On Wed, Mar 16, 2011 at 1:48 PM, Laura Hale <laura(a)fanhistory.com> wrote:
[...]
Erik's comment made me feel decidedly uncomfortable. On a list dedicated to
helping increase the female participation rates on Wikipedia, Erik basically
said: WOMENS! THEY IS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ME! If I went to some women's
communities and I posted Erik's comment (and comments of other male posters)
with the context of these comments being said on a list dedicated to
increasing female participation rates...
... well, you'd potentially have a mob involved. This effort? It would
appear extremely sexist. (The large male involvement, the defensiveness of
men regaridng their participation contribute to this image.) That these
sexist comments are coming from the Deputy Director of WMF? It makes this
worst because it is sexism coming from inside the institution.
If you and Erik want to belong, that's great. It should be purely in
support roles: Women say they are doing this project and need help. WMF
officials step in and say we can help this way. If this was the general
mode of male participation on the list, of specific support offered in
response to specific requests, male involvement would be less problematic.
I would like to hear more from other women here on your impressions of
and responses to Erik's comments.
--
-george william herbert
george.herbert(a)gmail.com