Geek Masculinity and the Myth of the Fake Geek Girl - why we get things like the "Imposter" ad and the Tony Harris rant.
posted by Artw on Nov 15, 2012 - 259 comments

On June 13, 1994, blond-haired, blue-eyed Nicholas Barclay was reported missing from his home near San Antonio, Texas. He was 13 years old. In October 1997, the family received a call from a man in Spain informing them their son had been found after having escaped from a child prostitution ring. Nicholas' half-sister immediately boarded a flight to Spain, where she was reunited with her brother and brought him back with her to Texas. There were a few things though, that seemed a bit off... [more inside]
posted by triggerfinger on Aug 17, 2012 - 53 comments

Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr was a prison warden, a monk, a lawyer and a religiously-oriented psychologist, and yet he was actually none of those things. Now known as "The Great Imposter", Demara held many careers as he faked his way through life, but his most famous exploit was to masquerade as surgeon Joseph Cyr aboard the HMCS Cayuga, a Royal Canadian Navy destroyer, during the Korean War. [more inside]
posted by Effigy2000 on Mar 17, 2009 - 22 comments

Redbone manager says Butte fair-goers saw ‘blatant’ imposters. Of course this sort of thing has been going for a long time (Imposter Zombies), but has gotten so bad that several states have passed laws requiring at least one original member to be present. "... a fan went to see The Drifters and realized none of the singers was authentic. Later, the fan went to another show and found the same charlatans on stage, this time posing as The Coasters..."
posted by 445supermag on Aug 14, 2006 - 28 comments

Last night I saw Brent Mendenhall on an Asian-language television channel, doing a sometimes-uncanny George W. Bush impersonation. Being able to understand his mock-Texan ramblings but not the host interviewing him was a surreal experience. Upon cursory investigation, I was shocked to find that some suspect Dubya of using a look-alike for particularly dangerous speaking engagements, and that others are available for hire. Saddam, too!
posted by scarabic on Oct 3, 2003 - 3 comments