I'm not sure what "some of the seemingly most female-unfriendly parts of the Internet" might be so Ellie would have to be more specific.
But in my experience writing in a variety of political and economic and history-related articles on Wikipedia, it's all about "male intellectual territory" where SOME (not all) guys just don't want women intruding or challenging them. (And of course anything related to sex/gender that SOME guys don't like will raise hackles.)
In the real world, women do not publish as many articles, books, etc. on these "serious" topics; teach as many courses or have professorships on these "serious" topics; etc. so their daring to act "as knowledgable/smart/good as a guy" on Wikipedia is going to rankle SOME guys.
I'm sure this is as bad or worse on in lots of other Wikipedia topic areas like science, popular culture, etc. where male voices dominate and SOME guys want to keep it that way.
CM
On 7/16/2015 5:25 PM, Sarah (SV) wrote:
On Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 11:05 AM, Ellie Kesselman <myindigolife@gmail.com mailto:myindigolife@gmail.com> wrote:
So then, WHY is Wikipedia more anti-female than some of the seemingly most female-unfriendly parts of the Internet? I don't know, and it frightens me. I don't want to be subject to what Lightbreather experienced. It just isn't worth the headache and potentially, worse than that. ~Ellie (FeralOink) Ellie, this is the question that puzzles everyone. Andreas (Jayen466) summed up https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Lightbreather/Proposed_decision&diff=prev&oldid=671687397 the problem well yesterday, when he described the lack of empathy for women's perspectives, an inability to identify with women. There is one woman on the arbitration committee and several supportive men, but they're in the minority.
None of that answers your question, though, namely why it's worse on Wikipedia than on other websites.
Sarah
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, please visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap