Alter Egos

So, Facebook has kindly informed me that some dog has just joined Facebook.

Now mind you, I don't mind dogs, not one bit.

But why does a dog need a Facebook page?

And why does Facebook feel the need to inform me?

Perhaps Roxy Reagan is an alter ego. Perhaps it is a person who feels the need for anonymity, for whatever reason. I know lots of people who maintain alter egos for some very good reasons.

Exhibit A: A friend works in a public office, who in his real identity engages in leather events, fetish events, and gay events. This friend maintains one Facebook ID for friends he can be himself with, and another Facebook ID that is more "socially acceptable" for his coworkers and the general public to see (Believe me, the "socially acceptable" bit is not my personal commentary - I think it is a travesty that he feels he cannot be himself everywhere and that he feels the need to hide some aspects of who he is).

Exhibit B: Stage persona: I am acquainted with several friends who have developed characters onstage - drag characters, especially - in which they maintain a Facebook ID that stays in-character at all times. One such person is a public figure in the gay community, meaning (s)he has built a drag career as a maître d' of the GLBT community. So, not your ordinary late night drag show in a bar or club, but as an event host for a parade, for a fundraiser, for a public protest, for a grand opening, etc.

Exhibit C: A good friend of mine maintains a Facebook ID that allows for an exploration of crossdressing, without fear that his children will stumble upon a photo of her high-heeling it across an airport to catch a plane (great blog, too, by the way, about life and travel as a crossdresser - check it out! I have great respect for the reasoning behind the decision to maintain the alter ego, but I sure wish parents wouldn't go to such extremes to overprotect their children, or perhaps I should say, they shouldn't have to go to such extremes. I'm sure it's way more complicated than that, but how I wish it didn't have to be!).

Exhibit D: A friend of mine created a false identity because of a bad situation in which her private life was exploited through a hacking incident. Despite the circumstances, she still wished to maintain contact with her friends, so hence the alter ego.

Exhibit E: I personally have two Facebook ID's because I demonstrate electronic goods to the public in retail settings, which frequently involves showing customers Facebook on a smart-phone or a computer/internet product - and I have no desire to show strangers my personal life on Facebook. So I have a generic, homogenized Facebook ID that includes photos of me with Justin Bieber and me with customers or clients, rather than the kind of photos they'd find on my personal account, of me drunk or me nearly naked or me in a kilt for Halloween!

For clarity: But whatever the reasons are for people having an alter ego, I don't judge. I might have unsolicited opinions, but I love my friends unconditionally, and yearn for a life-less-complicated in which they can be comfortable with who they are. In the case of Exhibit A, I am friends with only one of that person's Facebook IDs - the one where I can be myself - he invited me to be friends with both, but I refuse to compromise or censure myself in his newsfeed as if being gay or having sexual encounters was a bad, bad thing. Exhibit B folks, on the other hand, I freely "friend" both personas where invited, because, of course, I support art and personal expression, and feel that I can be myself to both.  Exhibit C: I am friends with both alter egos, because I feel he and crossdressers/transgenders should not have to hide who they are and I fully accept and support him in every way. Exhibit D? Hurrah for not letting some hacker ruin your online experience - and if that hacker was an ex, seek a fun way of having your revenge!  Exhibit E needs no explanation.

BUT: I find myself baffled by "Roxy Reagan," and why Facebook would inform me of this oddity. There's a gossip story hidden in that Facebook ID, perhaps?  Is this the underdog I'm always hearing about and secretly cheering for?