Fake Instagram Pages: Scamming, Gut Feelings or ‘Women’s Intuition’?

Words: Apple Xenos

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Intuition is so much more than a romanticised notion: It’s a magical power that women have harnessed over centuries. It is the beautiful ability to understand something instinctively. It combines subconsciously held observations of information with a gut feeling.

Research has hypothesised that it’s due to women's superior ability to read emotions and body language: A study by Katrina Grasby at Australia’s Berghofer Institute of Medical Research in Queensland presented 90,000 participants with photographs of people. In the study, she challenged her subjects to interpret the emotions in the pictures. The results revealed that women’s accuracy in labelling the feelings associated with the photographs blew men's ability to do so out of the water.

The Oracle of Delphi is a mystical example of women’s intuition, where priestesses known as Pythias channelled divine wisdom and insight. These women counselled many, primarily regarding two classic things men even today still can’t get enough of – war and politics. This fortune telling started from the late 7th century BC and ended in the late 4th century AC due to the Roman takeover and dismantling of Pagan-like traditions. Not much is known about who these Pythias were, as their individual identities were never documented, other than the fact that they were women over the age of 50. Their enigmatic records parallel the digital anonymity that women utilise today while investigating hunches and suspicions through group chats and internet sleuthing.
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Another parable of feminine intuition is present in The High Priestess tarot card. Depicting a veiled woman, when the second in the major arcana (Latin for “greater secrets”) appears to you, it’s a message to listen to your inner voice. ⁤Her metamorphosis from the 15th century, where she was linked to the church and known as “The Popess”, to her 18th century transformation in the now famous Rider-Waite Tarot deck, mirrors yet another ethereal evolution of female intuition. ⁤⁤Antoine Court de Gébelin, a Protestant pastor, breathed new esoteric life into the tarot overall. ⁤⁤In particular, he infused The Popess with the power of the Egyptian goddess Isis. In today’s known tarot decks, we see The High Priestess rocking horns and a crescent moon, symbols of deeper, hidden knowledge. ⁤

Turning from introspection to how female intuition is valuable in modern day espionage, Lindsay Moran, a former CIA clandestine officer, noticed that women naturally thrive at spotting and assessing potential sources. She also points out the inherent strength of women’s intuition by saying, “Women are already attuned to the security of their environment. We are always on the lookout for suspicious characters, people who might be following us, dangerous situations. We’ve compensated for being the physically ‘weaker sex’ by developing these street smarts.” 

Moran also talks about how women successfully can go undercover by benefiting from societal perceptions. In what seems to be a male dominated sphere within crime and espionage, women are often underestimated, seen merely as sex objects, the infamous “other woman” simply carrying out an affair. This underestimation becomes a powerful tool in women’s arsenal, even outside the spy industry. Women subvert these expectations to their advantage, and we see that in the familiar trope where women create online disguises in the form of other women to uncover cases of infidelity over DM.

“While women’s intuition was once considered an inexplicable sense, feared and worshipped in times of antiquity, by the 21st century, it manifests a bit differently. One way is in the phenomenon of women creating fake Instagram accounts for sleuthing.”

While women’s intuition was once considered an inexplicable sense, feared and worshipped in times of antiquity, by the 21st century, it manifests a bit differently. One way is in the phenomenon of women creating fake Instagram accounts for sleuthing. We do it for many reasons; the most popular being scrutinising a romantic interest, evaluating a job prospect, or discerning if someone is suspect. These incognito accounts should not be confused with Finstas, which are more like unfiltered teenage diaries for your besties. This private page, on the other hand, is more like an undercover tool for intel gathering, making them a key component in helping women channel and validate their intuition.

A TikTok by @glossygurl on women’s intuition garners 1.6 million views. The video shows her applying blush in front of her camera with nonchalant confidence while she says, “A man can really sit there and tell me he’s talking to nobody, but as a woman, I can go to his Instagram, look through his followers, and in ten seconds, figure out exactly who he’s talking to. And nine times out of ten, I’m always right, I’m always correct.” @aylinmelisa makes a joke video about forgetting to switch to her fake account when going through Instagram accounts that she doesn’t follow on main and receives 2.4 million views. A TikTok page dedicated to providing pics for fake accounts regularly receives 35 thousand views on their posts. @hannahsandycheeks gains 16 million views revealing her fake Instagram account in a matter of days.

This dedication to sleuthing is far more than a cringe girlfriend stereotype, but a form of street smarts in itself; it’s an effort to be extra aware of our surroundings in the digital age. This information can keep you safe, alert, and aware in endless scenarios. Whether it's vibe checking someone you plan to meet from the internet, vetting a job before quitting one you’re currently at, or feeling out if someone your family member is newly involved with is a red flag, fake Instas are just another tool in the magic box of women's intuition.