[IndiChix] Chix Semantics

[Vid Ayer]

On Jan 12, 2008 4:19 AM, Tea Beedi <tbd.lists at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
>
> Hi Indichix,
> Thanks Vid and Gayathri for the comments. [And Vid apologies for
> forgetting subject and inline etiquette!]

ahh .... you gave me the chance to use the list admin whip , just kidding :)


> >
> > ..... the word "Bharatiya Nari" in a wider connotation, conjures up
> > images of the sari clad, kitchen slaving, obedient, subservient,
> > self-sacrificing Indian woman   .... Is that what Linuxchix is all
> > about ?
> >
> > Um, dont quite think Nari by itself projects the subservience
> > factor. It means one who is gentle and cheerful.
>
>   The question came up at FOSS and there was general laughter at the
> Bharatiya Nari suggestion, because of the "popular" association Vid
> mentions.

Exactly, its a wider association (filmi ?) with the word that is
troublesome. If the word "chix" has negative connotations, "Bharatiya
Nari" (not individually) lies on the opposite end of the spectrum as
most (not all) folks associate words with images they grew up or
identify with.

FWIW, i dont know who or why its called "LinuxChix" but we definitely
lose out on branding by dropping the 'Chix' part of it, although at
Foss I was given to understand that we will be retaining the name
"Linuxchix" in whole. Rather the Indian name would be pre-appended as
"Indian$name-Linuxchix" for local promotions. Well, I am not sure if i
understood all this correctly or if its even needed. For me, the work
and the main group behind it, than mere semantics, was enough to start
volunteering, years ago. YMMV.



> I am actually interested in hearing more peoples' thoughts
> since you've raised an interesting question, which passed as a joke
> last time.

Outside of Foss, in my experience few people take it as a joke when i
say LinuxChix, .... probably its just me then :)


> For eg, even if I have no problems being gentle and cheerful, I might
> want sometimes a right to have a different demeanor (umm, think,
> classic geek, say, RMS - he is many things, we could say brilliant
> programmer, aggressive speaker, movement builder, etc ; but NOT
> gentle and cheerful. But to apply Nari to a group of grrl geeks would
> imply that we aspire to that cheery image)- ie somehow it has always
> been more OK for guys to be grumpy geeks; women are supposed to be
> cheerful even when under stress, working hard as geeks but being
> regular people too.
>

Exactly, its the expectation "from women" that bothers me. Its akin to
being told "Oh you got the contract because you are a woman", which
manages to simply erase the hardwork i had done, in one stroke. The
gender automatically brings with it preconceived notions which coupled
with certain expectations (related to behaviour) means women cannot be
aggressive, demanding, questioning, because all of that goes against
the image that people have of an Indian nari (woman).


> So, if we cld run with this question a bit longer, what do others
> think of the "gendered image" of the geek ?

good question....  "Why the hell are they here...dont i have enough
competition from other men (population, reservation, lack of
boundaries...) that i have to deal with women jostling for space too."



> [And by extension I guess I am also asking, what can Indichix do to
> address issues of image, or do u think this is relevant at all?]

It is relevant but needs to be tackled by the people here...so i'll
pass this, even though i am tempted :)


> > The thing is we as a chapter should identify or connect some manner
> > to LinuxChix and IndiChix does that quite well.

Amen,  ... most country chapters (AU and US) prepend the country name.

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