On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 7:25 PM, Emily Monroe <emilymonroe03(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:
I find I'm not really girly girly all that much. Pink and purple used to be
my absolute favorite colors, for example, but now "Pretty much shade of
blue" fills a slot above them. Of course, at least in America, blue=baby
boy, know what I mean?
What I'm trying to say is, sometimes somebody who's comfortable with being
a woman isn't always going to fulfill the "fluff, rainbow, unicorns, and
sparkles!" stereotypical of how a woman should act. I don't want a backlash
in response to this sort of concern severe enough that I feel uncomfortable
editing.
I think a number of people here can relate to this sentiment. When I was a
child, one of my bedrooms was white with pink roses. I hated it so much, I
slept in a closet..literally, by choice. As a teenager I was raised by my
father and teal and black were the shades of choice. To this very day I wear
black most days and I prefer "fuchsia" over pink. But, I must admit, I love
the smell of roses.
I don't believe any of us want an uber-femme Wikipedia to be a tool to
encourage contributors. I do really like the idea of expanding on skin
options, and I do think the option of having a "user friendly" look can help
improve contributions (just like the visual editor..which I have missed a
demo of..twice).
In a fantasy world it'd be really neat to demo different skins and user
experiences with women of all ages - usability studies (like we do at the
Archives of American Art with researchers of all ages and experience
levels). I suppose that will be the only way we'll know if aesthetics,
functionality and usability matter when it comes to women contributing to
Wikipedia.
-Sarah
(and yeah I like unicorns..)
--
GLAMWIKI Partnership Ambassador for Wikimedia <http://www.glamwiki.org>
Wikipedian-in-Residence, Archives of American
Art<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SarahStierch>
and
Sarah Stierch Consulting
*Historical, cultural & artistic research & advising.*
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sarahstierch.com/