Introversion and MFC People...

This article was a pretty fun read. 10 Myths About Introverts
I happened upon a chat room where the model and her members were discussing it. Her name is Brina and she is pretty as fuck. Follow her on Twitter.

Anyway, they were discussing the personalities of many models and members who frequent the site. I was perving as a guest at the time and this topic forced me to log in and join the discussion. I've had this discussion in my own room a few times and usually when I open up and call myself an introvert, or shy, I get a little scared that you guys will view me as the weird kid who couldn't do better than sit on the internet with imaginary friends.

I think people (including me, thus fueling my self-conciseness) assume that introverts are those weird smelly kids in high school who used to sit in the corner and put food in their pockets. While the smelly kid may have been an introvert, I think it is interesting to note that not all introverts are socially awkward or anti social. Why do we have this perception of correlation between shyness and not fitting in? We seem to always separate people into categories of "us" and "them." It is natural to do so, humans are notorious for it, but I think at times we miss out on the complexity and beauty of the people around us simply because they are different.


A teacher who I admire had read an article about shyness and she said that shyness is actually a chemical "imbalance" and an actual physical, quantifiable process in people's minds that "make" them shy. She then asked which of us thought we were shy and I, like the other attention fearing kids in my class, slowly put our hands up, just a little at first, looked around to each other and awkwardly raised our arms high to be counted. My Professor then shouted "Zoe, you're not shy, put your hand down!" This made me blush and want to cry, she totally called me out. At the same time she implied that since I participate and am smart and funny in class that I couldn't possibly identify with those "other" kids who never spoke and were total weirdos. She was trying to understand us but I think it is pertinent to note that a PhD would so easily fall in the trap of labeling, assuming, and separating based on meaningless qualities of a few students in her class. Despite her education and her article, she still held a perception of a label and immediately applied that schema to her students.

I'm no scientist but the way her article described shyness was the way I would imagine any other emotion manifesting itself physically. It's not some undesirable genetic failure that makes us who we are, it is our personalities in combination with how we feel. No one can necessarily see it or base it upon our behavior, it is inside and it makes us who we are. The stinky kid "traits" are simply a stereotype that our society holds and like most prejudices, these manifest themselves through fear. They aren't like us, let's hate them.

I fit in just fine where I want to. I am an excellent public speaker and I can hold the attention and amusement of a room of my peers. But most of the time the "cool kids" just aren't that interesting despite what they would like to believe. I don't dislike them, I don't feel like I am better than them, I would just rather sit in my room and paint instead of watch drunk people talk at a party. It's not that painting alone or calling a friend instead of having lunch is a bad thing to do, it is simply the fact that some people don't share those preferences, they don't understand why I hold them, and that can make them uncomfortable. In order to understand, or to justify one's own behavior or preferences, those people are placed in categories separate from ourselves. Once this label is created and a person who fits it is identified, it can be arbitrarily applied to anyone with similar qualities. Those similar qualities are, in our minds, shared by all members that fall into this category and vuah-la! (sp?) we have created a stereotype based bias that muddies and grays out the variation and complexity of those people we can now apply it to.

I have also decided to stop calling myself shy and if you call yourself that, I think you should stop too. I am not my emotions, although they can sometimes influence my behavior and choices. They do not define me and I protest the label that society has placed on me. I'm a pretty cool cat and just because I am often not interested in the main flow of things, and I may be a little different, that probably makes me more interesting and not more wierder. I've been labeled and we have seen the power that words have over people if they aren't aware of the mistake. Labels aren't bad, we usually use them so we can better understand things, but they can be harmful when applied to people based on their exclusionary nature. If we think that shy means not cool, then once we accept the "shy" label, we are accepting that we are not, cannot be, and never will be "cool." Not everyone perceives shy this way so not everyone will be affected the same way by it, but you see my point.

Introverts in this era of technology and internet culture are quite fortunate because we have gained an outlet. We can do and say what we want, when we want. And when we want a break, we can turn off our kik notifications and take a nap or read a book. This is my actual point. I am so excited and pleased that I have found MFC and all of you. I really feel that you allow me to be myself. I am so happy to see you for who you are because I think you guys do feel the same openness and closeness. We are a lot alike, most of us. Many models that I have met, despite looking so cool and pretty, would actually call themselves introverts. They prefer the same things and function better in the same environments. Guys, I think we have found our niche. Not only do I fit in, but I like it here.