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...
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}
]]