So when I google my name it comes up with tons of old things that show my gender and I’m stealth so it makes me feel kind of dysphoric and worried. I was wondering if I can do anything about that?
Lol, seriously? Nothing is ever gone from the Internet. That shit is just out there and you have to accept it. I’m not saying I don’t understand your concern, there’s just nothing you can do about it.
well that definitely is not true. it’s totally possible to get rid of stuff but it depends what it is - some things are easier to remove than others, depending on the activity of the website the information is on, and how well managed it is. usually if you email the administrator of the website you can get things taken down - it’s a lengthy process but it’s doable. i have done it myself for one hit i was getting on my name that linked me to something trans-related years ago.
sometimes things remain on google after they’ve been taken down, but i also believe there is something you can do to get that removed, but i’ve never done it myself so i don’t know what it is exactly - perhaps there’s a way to contact google directly. i know that when i asked for what i wanted removed to go from that website, they did something that ensured that it was off google basically that same day. unfortunately i don’t know what that ‘something’ is!
another good strategy if you can’t get stuff removed is to make new hits for yourself that will push the old results off the first page of google - get a linkedin or a public facebook, make a blog, a twitter, flickr etc with your full name on and hope that the old stuff gets pushed to the bottom of results - meaning less people are likely to see it.
either way, there’s no quick fix, but if you combine emailing website admin with the request and trying to make some new results, it should be okay.
