September 30, 2026

"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?'"

"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 "poser" was young people slang, and I had to wonder when did we stop saying "poseur."

18 comments:

rcommal said...

I still use "poseur," but then I'm getting on, too. I use limited "young people slang," though I'm aware of it because I had a kid so late, and so he is "young people" even though I'm definitely senior citizen.

I confess to sometimes deploying "young people slang" specifically to annoy my son for humorous purposes.

I'm a bad person! LOL.

Paddy O said...

Larpers know they are not authentic but enjoy the assumption of a interesting role. Posers posed as being authentic. Not sure I trust an academic to tell us authentic lingo.

Lots of posers in academia. Thats pretty much most of the humanities these days

n.n said...

Gaming trans through sims.

Paddy O said...

GenXers use "posers."

rcommal said...

Of course, son sometimes deploys "old person slang" to annoy me. Turnabout is fair play, but it doesn't actually annoy me, so I win!

RCOCEAN II said...

Poser? Almost never heard it, or used it in real life. IRC, we were calling people phonies and fakes back in HS. I assume poser = strikes poses. And isnt being a member of a Posse.

Paddy O said...

Though google tells me that the kids do use larping as meaning poser. But my kids (12 and 14) use the term try-hard to apply to that group of those posing for approval. I like that better. And academia is definitely rife with try-hards. Especially Christian academia.

Lazarus said...

We would have said "fakers" or something like that. "Poseur" was for posers. The rest of us had trouble pronouncing it.

Christopher B said...

I think the adoption of "LARPing" is also meant to indicate a more active performative style than either 'poser' or 'poseur'. One can be a poser just by adopting the outward appearance of a certain type whereas the reference to role play indicates more action, i.e. "LARPing as the French Resistance"

Darconville said...

I remember when calling someone a poser was the worst possible insult. This was mid-late 1990s. The definition of poser used here is far too mild.

n.n said...

Poser - Easily create art and animation with 3D characters

RideSpaceMountain said...

LARPing is a big thing in the 2A community. Specifically towards RUGs (Rich Urban Gunowners) trying to pass off their affinity for and ability to afford fancy gear without actually knowing how to use it or having any professional training with it whatsoever. No, your 2-gun action challenge matches are not the same as force-on-force live fire training involving actual explosives. Nonetheless it's not a big deal as long as everyone's safe plus you get to see who's got nice stuff in case you have to divvy it up amongst your homies once they're dead.

William said...

Pretentious? Moi..........Poseur looks like the kind of word a poser would use. I avoid Frenchified words. Real men don't use Frenchified words........I didn't know until just now what a LARP was. I know a fair number of phonies, but I don't know any LARPers. I wouldn't be surprised if those young people with nose rings and too many tats were LARPers, but I don't know any of them.......Doesn't civilization to some extent depend upon all of us pretending to not be the selfish, egotistical pigs that we fundamentally are. Most of pricks I've known were authentic and sincere. They're worse than the poseurs.

Temujin said...

I still see people and think, "poser". Actually, I think "poseur". But then I extend my hand and tell them it's good to see them and ask about their wife.
Truth is, I actually do use the word poseur to describe some people here and there. Which, I guess, makes me a poser.

SGT Ted said...

Women in the US dressed as Handmaidens Tale outfits pretending they are oppressed are LARPers.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Lonely Handmaiden Role Playing Fetishists. LHRPFers love it when daddy oppresses them harder.

Original Mike said...

"Were you aware of the LARPer/poser distinction?"

I've never heard of LARPing.
I didn't even know we were misspelling "poseur" now,

Hassayamper said...

*****
LARPing is a big thing in the 2A community. Specifically towards RUGs (Rich Urban Gunowners) trying to pass off their affinity for and ability to afford fancy gear without actually knowing how to use it or having any professional training with it whatsoever. No, your 2-gun action challenge matches are not the same as force-on-force live fire training involving actual explosives.
*****

Guilty as charged. But I don't go around looking like a fat fool in a ballistic helmet and plate carrier and camo and NODS, nor do I compete at all with anyone else. I just shoot a lot, take occasional training courses, and buy more guns (and more expensive guns) than I really need. Shooting in the desert with my buddies and enjoying a beer afterwards is one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend afternoon.

I am bored with the assault-rifle and pistol stuff, and moving into the world of long-range precision bolt-action rifles. Also am learning a lot about the work of gunsmiths and armorers, and outfitting my workshop for everything up to and including mill and lathe work and MIG/TIG welding.

*****
Nonetheless it's not a big deal as long as everyone's safe plus you get to see who's got nice stuff in case you have to divvy it up amongst your homies once they're dead.
*****

I take my son and his friends shooting now and then. They call my gun vault the "Loot Drop".

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