[Gendergap] Hardcore images essay - HELP!

[Joseph Reagle]

On Wednesday, February 16, 2011, ChaoticFluffy wrote:
> Joseph and Andreas, I think you're assuming facts not in evidence here, so
> to speak. If you disapprove of porn or the pornmaking process, that's got
> nothing to do with wikipedia.

I'll note that I've said nothing about the moral standing of porn or varied sexual practices. I personally think it is inappropriate for WP, but that is my opinion. 

My concern here is how to make WP more accessible/friendly (to women and others). I'll note that the conversation is reminiscent of the old "playboy calendars in the firehouse" conversations of the 80/90s (i.e., most guys object to their removal, a few women say it doesn't bother them, someone might even put up a Playgirl in some attempt at parity) and fortunately (IMHO) we've moved beyond that in society at large. Yet, it continues in the free culture movement (why can't we have such images on WP, or display them in FOSS conference presentations, etc.?). In any case, my thinking/concern is informed by evidence that "stereotypical" masculine elements in an environment (e.g., even just Star Trek posters and Mountain Dew cans!) can affect a sense of belonging and interest. (And I say that as someone who kept Kirk and Spock toys on my desk for many years.)

[[ http://depts.washington.edu/sibl/Publications/Cheryan,%20Plaut,%20Davies,%20&%20Steele%20(2009).pdf

Sapna Cheryan, Victoria C. Plaut, Paul G. Davies, Claude M. Steele
Ambient belonging: how stereotypical cues impact gender
    participation in computer science
  j=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology kw=gender n=6 pp
            =1045-1060 v=97 y=2009 r=20100105
  "People can make decisions to join a group based solely on
    exposure to that group’s physical environment. Four studies
    demonstrate that the gender difference in interest in computer
    science is influenced by exposure to environments associated
    with computer scientists. In Study 1, simply changing the
    objects in a computer science classroom from those considered
    stereotypical of computer science (e.g., Star Trek poster,
    video games) to objects not considered stereotypical of
    computer science (e.g., nature poster, phone books) was
    sufficient to boost female undergraduates’ interest in computer
    science to the level of their male peers. Further investigation
    revealed that the stereotypical broadcast a masculine
    stereotype that discouraged women’s sense of ambient belonging
    and subsequent interest in the environment (Studies 2, 3, and
    4) but had no similar effect on men (Studies 3, 4). This
    masculine stereotype prevented women’s interest from developing
    even in environments entirely populated by other women (Study
    2). Objects can thus come to broadcast stereotypes of a group,
    which in turn can deter people who do not identify with these
    stereotypes from joining that group." \acite
    {CheryanEtal2009abh}
* Section: General Discussion
  * when an environment stereotypically associated with
    computer science—containing video games, StarTrek
    memorabilia, and the like—was made salient, women were
    consistently less interested in joining the domain than
    men. This effect held across four different decisions (the
    computer science major, work teams, generic companies, and
    web design companies), three different gender
    representations (majority male, entirely female, and gender
    balanced), and two different methodologies (exposure to
    actual objects and imagining objects). Across three
    studies, we observed a consistent explanation for why these
    objects discouraged women’s participation. Men and women
    saw the stereotypical environments as masculine. However,
    this masculinity compromised women’s, but not men’s, sense
    of ambient belonging, which led to less interest in
    pursuing the field. In fact, the women who perceived the
    environment as most masculine were consistently the least
    interested in joining it. \acite[1058]{CheryanEtal2009abh}
  * What happened when these objects were replaced with less
    stereotypical ones? When sitting in a nonstereotypical
    computer science environment that signaled less
    masculinity, women expressed more interest in the field.
    This aversion to the stereotypical environments by women
    was the case even when the gender proportion, salaries,
    work hours, and job description were identical across the
    two environments, demonstrating the power of environments
    to signal to people whether or not they should enter a
    domain. \acite[1058]{CheryanEtal2009abh}
* Section: Increasing Female Participation in Computer Science
  * Society has communicated to this young woman and countless
    others that they should dream in code, watch Star Trek, and
    read science fiction to be a computer scientist. Instead of
    changing the women who do not relate to this stereotype,
    our studies suggest that changing the field of computer
    science so that those who do not fit the present
    stereotypes feel that they have a place in the field will
    go a long way toward recruiting women. The present work
    shows that changing the stereotypes is possible and
    suggests a promising strategy. In our studies, a quickset
    up of a few objects in a computer science environment gave
    women the means by which to consider the field. The
    cost-benefit calculation is highly favorable; these are
    quickly and easily implementable adjustments with great
    potential for effecting desirable change. \acite[1058]
    {CheryanEtal2009abh}
  * But is it wise to overhaul present computer science
    environments if women will simply enter the field to be
    greeted by stereotypical objects and people who embody the
    stereotype? Those actually in the field claim that present
    stereotypes of computer scientists are highly exaggerated
    and inaccurate (Borg,1999). However, the stereotype
    discourages those who do not relate to it from trying
    computer science, which in turn decreases the prevalence
    and salience of nonstereotypical environments. Breaking the
    cycle may therefore involve intentionally and overtly
    changing the stereotypes. Once women enter the field in
    greater numbers, the process will hopefully build on itself
    by further changing environments and stereotypes associated
    with computer scientists and subsequently attracting more
    women. \acite[1058]{CheryanEtal2009abh}
  * Changing the stereotypes of computer science may also
    encourage more men to enter computer science. Indeed, in
    each of our studies, there were many men, albeit fewer than
    women, who also favored the nonstereotypical environment
    over the stereotypical environment. Although their gender
    might not be incompatible with the masculinity of the
    stereotypical environment, other aspects of the stereotype
    -- for instance, social awkwardness or an unhealthy
    obsession with computers (Cheryan & Plaut, 2009) -- may
    discourage some men (and women) from considering a future
    in computer science. Across all studies, the degree to
    which people (both men and women) felt they belonged in the
    environment strongly predicted whether they chose to join
    that group, under-scoring the importance of belonging in
    determining choices of members of underrepresented and
    overrepresented groups. Broadening the image of computer
    scientists to be inclusive of a greater variety of
    identities may therefore increase both women’s and men's
    sense of ambient belonging and participation in computer
    science. \acite[1058]{CheryanEtal2009abh}
* Section: Conclusion
  * In four studies, we examined the role that stereotypical
    computer science environments play in communicating
    stereotypes and a sense of ambient belonging to potential
    majors. Our studies demonstrated that these environments
    broadcast a masculinity that made women feel like they do
    not belong in the field. However, when stereotypes of
    computer scientists were altered through the objects in the
    environment, women had the means and motivation with which
    to engage computer science as a possible future pursuit.
    Altering a group’s image by changing their environments can
    therefore inspire those who previously had little or no
    interest in pursuing the group to express a newfound
    interest in it. \acite[1058]{CheryanEtal2009abh}

]]