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I totally agree sexism is a thing, not just in Silicon Valley, but in every strata of our society. And I'm saying this not just as a life long conservative, but

I totally agree sexism is a thing, not just in Silicon Valley, but in every strata of our society. And I'm saying this not just as a life long conservative, but also as someone who has had many strong women in his life who have absorbed a ton of crap simply because they are women, including my mother, grandmother and basically almost every woman I've ever met. I don't like blaming of societal issues for a person's achievements (or lack thereof), but at some point, you have to admit, the same gender who bewilderingly sends dick pics to strangers, talks crudely about women behind their backs, and views them as a means to a physical end, maybe we don't see how we interact with women or at least admit that many of our gender demean women in ways that equates to bullying in one form or another. I normally don't like victim culture, or people who assume the intentions of others to prove discrimination, but I don't think we need that for many cases when it comes to women. Men and women, on the general, have different societal and interpersonal strengths, and I love all of it (yet don't assume or exclude those strengths from either gender). But if I'm honest, men and women both have their own forms of aggressive behavior in getting ahead, but men do it even more aggressively, frequently and overtly than women, and often at the expense of women. Personally, I love each gender's strength. But I absolutely loathe the behavior of many, if not most, of my gender's treatment of anyone in a "weaker" position. We must do better, for no other reason than each of our strengths is a responsibility to use it to help those who are victimized. We can hide behind a meritocracy of which we enjoy hidden benefits, but at the end of the day, we should ask, is it because we really are better suited to a task, or have we institutionally created a system that enforces our biases and preferences? It's probably a mix of both, but until we see our own part in this, were can't actually improve anything.

ComputerGuru 9y ago
the same gender who bewilderingly sends dick pics to strangers, talks crudely about women behind their backs, and views them as a means to a physical end, maybe we don't see how we interact with women or at least admit that many of our gender demean women in ways that equates to bullying in one form or another. Whoah. The fact that some of the 3.5 billion people that share the same sex as myself engage in this lewd behavior renders my* neutrality and view defunct? Talk about stereotyping!
- natecavanaugh 9y ago
  Did I claim that someone else's behavior limits your neutrality? Or that it somehow invalidates your views? Also, did I say anywhere that stereotyping was bad in and of itself? In fact, here is what I did say: maybe we don't see how we interact with women or at least admit that many of our gender demean women in ways that equates to bullying in one form or another. Not sure what that has to do with you or your views, but you seem to be defensive simply because I stated a generalization. And yeah, I stereotype and prejudge all of the time. However, in any power position I may hold, I need to correct for it internally to make sure that instead of trying to confirm my biases, I'm actually being fair and respectful to the other party. And I think this should be done regardless of the genders involved.
Boothroid 9y ago
Sounds like you are suffering from internalised misandry.
- natecavanaugh 9y ago
  Or, because I am a man, I seem to be in a pretty good position to condemn the negative behaviors of my gender in general. If a woman does it, she's viewed as having a prejudice or being reactionary, or going simply off of her own experiences. I could also list the negative behaviors of women in general, but since the article was about sexism in Silicon Valley, and that most power positions there are dominated by men, it really wouldn't make much sense to start criticizing the group more likely to be the victim of it. But hey, as long as sarcasm and ad-hominem is working for you, go for it.

ComputerGuru 9y ago

the same gender who bewilderingly sends dick pics to strangers, talks crudely about women behind their backs, and views them as a means to a physical end, maybe we don't see how we interact with women or at least admit that many of our gender demean women in ways that equates to bullying in one form or another. Whoah. The fact that some of the 3.5 billion people that share the same sex as myself engage in this lewd behavior renders my* neutrality and view defunct? Talk about stereotyping!

natecavanaugh 9y ago
Did I claim that someone else's behavior limits your neutrality? Or that it somehow invalidates your views? Also, did I say anywhere that stereotyping was bad in and of itself? In fact, here is what I did say: maybe we don't see how we interact with women or at least admit that many of our gender demean women in ways that equates to bullying in one form or another. Not sure what that has to do with you or your views, but you seem to be defensive simply because I stated a generalization. And yeah, I stereotype and prejudge all of the time. However, in any power position I may hold, I need to correct for it internally to make sure that instead of trying to confirm my biases, I'm actually being fair and respectful to the other party. And I think this should be done regardless of the genders involved.

Boothroid 9y ago

Sounds like you are suffering from internalised misandry.

natecavanaugh 9y ago
Or, because I am a man, I seem to be in a pretty good position to condemn the negative behaviors of my gender in general. If a woman does it, she's viewed as having a prejudice or being reactionary, or going simply off of her own experiences. I could also list the negative behaviors of women in general, but since the article was about sexism in Silicon Valley, and that most power positions there are dominated by men, it really wouldn't make much sense to start criticizing the group more likely to be the victim of it. But hey, as long as sarcasm and ad-hominem is working for you, go for it.