Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

"Being labeled a poser was something that could trigger a purity test, and in the sense of, 'Are you really who you say you are?'"

althouse.blogspot.com · 3hShare

"Whereas with LARPing, it is more: 'I’ve already made up my mind that you aren’t who you say you are.' It’s more of a condemnation, whereas poser can be challenged." Said Steven Dashiell, an assistant research professor at Morgan State University, "How LARPing, a Gaming Term, Became a Word for Posers/Live-action role playing was associated with games like Dungeons & Dragons. Now, it’s a way to call someone out for being inauthentic" (NYT). Were you aware of the LARPer/poser distinction? Wait. Another professor is available to help. Sarah Lynne Bowman, an associate professor of game design at Uppsala University, says, about LARPing, "Some of the early stigma was around people supposedly not knowing the difference between fantasy and reality — so being too into what’s happening rather than faking it." That's very different. The real you could be truly living a fantasy. You might need to fake it to pass as a normal person. I'm old. I'm not going to use young people slang. I remember when

First report: How LARPing, a Gaming Term, Became a Word for Posers — nytimes.com, 1d