As I wrote in response to one of Jane's threads on the Grants page that
is relevant for both male and female editors: ''Teaching new editors
it's ok to stand up to obvious negativity, which not reading too much
negativity into neutral criticism is important. Some people will read
"they attacked" or else "I'm incompetent" into relatively
innocuous
comments and react in some negative fashion or just stop editing. So
psychological preparation for various contingencies helps. "
Of course, the problem remains dealing those who do exert ownership, are
POV pushers, are impatient with "newbies" - or just rankle whenever they
see an edit by someone they assume is female.
Thinking about the issue today, may we just need to teach women to be
bold and link to
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_a_dick when
guys hassle them. I really should have done it myself dozens of times
in the past. Of course, if we could come up with a less hostile and
more guilt-tripping essay to make the point, that would be much better.
(WP:WhatWouldYourMotherSay ???)
It would be nice just to have to tell people we are training them for
collaborative editing. However, depending on what the topic area is, we
also have to prepare them for war - or at least nonviolent struggle
:-). Unless, of course, women are happy to be shut out of all the high
profile and conflict areas, which usually are related to covering (and
thus often influencing) domestic and foreign/war policy?? Places where
women too often are shut out in the real word of journalism, think tanks
and government already.
That's where I tend to edit and I have the battle scars to prove it
(details redacted). But the more women edit and opine and become admins
and arbitrators, the easier it will be for women who want to edit in the
high profile/conflict public policy areas to do so without being
attacked or unfairly subjected to double standards and thus discouraged
from editing.
CM
On 5/8/2014 11:31 AM, Megan Wacha wrote:
Hi All,
Over the past 2-3 years, I've organized a number of edit-a-thons here
at Barnard College (an all women's college) in order to promote women
in the content of Wikipedia's articles and in its community of
editors. In my work as a librarian, I've come to believe that
Wikipedia is one of the best sites for teaching information literacy
skills, so I was absolutely thrilled when a faculty member contacted
me about creating a Wikipedia assignment for her seminar on Ntozake
Shange this spring. However, the administration was less than
enthusiastic about this assignment and is watching it closely.
To address some of the points raised in this thread -- We strongly
encourage students to begin editing in their sandbox. While, yes, some
students may be shy about editing Wikipedia (in fact, most are), we
made this decision out of respect to the existing community.
Contributing to Wikipedia teaches students about writing from a
neutral point of view, when and how to cite, how to find and use
sources about underrepresented groups, thereby challenging the
existing cannon, etc. etc.. It's an amazing experience for all, but
even our most advanced students struggle with these skills. And no
matter how many times we discuss these issues in a workshop, students
don't fully engage with them until they start their assignment.
Encouraging them to play in the sandbox not only allows them to move
forward with confidence, but also allows those supporting them to
identify any issues that may be of concern to the existing community.
This creates a more positive experience for all.
*If we are truly committed to encouraging women editors, it's
imperative that we bring Wikipedia into the classroom. *(Unsure? Check
out Ester Hargittai and Aaron Shaw's talk at the Berkman Center
<http://wilkins.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheons/2014-01-21_shaweszter/2014-01-21_shaweszter.mov>
or screenshots of the talk available via Wikid GRRLS
<http://wikidgrrls.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/internet-skills-and-wikipedias-gender-inequality/>.)
However, I'm very concerned that conflicts between students and the
Wikipedia community will prevent us from offering future edit-a-thons
or class assignments. As educators, we are charged with creating a
safe space for students, and while I can help students navigate
passive aggressive conversations on a talk page, I am unable to
prevent students from experiencing the gender based hate speech that
happens (I recently noticed an attack on my user page summarized as
"Queen has cunt"). I don't really know what the answer is and,
honestly, can't fully articulate my question. But I would greatly
benefit from any resources on how to support students navigating these
waters -- if they exist.
I've been lurking on this list for a while and haven't posted before,
but I hope these thoughts are helpful.
Megan