewordsmith Contributor Contributor

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    And doesn't it just...?
     
  18. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    I posted an excerpt from my sci-fi contest entry as I wrote it on my own while I usually write with @T.Trian and I got male.

    Interesting comment, though: "Weak emphasis could indicate European."
     
    jazzabel likes this.
  19. Renee J

    Renee J Senior Member

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    What words are considered male versus female? I put in a chapter by my female POV and got "male" and the chapter by my male character got "female".
     
  20. AlannaHart

    AlannaHart Senior Member

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    I'm a MALE???
     
  21. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    I don't think this thing can decide which one I am.

    For excerpts of my novel - with a male MC: I got "informal = male" and "formal = female".

    But a post from this forum, I got "informal = female" and "formal = male".

    Not sure if I should be worried lol. But overall it seems the hacker can't decide which one I am. I haven't got one where the gender was the same for both formal and informal yet.
     
  22. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    In case people didn't notice, "formal" is the algorithm that applies to fiction and "informal" is the algorithm that applies to non-fiction like blogs and forum posts.
     
  23. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    LOL i got male four times, and its female writing female!

    Fun to play around, but I don't think its worth any serious thought.
     
  24. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Yup I saw that, which is why I wonder if I should be worried lol. Apparently I talk like a guy but write like a girl, though featuring male POVs :D
     
  25. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Your real name isn't Lola is it?:rofl:
     

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