She’s Such A Geek
November 16th, 2006 by SBShe’s Such A Geek, edited by Charlie Anders and Annalee Newitz is finally out! We’ve been waiting for this for a while and applaud the whole shebang.
More women need to be in science and there is absolutely no reason we should not be (Oh, well, except for the rampant sexism and that fact that girls grow up constantly being told that being into science and technology not a “girly” thing to do).
She’s Such a Geek even has a blog in which bunches of good writers expound on women in the sciences, among other things.
Having been a woman in sciences for a while now, we here at Suicidebots can go on at length and with great invective on the subject of equality in the workplace/playplace, especially when it comes to technology. Grr. But I’ll refer you to She’s Such A Geek for now, they have a lot to say and they say it well.
[Thanks Violet for breaking the news for us over here]
November 16th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Oh, well, except for the rampant sexism and that fact that girls grow up constantly being told that being into science and technology not a “girly” thing to do
This is true. However most of this sexism seems to come from other girls not men. Most guys I know love smart women and often lament the lack of them to date. It’s women like Paris Hilton that make it cute to be stupid and shallow.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Also, as a scientist I work with plenty of women here in the lab that are at least as scientifically inclined as I am. But NONE of them are American. Funny thing is, American women tend to pity these women.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Interesting! Where are you located? I also have encountered that in other countries it tends to be slightly more socially acceptable to be a woman and technological. In the US and the UK, however, I have found that more men tend to sneer openly or just say “there there don’t worry your pretty little head about that big mean computer.” How do you see American women tending to pity these women?
In an environment like SRL or the Flaming Lotus Girls, we see pockets of civility where men and women alike are left to sink or swim on their own merits. FLG provides a slightly more supportive touchy-feely environment in which women learn to use tools from absolute scratch, as opposed to SRL, where you are expected to already know a thing or two, but either way there is a certain amount of baptism by fire. That is, I find, the kind of equality that people tend to want, where no one is given any special privileges, but no one’s torn down because of their gender.
When we tear you down, it’s cause you’re an idiot.
“Most guys I know love smart women and often lament the lack of them to date. It’s women like Paris Hilton that make it cute to be stupid and shallow.”
I guess it depends on the sampling of the group, because I have also met plenty of men who think they prefer women who sit still and are pretty to women who are opinionated and smart. This eventually does not come out in the wash, usually, but enough of this attitude is expressed that it worries me.
November 17th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
i think there’s actually less sexism in tech and science as there are in other fields actually.
this may not be true of the US but i can see how going to an all-girls school for most of your life probably just allows girls to sink or swim on their own merit and are not usually aware of gender-issues until they go out in the real world. it seems archaic but i think there definately were advantages to that. one perceived certain girls to be more alpha than others but it wasnt associated with gender but more on personality or drive. i should check if it’s true but i’m sort of under the impression that a good chunk of really successful women probably attended some all-girl educational institution at some point in their lives.