This is good read, Michelle. I don’t use a pen name, but I do wonder about those who do. I’m very good at tracking people down and have found out the real names and addresses of at least two highly successful Medium writers with pen names. (Lucky for them, I did it for purely entertainment purposes and not because I’m a homicidal maniac or planning to out them.) People are woefully bad at covering their tracks. Pen names for fiction don’t bother me in the least. When it comes to things like politics or opinion, I prefer to read people who have the courage of their convictions. Some use pen names because they write inflammatory stuff just to get reads or to make a group they don’t like look bad (the Medium equivalent of a Russian bot. I don’t want to end up applauding a fraud.