4 ms·

Ehh... It can be argued that Pinterest really is a female thing but the idea behind it most certainly isn't. Those two ideas seem contradictory but I think what

Ehh... It can be argued that Pinterest really is a female thing but the idea behind it most certainly isn't. Those two ideas seem contradictory but I think what makes it so appealing to women is the sharing part of it. Women love to share their needs and desires, especially material ones, publicly or so it seems. Men definitely do similar things but they just don't share it. Just today I met with a founder and we were discussing ideas for his startup when he pulled out am iPad and showed me a scent sized collection of screen shots and images of features, designs, pricing plans for services, and other things he'd been collecting that he was mulling over using and wanted. There were also a number of folders in his collection that I did not see but am positive were full of clippings of other material things and ideas he wanted. It's a lot like having an idea book for design or a box of junk except the junk isn't junk to you, only to everyone else. We all do it but I think the super social nature of women as far as these things go is makes it so appealing to women. Or I'm a totally insensitive sexist who needs to shut up now. Either way I'm really not married to the idea it's just my take.

shantanubala 15y ago
> totally insensitive sexist who needs to shut up now Don't worry about this. Really. It's a very valid psychological observation that there's overall differences between men and women. It's only sexist if you ignore that these differences can result from a large combination of socialization, upbringing, and culture (in addition to some genetics). It would only be sexist if you were being partial or biased in your analysis in a way that favored a gender.
Drbble 15y ago
Men don't share? You check out this site Reddit.com where a few guys get together to share pictures of stuff they like.
ebiester 15y ago
First, it's a some American women thing. The fact that this is common with women in this culture tells you something about this culture more than something about women. Similarly, something in this culture tells men that it is acceptable to talk about feelings while drunk, but not sober, until those conversations have happened enough times to have cemented an emotional intimacy between a group (2+) of friends. I can point you to masculine evangelical USian culture where it is considered a mark of friendship to share spiritual struggles and aspirations, carefully negotiated within the intimacy of the group. (In some ways, it's a very healthy masculine culture, and I miss that part.) In this culture, it wouldn't seem out of place for a man to keep a clipping board of spiritual aspirations. (I think I've seen it, in fact, IIRC.)

shantanubala 15y ago

> totally insensitive sexist who needs to shut up now Don't worry about this. Really. It's a very valid psychological observation that there's overall differences between men and women. It's only sexist if you ignore that these differences can result from a large combination of socialization, upbringing, and culture (in addition to some genetics). It would only be sexist if you were being partial or biased in your analysis in a way that favored a gender.

Drbble 15y ago

Men don't share? You check out this site Reddit.com where a few guys get together to share pictures of stuff they like.

ebiester 15y ago

First, it's a some American women thing. The fact that this is common with women in this culture tells you something about this culture more than something about women. Similarly, something in this culture tells men that it is acceptable to talk about feelings while drunk, but not sober, until those conversations have happened enough times to have cemented an emotional intimacy between a group (2+) of friends. I can point you to masculine evangelical USian culture where it is considered a mark of friendship to share spiritual struggles and aspirations, carefully negotiated within the intimacy of the group. (In some ways, it's a very healthy masculine culture, and I miss that part.) In this culture, it wouldn't seem out of place for a man to keep a clipping board of spiritual aspirations. (I think I've seen it, in fact, IIRC.)