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Yes, women spend a lot on cell phones. So, that means that they are interested in technology? Not really! Here's why: Read D. Tannen, You Just Don't Unders

by graycat 13y ago

Yes, women spend a lot on cell phones. So, that means that they are interested in technology? Not really! Here's why: Read D. Tannen, You Just Don't Understand: Men and Women in Conversation -- she's long been a prof at Georgetown. There learn that girls and young women want to get security from memberships in groups of other girls, and one of the main ways a girl/young woman can do that is to bring to the group some juicy gossip. So, they gossip. Yes, they do gossip. And drawing from the movie Jurassic Park, yes, "They do form herds.". For technology, that's things. In simple terms, in year 1, month 1, nearly week 1, in their crib, the girls are trying to get emotional connections with adults via facial expressions, and the boys are trying to hack the latch on the crib and write C++ code to automate the toy fire truck on the floor. The girls are interested in emotional connections with people, and the boys are interested in things. The boys are seeking mastery over the physical world, and the girls are seeking care taking via emotional connections with men who have mastery over the physical world. The girls are interested in fashion and cosmetics both to attract men and also to fit into the groups of other girls they want to be part of. Can women do technology? I don't have much insight into what the real limits are, but I've seen a wide range from (1) having a super tough time with 8-9th grade algebra to (2) work with programming languages, starting with no real background at all, totally blowing away some of the brightest people in computing. But, I've nearly never seen a girl or woman who actually likes something technical. Again, basically the women's magazines are correct: What girls and women really like is belonging to groups of girls/women and making emotional connections with other people. And that's what girls/women use technology, radio, TV, magazines, cell phones, social media, for -- to belong to groups of girls/women and to make emotional connections with other people. For the technology itself, the girls/women don't care, don't care any more than they care that it was a Diesel powered 18 wheel truck that delivered their women's magazine, cosmetics, cell phone, laptop, skim milk, etc. Just because the women's magazines dish out material based on stereotypes does not mean that the stereotypes are wrong.

what_the_heck 13y ago
I can't believe you're serious. I'm a woman who's been programming for years, and I really, really like technology. I'm currently at hackerschool, and nearly half the current batch consists of women who like technology. It's not such a rarity. And no, I don't read "women's mags", and spent my teens reading various Linux and technology magazines.
- graycat 13y ago
  > I can't believe you're serious. I am "serious". I'm very, very, very serious, fully, 100%, iron clad, totally serious. It's one of the most important lessons I had to learn in life, a lesson I didn't know and had to learn, the hard way, a very, very hard way, and the cost was high, very high, a major fraction of my whole life. What I said about babies is a slight exaggeration of some recent, solid research. It's correct. Nearly every parent with anything like an open mind and both boy and girl children comes to the same conclusion, finds that such differences between boys and girls are so totally obvious that no one should fail to understand them. The girls like dolls, and the boys like fire trucks. And this usually holds even if the boys and girls are treated just the same. Why? Early in the crib, the girls are interested in emotional connections with people, and the boys are interested in things. Tannen describes some more research on the differences already at age 5. I'm correct: What I'm saying about nearly all girls and women is 100% absolutely, positively, totally rock solidly correct. Sorry 'bout that. You are very, very different. I've never seen such a girl. As I indicated, I've seen girls who could do technology very, very well (I was married to one; she was Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Woodrow Wilson, NSF, and Ph.D.), but she didn't like it. The story did not end well. If I had a daughter, then I'd encourage her to be a very traditional female, including thinking about clothes, hair, and makeup. But I'd also try to get her well informed on people, men, relationships, marriage, family, parenting, emotions, psychology, socialization, and art. And for a career, I'd suggest something involving people, maybe being a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA, nurse, K-12 teacher, etc. No way would I sacrifice her life trying to shovel sand against the tide. There's a big reason I don't have a daughter or any children or now even a wife: I was far too slow to understand the usually rock solid differences between boys and girls. Maybe someday I will write a book covering what I wish I'd known -- Girls 101 for Dummies -- Boys. Could do a lot in 100 pages. If I did have a daughter, then I'd conclude that she needs a good life; for that she needs a good marriage; and a good marriage is based on "offspring, security, and care taking", and extra credit for knowing the source (hint: it was a woman, and past President of the American Psychiatric Association). Knowing and liking Linux won't by itself keep you from having a good life as a woman, even an otherwise quite traditional woman. Still, nearly no girl or woman actually likes technology -- they like people, not things.

by graycat 13y ago

what_the_heck 13y ago

I can't believe you're serious. I'm a woman who's been programming for years, and I really, really like technology. I'm currently at hackerschool, and nearly half the current batch consists of women who like technology. It's not such a rarity. And no, I don't read "women's mags", and spent my teens reading various Linux and technology magazines.

graycat 13y ago
> I can't believe you're serious. I am "serious". I'm very, very, very serious, fully, 100%, iron clad, totally serious. It's one of the most important lessons I had to learn in life, a lesson I didn't know and had to learn, the hard way, a very, very hard way, and the cost was high, very high, a major fraction of my whole life. What I said about babies is a slight exaggeration of some recent, solid research. It's correct. Nearly every parent with anything like an open mind and both boy and girl children comes to the same conclusion, finds that such differences between boys and girls are so totally obvious that no one should fail to understand them. The girls like dolls, and the boys like fire trucks. And this usually holds even if the boys and girls are treated just the same. Why? Early in the crib, the girls are interested in emotional connections with people, and the boys are interested in things. Tannen describes some more research on the differences already at age 5. I'm correct: What I'm saying about nearly all girls and women is 100% absolutely, positively, totally rock solidly correct. Sorry 'bout that. You are very, very different. I've never seen such a girl. As I indicated, I've seen girls who could do technology very, very well (I was married to one; she was Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Woodrow Wilson, NSF, and Ph.D.), but she didn't like it. The story did not end well. If I had a daughter, then I'd encourage her to be a very traditional female, including thinking about clothes, hair, and makeup. But I'd also try to get her well informed on people, men, relationships, marriage, family, parenting, emotions, psychology, socialization, and art. And for a career, I'd suggest something involving people, maybe being a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA, nurse, K-12 teacher, etc. No way would I sacrifice her life trying to shovel sand against the tide. There's a big reason I don't have a daughter or any children or now even a wife: I was far too slow to understand the usually rock solid differences between boys and girls. Maybe someday I will write a book covering what I wish I'd known -- Girls 101 for Dummies -- Boys. Could do a lot in 100 pages. If I did have a daughter, then I'd conclude that she needs a good life; for that she needs a good marriage; and a good marriage is based on "offspring, security, and care taking", and extra credit for knowing the source (hint: it was a woman, and past President of the American Psychiatric Association). Knowing and liking Linux won't by itself keep you from having a good life as a woman, even an otherwise quite traditional woman. Still, nearly no girl or woman actually likes technology -- they like people, not things.