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I see, their point is that this particular woman can talk about biological differences but Damore can't. (I misinterpreted the poster as saying that the author

I see, their point is that this particular woman can talk about biological differences but Damore can't. (I misinterpreted the poster as saying that the author was contradicting herself by rebuking Damore, which she wasn't, but that's not what they meant.) That is a valid point. But the issue should be taken with Google's leadership and the individuals who unjustly raked Damore over the coals (his post-termination behavior notwithstanding). A reductive "women can get away with saying this but men can't" complaint doesn't really help anyone. It has truth to it, but it also feels unnecessarily confrontational and simplistic to me. The poster also dismissed her claims with a mere "I really don't believe any of those statements" and then backed it with what seems to be a random assumption that the studies are biased and must have been seeking this particular outcome from the start, without any supporting evidence. I think the more sensible position is that Damore's gender difference claims and the author's gender difference claims are both correct (at least with the scientific evidence currently known). The us vs. them attitude is irritating.

arkis22 9y ago
The nuance of male friendship and popularity is probably just as complicated as female friendship and popularity. Complicated in a sense that I doubt any questionnaire captures the real truth.
- meowface 9y ago
  Of course, but friendships between males and females is a whole other dynamic entirely.
geebee 9y ago
I actually don't think that it's about who can make the criticism, I think it's more about what the criticism can be. A woman really isn't any freer than a man to make a sweeping generalization that is unfavorable to women, especially if it's attributed partially in biology. Interestingly, you really are largely free to do this in reverse, as we see (admittedly in a fairly mild form) from this article. Though be careful here - what seems like a compliment can in fact be very condescending.

arkis22 9y ago

The nuance of male friendship and popularity is probably just as complicated as female friendship and popularity. Complicated in a sense that I doubt any questionnaire captures the real truth.

meowface 9y ago
Of course, but friendships between males and females is a whole other dynamic entirely.

geebee 9y ago

I actually don't think that it's about who can make the criticism, I think it's more about what the criticism can be. A woman really isn't any freer than a man to make a sweeping generalization that is unfavorable to women, especially if it's attributed partially in biology. Interestingly, you really are largely free to do this in reverse, as we see (admittedly in a fairly mild form) from this article. Though be careful here - what seems like a compliment can in fact be very condescending.