What happened after this engineer changed her gender to male on all social media platforms

Karen de Sousa Pesse decided to switch her gender from female to male on all her social media platforms.

Karen de Sousa Pesse, an engineer, recently took to LinkedIn to share an eye-opening experiment she conducted on social media. Two years ago, Pesse decided to switch her gender from female to male on all her social media platforms, and the results were nothing short of surprising.

“Around 2 years ago, I changed my gender to male on all social media. This is what happened next,” Pesse wrote. She noted a significant shift in the advertisements she received. Gone were the ads for baby products and children's clothes, replaced by promotions for MBAs, executive courses, and more career-focused opportunities. This revelation sparked a discussion on LinkedIn.

One user chimed in, "I did this too, but it wasn't exactly an experiment. What I can add to this list: a massive amount of ads about working out, growing muscles, clothes that make you look more muscular, soaps that smell nice to women. (Body positivity doesn't really exist for men yet). And a lot of ads about meals that are healthy but don't require any cooking skills.”

The post also drew comments highlighting the broader implications of Karen's experiment. "Wow, what a great illustration of how stereotypes are kept alive and promoted. Thanks for sharing," remarked one user. Another added, “Really interesting experiment, indeed! Marketing is based on stereotypes... But what if ‘smarter’ marketers started questioning the status quo? I wonder if some of the big companies would be willing to do such an experiment (of marketing to a non-stereotyped audience) and report on the outcomes).”

"I once compared my tiktok feed with that of my teenage daughters. Huge difference too. Algorithms are biased," another user remarked.

Meanwhile, Pesse's LinkedIn bio revealed her credentials as a Nanotechnology and Material Science Engineer. With a career spanning multiple countries across America, Europe, and Asia, she has worked with industry giants like IBM and Microsoft.