• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Men, women and technology

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
scott, any input is much appreciated. Though you've said that you are a man and therefore ill-equipped to answer some of the questions, you have provided some really useful responses to my queries. I am interested in the perspectives of women and men so please continue.
 
there are no girls on the internets.
op is a fake.
as for chicks and tech..
as for asking questions on atot..atot is a sausage party. if u want chicks answering go to some gossip/tabloid blog.
stereotype...but the numbers say it is true
 
Something that has been brought up on this thread is that gender, ethnicity and sexuality are not much of an issue on the specifically technical forums of this site. Do most people agree with this?
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
Something that has been brought up on this thread is that gender, ethnicity and sexuality are not much of an issue on the specifically technical forums of this site. Do most people agree with this?
Click to expand...

I do.
 
Flipped Gazelle, I have considered looking at Second Life for a bigger research project that I am doing. That project relates more specifically to identity which is obviosuly a very big part of Second Life participation. This project is quite small scale so unforntuatley I haven't got the time to study Second Life. Have you ever used Second Life? If so, did you notice any interesting gender divides or cultures?
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
Something that has been brought up on this thread is that gender, ethnicity and sexuality are not much of an issue on the specifically technical forums of this site. Do most people agree with this?
Click to expand...

No, not an issue. The tech forums tend to focus tightly on technology. Those things come into play only if people put them in play (usually by the rare troll who is then smacked down by everyone else). The Social forums are a different matter.
 
Crono, what you've said is interesting. So is it the case that there is a stricter moral and behavioural code on the more technical forums?
 
0roo0roo, I agree with the point that I think you are making. The prominence and significance of Second Life is very much overstated in the media, and even in academic circles. However, I think the concept of Second Life is very interesting and it does provide a wider range of information (visual as well as verbal for example) for the researcher than other online environments.
 
Some theorists have suggested that the Internet allows people more freedom from issues of gender than in the real world. Do you think this has been the case? How do your experiences of gender online compared to those offline? <question for everyone>
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
Flipped Gazelle, I have considered looking at Second Life for a bigger research project that I am doing. That project relates more specifically to identity which is obviosuly a very big part of Second Life participation. This project is quite small scale so unforntuatley I haven't got the time to study Second Life. Have you ever used Second Life? If so, did you notice any interesting gender divides or cultures?
Click to expand...

Lynetteshef, I've only used SL to the extent of setting it up locally for other people. However, it is a huge boon for the physically disabled. I know several people who spend several hours each day on SL, and enjoy it immensely.

From what I've gathered, there are more females on SL than males, and certainly a number of "gender imposters". I've been told that SL society is much like high school, with cliques and planned social events and all that.

SL has certainly grown. The articles that OrooOroo has linked to are several years old, and not accurately reflective of the current state of SL.

Given the # of technical questions I am asked by my acquaintances on behalf of other people, it seems there is precious little technical knowledge evidenced by most SL users.
 
I'll leave one last question for people to consider before I log off for the night:

Do you feel that technology and the Internet in particular is shaped by the social norms, conventions and values of the societies in the physical world?
OR
Do you feel that the social world is being shaped by technologies such as the Internet?
OR
Is it a combination of the two?

Please feel free to discuss these topics (and more) with one another. I'll be back on to read your posts and to reply to them tomorrow morning.

Thank you ever so much for all of your input so far, it has been a really interesting discussion.
 
according to many user tracking websites, women are morely likely to use maturnity sites while men are more likely to use ATOT

EVERYONE fails in the end
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
Crono, what you've said is interesting. So is it the case that there is a stricter moral and behavioural code on the more technical forums?
Click to expand...

It's not about moral code, really, it's just that the more focused on topic or technical details a discussion is, the less room there is for comments about (generally) unrelated things like gender, race, religion, etc. If I am talking about the merits of a certain CPU over another CPU, it would be hard for me to work in (whether for good or for bad) comments on gender. Of course it is possible to do so, but that is what Off Topic is for.

Originally posted by: lynetteshef
Some theorists have suggested that the Internet allows people more freedom from issues of gender than in the real world. Do you think this has been the case? How do your experiences of gender online compared to those offline? <question for everyone>
Click to expand...

The internet allows more freedom because of the anonymity that the internet allows, and the separation from physical confrontation. A racist or sexist person usually will not say anything or will hesitate in commenting in "real life" situations, but the shield of privacy (or assumed privacy) and no/limited consequences (angry text reply means nothing to many people) means people are free to be themselves, for evil or (sometimes) for good.

There is also "group think", which acts separately or in conjunction with anonymity. This is when people tend to imitate others in the same online environment, and take on a role that they may or may not be their true personality. For instance, you will see sometimes people making on ATOT sexist remarks because it is expected and/or seen as humorous (humor is another shield for those venting hate - it's easy to do).

In the real world, people tend to be more cautious about what they say and do. The consequences of an unbridled tongue, such as loss of job, friends, etc, are felt in the real world, but rarely are they so harsh online.

?
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
I'll leave one last question for people to consider before I log off for the night:

Do you feel that technology and the Internet in particular is shaped by the social norms, conventions and values of the societies in the physical world?
OR
Do you feel that the social world is being shaped by technologies such as the Internet?
OR
Is it a combination of the two?

Please feel free to discuss these topics (and more) with one another. I'll be back on to read your posts and to reply to them tomorrow morning.

Thank you ever so much for all of your input so far, it has been a really interesting discussion.
Click to expand...

Combination of the two, without a doubt.
The internet is accelerating global culture. This is both disturbing and encouraging. As with other technologies and communication mediums (but to a larger extent, since the internet encompasses other media), the internet is a double edged sword that can be used for good or evil. Sounds like a cheesy line from a poorly written documentary, but it's true.

Societal and national cultures still bear heavily on individuals, though. Observe posting habits of someone from India, and you see this, as opposed to someone from the United States, or from Egypt, or from Finland. Global culture - or social culture generated, conglomerated and remixed by the Internet - is becoming dominant. It's true of old media and their societies (even in political, economical and religious aspects), but the internet is leading the way and bridging everything like nothing else.

To answer your question directly and more succinctly, societies are influencing the internet, the internet is influencing societies, and there is something new being created between the two.

?
 
Originally posted by: lizardboy
pics?
Click to expand...

ATOT never disappoints. It strikes me as profoundly right that this was the first response to this question.

I was a comm major in 2003, always considered going on to study gendered nonverbal communication on the net. It's a topic I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about.

? Gender cultures on these forums and online in general
These forums have more females now than ever before but the female population is still significantly smaller than the male population. When the forum was younger the females sort of banded together to support each other, particularly because there were both serious and non-serious attacks from the guys. Now the gals tend more towards infighting, acting like the guys based on their own viewpoints, more integrated into the regular forum culture.

? Whether people disclose their gender when posting on these forums
Some do in their names, some do overtly when they post and it's relevant, and some do it more subtly based on the content of their posts (going out with girlfriends, mentioning husband, etc.)

? How people feel as a man or as a woman posting on these forums
When I was younger and the forums were younger it felt a little more... creatively aggressive. People could harass longer but it was less mean-spirited. Babe threads weren't yet banned so there was more objectification, also more personal criticism. But then there were always the cadres of gentlemen who could bring the civilisation of real life into the forums, willing to defend against the more crude. Seems like women's lib has come to the net; the gals now dish it out as well as they give it, no defending needed or wanted. Feels a bit more isolated somehow.

? Whether people?s gender influences how people treat them on these message boards and online in general
Not so much anymore. Used to make a big difference, now people are pretty good about treating posters, even known females, based solely on the content of their posts. Of course, gender gives another grounds for insults, so if someone disagrees with you it's entirely possible that your gender will be assaulted just as a matter of course. It's not really about gender though, just any available and known characteristic.

? Whether there are differences in how men and women use and discuss technology
Too broad a question to provide a reasonable answer.

? Whether people?s identities are shaped in anyway by the technologies that they interact with, and if so how?
I'm married to a forum member and live with two more. Nope, not at all. 😛

Oh, and yeah, I'm female.
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
n yusef, I agree a lot with what you're saying. It does seem that the absence of real world repercussions means that people can be much more offensive online than they otherwise would be. I suspect that some of the sexist, racist and homophobic comments that get posted on online message boards and the like are just there to be inflammatory.
Click to expand...

You're biasing your research results by adding your opinion in the conversation. Are you grad or undergrad?
 
Originally posted by: lynetteshef
I'll leave one last question for people to consider before I log off for the night:

Do you feel that technology and the Internet in particular is shaped by the social norms, conventions and values of the societies in the physical world?
OR
Do you feel that the social world is being shaped by technologies such as the Internet?
OR
Is it a combination of the two?

Please feel free to discuss these topics (and more) with one another. I'll be back on to read your posts and to reply to them tomorrow morning.

Thank you ever so much for all of your input so far, it has been a really interesting discussion.
Click to expand...

Combination of the two but more the second than the first, particularly as younger people who have grown up with the technology bring it with them into adult life.
 
Virtually all comments relating to the deficiencies of any gender, ethnicity, or nationality in any capacity whatsoever, not just computers, are jokes. (Note that religion and political affiliation are excluded) A joke does not necessarily convey the opinion of the person expressing it, but may be deemed worthy of expression by merit of its comedic value alone. That is all.
 
Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
Virtually all comments relating to the deficiencies of one gender or another in any capacity whatsoever, not just computers, are jokes. A joke does not necessarily convey the opinion of the person expressing it, but may be deemed worthy of expression by merit of its comedic value alone. That is all.
Click to expand...

Have you read L&R? Women are constantly called emotional, irrational, needy, selfish, etc. Whenever these stereotypes are challenged (and I have challenged them on multiple occasions), people seriously defend them.

Just because you don't take these stereotypes seriously doesn't mean that everyone doesn't.
 
Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Originally posted by: lizardboy
pics?
Click to expand...

ATOT never disappoints. It strikes me as profoundly right that this was the first response to this question.
Click to expand...

I'm not normally a "pics" poster, but since I spotted the thread when it was first posted I just felt a duty towards all of ATOT to get the ball rolling in the right direction 🙂

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top