Vec, I feel ya.
For most of my life, I've been dictated by parents to do as they wish, and saying things outside of their envisioned goals would net me a scolding. Me being young, and very familial, due to certain circumstances, this built an impression within me that wouldn't allow me to do ANYTHING that would jeopardize the family. Sometimes, this is good. For the most part, it isn't, as I've become so emotionally sensitive and unwilling to break the status quo out of fear of being scolded again, for 'failing' their expectations.
Restating my previous post, this developed my shyness for me, and has further exacerbated my inability to find romantic love, out of fear that it wouldn't appear as idealized by family members.
Like yourself, this also crystallized in my self-image, which I've been trying hard even to this day to remove, and has made me felt like shit a couple of times. It also spread into other avenues, such as envy for others, because they can do so flawlessly what I can 'never' do (or so it would seem because I've exceeded my expectations several times, but it feels like it's absolutely impenetrable).
Slightly related to the above, I've received a rather awkward chain of PMs here, leading to someone getting pissed off for my seeming passive-aggressiveness... or for something I can't even fathom, since I don't even understand what's going on for something to turn a sudden 180 degrees.
Something about me being too damned prideful, I guess? Or being a hyper-sensitive, grown by a single-mom (whom I was abandoned from due to the same circumstances posted above) emotional twat who's saying all these things unwarranted. Or maybe it's relating the person-asking-for-gender thing as a possible veiled romantic interest prelude, stated jokingly, due to the recent awkward conversation I've had on Steam?
To each his own I guess. But I really shouldn't be getting caught up in all of this, being the more rational person, or at least I believe myself to be. I'm less sad about the message, really, and more sad about my inability to understand why people would suddenly get pissed.
@BigFish
but why post in car. :o