Yellow Peril: Are you gonna liberate us girls from male, white, corporate oppression?
242 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 … 6 7 8 9 10 Newer→ Last
-
PS: If anyone has any suggestions on how to remedy the situation I'm all ears... I like the idea of a 1000 women showing up at lunchtime one day, surrounding the site and wolf whistling/cat calling to their hearts content. No no, 500 wahine and 500 tane turning up would be even better. A taste of ones own medicine.
Hysterical, and I'd love to see it. But also, I think likely to backfire. A strong attack is good defence sometimes, but other times it's just the fastest way to a backlash.
When I was at varsity, for a while there was a bunch of construction work going on on the road out the back, and I went past twice a day. Now, there were only half a dozen guys there, and I think force of numbers makes a big difference. I responded to the first day's whistling with a bow, the second by engaging in joking by-play, and by the end of the week, we were greeting each other like normal human beings. It probably made no difference at all to any other women, but y'know, sometimes you just have to accept that you can't change the world, and like Riddley says, fight the battles you can win.
-
It sounds like the construction workers were teasing, both the passers-by and Manakura. This requires special defensive mental judo techniques, and it is why Emma's response worked.
Actually that's worth considering in the context of online harassment.
-
a few of the bigger companies in australia put a clause in their contracts.
"that any complaints from the public will result in withdrawal of said contract, and no further acceptance of tenders by that company."
quietest (but leery-est) damn construction sites you've ever seen.
but as for harrassment. i was in a situation in a kitchen where i explained to the chefs that they were under no circumstances talk to me ever about my gf at the time. very, very strong language was involved, and seemed to work.
when i wasn't there to enforce it...
-
Thanks for the props gals ... and guys... and while I'm at it thanks Anjum for appreciating excessive commenting on Thread That Would Not Die I. It is tiring being the only one in your corner and I have huge respect for peoples such as yourself that don't feel the annoying need to justify their episteme to ignorant outsiders. That takes some strength.
Anyway, to the topic of upping involvment of wahine, and indeed all not covered by the white boy liberal tag. Maybe this is to obvious but I would think one small way would be to, excuse the pun, start bitchin. Meaning, complain (or make helpful suggestions, whatever) to your otherwise favoured blogs/online media source about the lack of female, and/or POC voices. Both in comments and in private emails to whoever has their finger on the button.
Encourage other similarly minded people - ODMs & ODPs (Ordinary Decent Pakeha) included to do the same. I imagine, like other organsations, your friendly neighbourhood blog will eventually follow their audience's wishes and slowly develop a more diverse and challenging range of voices.
This in turn will bring more wahine and POC's to the readership, attracted by voices and analysis that is familiar and reflects their lived experience. These peeps can then be encouraged to join the kaupapa of diversifying pol/current affairs blogs, adding further impetus for positive change.
It seems obvious and kinda simplistic but it usually works, at least in my experience. Just takes a really really long time.
Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for any deluge of emails to RBs inbox demanding more Lesbian Maori Muslim Treaty Lawyer Amputee Bloggers on PA.
-
Kia kaha, Manakura!
-
Email Web
So much I want to say on this but the electrician and plumber are hopefully about to walk in the door, so for now...
Manakura, on the issue of raising the lack of women, I've been doing this out there on the other nz pol blogs for quite some time now and doing so buys a whole world of trouble most times. In the last six months less so, and I think a lot of that is down to a) a few more women around and b) PAS showing that it is possible to have a big political blog and lots of comments without it inevitably turning into a sewer. I have had quite a lot of backlash in the past, including from other women bloggers, for bitchin' and from reading feminist blogs overseas I can see it's not just NZ that has this problem.
Lucky I'm a patient person ;-)
-
Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for any deluge of emails to RBs inbox demanding more Lesbian Maori Muslim Treaty Lawyer Amputee Bloggers on PA.
Heh. I can't do much about the demographic, other than trying to run a welcoming lounge in line with my own philosophy. I can't solve the whole blogosphere's problems, but I can take responsibility for my little part.
By the same token, I'm grateful - and respectful - to anyone who turns up and makes a useful contribution, be they the dreaded white liberal males or otherwise.
-
Not quite a non-sequitur, but do not gank women WoWsers whatever you do.
-
Strictly on the subject of the lack of female political bloggers, and primarily from my experience of kiwi political blogs, in the sense that they're not viciously misogynist in the way that the blogs that have hit the news are (well, except where they're viciously anti-everything, misogyny doesn't really come high on the list):
It's put in mind the woman that interviewed the female staff at my workplace (a software outsourcer) a few years back. She was doing some research and discovered that since the '80s, after the whole "girls can do anything" drive, the proportion of women in every single male-dominated industry had risen, except the IT industry, where it had dropped. During the interview she told me the one theory that looked most plausible was that would-be career women don't feel the need to prove themselves so much, so they're more motivated to enter a career they actually enjoy.
Anyway, I wonder if pol-blogging is just something that women generally don't enjoy as much as men? I've very occasionally blogged current affairs, obviously I'm happy commenting on other political blogs, but it's not something I'd do on a regular basis. Partly that's because I find the energetic nature of the debate difficult to sustain, partly I'm not that interested in the subject matter (or tire of it quickly) and partly there's sufficient people blogging/commenting that most of what I'm thinking gets said eventually anyway.
So...if that's the case, then I don't think there really needs to be so much emphasis on getting more female readers, rather than just ensuring that the landscape is suitable for the ones that are reading... even then, I think an important part of political blogging is the spirited debate / tedious diatribe, and there's no case for quashing that just for the sake of getting more girls to read. In that sense I think PAS is the ideal middle-ground (spirited but friendly, with political and non-political subject matter), current proportion of female contribution is probably about the best you're going to get.
-
merc,
During the interview she told me the one theory that looked most plausible was that would-be career women don't feel the need to prove themselves so much, so they're more motivated to enter a career they actually enjoy.
This is great and applies equally for some males I might add, or maybe I'm just a de-motivated poesy girlie man. There comes a time in everyone's life I think when they stop doing things for approval and plum for enjoyment.
In old age men go to the earth, women the air. -
This is great
Yeah, actually, it just occurred to me now that she was probably hunting for some indication of rampant misogyny that was exclusive to IT. I know a couple of women that had some problems in university engineering courses, but my experience of the industry has been all good.
-
as an aside (waaaay off topic):
Posted by SPAN at 8:04AM on 3 May 07. .
So much I want to say on this but the electrician and plumber are hopefully about to walk in the door, so for now...Let me guess, they still haven't shown up , and if they have ... they've had to shoot off and get a part they don't have in their van. And when they do return/arrive: "Make us a cuppa tea, luv?"
-
Email
m, that sounds like Rousseau's transition from amour propre to amour de soi. well, except for women in the air and stuff.
-
merc,
I work in it and thank God for the women, the men don't talk to me, sob.
-
the men don't talk to me, sob.
probably too busy working. Y'know, in the zone. Oh, I should probably be there too. *coff*
-
merc,
R. Yes it does, but it was me, I have this notion of life that is mine. Air = Logos, Earth = cthonic, sort of but I can switch when I know the Moon is masculine on it's other side (like Hobbits do)...However, despite wrestling with gender and person and personna as all poets must for a time, at the beginning, I have had the distinction of being inferred as a mysogynist (paranoid more like) in my work (by an academe publisher), words fail me in the presence of such presence of mind.
I am no philospher though, the earth thing for old age came from my observation that with long-lived couples one usually ends up The Gardener and The Other mediates with the Quotidian World, either sex or same sex couple, doesn't matter. -
merc,
The WOW zone.
-
There is becoming an established PA tradition that Tze's threads run on ... for evar (welcome back BTW).
So in that vein I offer the following:
Shorter: What Juha said.
Hmmm, I might have agreed until recently. A few months back I mentioned a technical conference in Aussie where we were a (smallish) sponsor. Bigotry and misogyny got a surprising look in. Seems we are not the only sponsor considering our position for next time. Interestingly(!) Russell posted my comment on kiwiblog and sure enough abuse followed. There have been other recent instances of this that have caused me to pause and reconsider some more.
As for geeks, there are females out there, a good place to start is Linuxchix.
I am more and more convinced that the reason there are not as many of female geeks male has a lot to do with stupid white boys. Sometimes, in my case anyway, SWB behaviour has to do with thoughtlessness. That's where posts like this are an important wake up call.
For those who think I am trying to kick off the "white boy" debate all over again, please note the "stupid" adjective and the following smiley :-)
-
merc,
THEAT__ ooh, it's marginal...
-
Email Web
(Answering NoIm's aside)
NoIm, you'll be pleased to know that the electrician was only a little late (and he rang to tell me he would be) and was fabulous. Very nice, very competent, and did a good job. Except he forgot to turn the power back on to the lights, but I just rang him and he said he'd come right back and do it and was v apologetic. Very impressed.
The plumber was almost an hour late, didn't call, did arrive and say they had to go get the right part (but to be fair, he did bring up another part that would clearly have done the job, had it been long enough), which they did. Took their time coming back, but then did a good job, tidied up, and left, with little impact on me puttering around the house and doing other stuff.
We'll see how I feel after I get the bills ;-)
-
Email Web
And no cups of tea were harmed in the process either. Which is good cos I'm crap at making tea.
-
Email
I see at LinuxChix "...activities will include... linux install fests."
wow, that's got to be up there with actuaries' "in-jokes" about Poisson distributions.
-
A first and possibly last post...
I read Public Address to have my faith in intelligent thoughtful political debate renewed and restored on a regular basis. I choose to come to this site because the writing here is well informed (moreso than I am) and it tends to express opinions similar to my own often better than I can express them myself. It also provides me with links to become better informed. While after a couple of wines I may be happy to argue for the sake of arguing, I really don't see the point of posting for the sake of saying something that has already been said and said well. I'd rather keep reading, exploring links and archives. I doubt that that's a gender issue. Perhaps it's more the result of lifestyle + personality. I must admit I do feel bad that I'm not offering positive feedback to the writers I enjoy so much, especially here at Public Address. So thanx. -
merc,
Post again, right now, don't think about it, first thing to pop in your head, dare ya!
-
Email
yeah go on Trudy
Post your response…
You may also create an account or retrieve your password.