The misrepresentation of gender online and offline raised
the issue of authenticity. This is a particular issue when
transactions are enacted online. Rose and Wood (2005:
284) argues that ‘the connectedness of objects to highly
valued elements of consumers’ lived experience grounds
judgments of authenticity in the “real” world and suggests
that consumers can readily distinguish between the authentic
and the factitious.’ This raises the question that when
gender is manipulated online and offline, what environment
most influences the consumer’s judgements of a true lived
experience and thus their evaluation of what products and services are authentic or not.