I must agree with Cornelia. The issue is not biological it is
socialization.
I learned about technology not because my mother was interested but because
I was. I was a competitor so I competed with the boys in everything and
that
included video games(Atari, my time frame) and when the pc's were really
out
in the homes I competed with the fellas with the biggest, fastest and best
machine. It never dawned on me that I was the only girl, because it has
always been that way for me, not until I tried to connect with other women
did I find the differences and it wasn't biological. They were not as
interested in the competition and they didn't care what the computer could
do. I was amazed, only because the former was how I learned.
Technology today is developed in the very same frame of mind and I agree
100% it needs to include diverse frames of mind, not just the need for
speed
or the largest capacity but how it enables us to connect to our society.
This division of gender is purely a social issue. If every girl was given
the same radio (boys are given) to take apart and to put back together
instead of the Barbie doll then we wouldn't be having this discussion. I
also say this in lieu of the fact that I never had a Barbie doll and never
wanted one. My mother never shoved one into my hand she allowed me to
develop with my interests and then foster my interests even if it didn't
match the social norms. I have a clear memory of quitting dance class to
play sports particularly basketball (basketball was not a thing a girl
should do back then) when I was 12. My mother paid for my classes but she
did not argue or force me to go back to dancing. This was only the
beginning.
Shireen Mitchell
Director - Digital Sisters, Inc.
director@digital-sistas.org
www.digital-sistas.org
"Technology with Women in Mind"
**********************************************************
Cornelia Brunner <cbrunner@edc.org> wrote:
I think your suggestion is very interesting. I do worry a bit, however,
about confusing gender and biology. This may seem like linguistic
nit-picking, but I actually think it's very important: gender is a social
construct, it refers to how we are socialized, the rules and norms imposed
on us by our culture. Femininity is slightly different in different
cultures, though there are many overlapping notions throughout the world.
The words female and make usually refer to biological status, to our
primary and secondary sex characteristics. I just want to make it very
clear that
I know of NO biological differences relevant to this discussion.
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