[Gendergap] Am I crazy?

[Sarah Stierch]

Wow.

Just...wow.

On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 9:43 PM, Ryan Kaldari <rkaldari at wikimedia.org>wrote:

> **
> If you really want some entertainment, you should try reading the "dating"
> article. It includes such mind-blowing revelations as:
>
> * Teenagers and tweens have been described as dating.
>
> * There are reports that guys are asking out girls for dates by text
> messaging.
>
> * When young people are in school, they have a lot of access to people
> their own age, and don't need tools such as online websites or dating
> services.
>
> And of course lots of great gender stereotypes like:
>
> * During much of human history... women "connived to trade beauty and sex
> for affluence and status".
>
> * Educated women in many countries including Italy and Russia and the
> United States often find it difficult to have a career as well as raise a
> family; many delay finding a mate and having children and wonder if they're
> too accomplished that they won't be as appealing to men.
>
> It also includes lots of random advice like:
>
> * dating at a movie is advisable only if followed by a drink afterwards.
>
> * men are attracted to 'curls', 'ribbons', 'bright colors', and women
> should 'avoid sarcasm.'
>
> * Women can use 'pseudo-infantile motions such as the head-cock' and gaze
> intensely with widened eyes and laugh often, touch, and move in ways to
> emphasize their body's roundness, such as shrugging their shoulders or sit
> hugging their knees, to mimic buttock imagery.
>
> I swear this stuff is in the article. I couldn't make this up!
>
> And to illustrate the "Dating worldwide" section, they use the painting
> "The Rape Of The Sabines: The Abduction" which shows a guy with a sword
> carrying off a scantily clad damsel in distress. I guess our editors have
> some unique ideas on dating etiquette.
>
> Ryan Kaldari
>
>
> On 10/24/11 6:00 PM, Gillian White wrote:
>
> Apart from any content problems, the article had no context. It was not
> linked to what should be regarded as its parents. And that lack of
> coherence, combined with its specific terminology made it largely
> incomprehensible to people unfamiliar with American educational systems,
> aside from its social practices. For example, it is by no means universal
> that students live in residential colleges while attending university. I had
> a go at giving it some context so readers can go from one article to the
> next (specifically, from "courtship" to "dating" to "college dating") but I
> agree that it would be better if it was renamed, as the issues that are
> distinctive to dating in college/university could then be developed.
>
> Gillian
>
> On 25 October 2011 06:11, Sue Gardner <sgardner at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
>> Yeah, personally I think the subject is notable. There has been tons
>> of academic research and popular history written about the history of
>> dating, college dating, the invention of the 'teenager,' etc. Even
>> just within the United States.
>>
>> I think I did a radio series on this once -- IIRC, Beth Bailey was a
>> really great source. She wrote this fascinating book:
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/Front-Porch-Back-Seat-Twentieth-Century/dp/0801839351
>> .
>> Susan J. Douglas was good too, as well as Stephanie Coontz and Barbara
>> Ehrenreich. They are all American, though. Lots has been written about
>> the UK too, but I'm not sure about other cultures/countries.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Sue
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sue Gardner
>> Executive Director
>> Wikimedia Foundation
>>
>> 415 839 6885 office
>> 415 816 9967 cell
>>
>> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
>> the sum of all knowledge.  Help us make it a reality!
>>
>> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
>>
>>
>>
>> On 24 October 2011 11:16, Daniel and Elizabeth Case
>>  <dancase at frontiernet.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Nathan
>> > Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 2:13 PM
>> > To: Increasing female participation in Wikimedia projects
>> > Subject: Re: [Gendergap] Am I crazy?
>> >
>> > I question whether "college dating" deserves an article to begin with.
>> > If it does, which the text of the article doesn't at all establish,
>> > the current article has a pretty fatal case of systemic bias.
>> >
>> >
>> >    On the surface I tend to agree, but then I read the AfD:
>> >
>> >
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/College_dating
>> >
>> > Daniel Case
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>> >
>>
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>
>
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