[Techtalk] Aren't boys wonderful!

[Jenn Vesperman]

On Mon, 2002-01-07 at 11:02, Jennifer Davis wrote:
> This is probably an issues post.  

It is, so I'm moving the thread. Reply to issues, please.

> It's not that I am terribly shaken up by this.  I
> mean, who's sex hasn't been questioned on line.  

I'm getting that on the online games, now I'm actually starting to play
them. With the more intelligent people, I point out that if they treat
women as an exception, women will always feel like outsiders. The smart
ones get the point - and hopefully conceal their amazement next time.

>  It
> makes the internet so insular.  We shut out the contact with others in
> favour ot being broadcast to via the web as it is the less
> objectionable. 

Hrm. That's a point I hadn't considered. I think you may be right - I
avoid IRC and instant messaging, because I get so tired of it... I
haven't had an instant messaging ap running since .. hrm. Well I played
with it for less than a month when ICQ was new. So how long is that?

I get people who can't imagine me not having an instant messaging
service. I've actually been told I'm lying.
 
> I just really wish I had some things in my head ready to go when I see
> stupid sexism. 

Well, for the smart ones who are simply amazed that you're female, try
my response. For the stupid ones .. I don't know. I don't know if they
can be taught.

> I realise that this is nothing new to most of you.  This is nothing
> compared to some of the nastiness, or just plain ignorance, not all of
> it being sexist in nature. 

Actually, from previous conversations, there are women who report not
having experienced sexism. A hopeful sign!

>  I have dealt with in the past, like, hmm,
> having a client demand to speak to a man because women don't know
> anything about fixing computers, 

Oh yes!

> or being groped in a server room,
> because obviously I was going to see the systems administrator and not
> rebooting a server. 

That - thankfully - hasn't happened to me. I hope you whacked whoever it
was over the head with an old removable hard drive. The ones it took two
hands to carry.

>  I've been lied to (condescended to by ignorant clerks) in
> stores, been given the "do a scandisk and defrag and call me back (after
> my shift is over)" scam by tech support at work.   

I've been condescended to, but thankfully most of my tech support comes
from my husband. He always knew better.

> I could just imagine the nonsense that women who are more directly in
> the field or who have been at it longer have seen and heard.

Yup.

>   I just wish the forums that
> come with the territory weren't so, well, like the rest of the world.

That's part of what Linuxchix is for. Its partly a sheltered zone, where
you can get the info you need even if you who can't/don't want to deal
with the crap that's out there. 
It's also an activist centre, though the issues list has been quiet of
late. WHich reminds me, I have a thread to start.
 
> Thanks for listening to my rant. 


You're welcome. ANd I like your response.


Jenn V.
-- 
    "Do you ever wonder if there's a whole section of geek culture 
        	you miss out on by being a geek?" - Dancer.

jenn at anthill.echidna.id.au     http://anthill.echidna.id.au/~jenn/