Thanks Jen..
> > On Tue, May 22, 2001 at 04:35:24PM +1200, Penguina wrote:
> >> Use a male pseudonym when publishing code and helpful advice to
> >> lists.
> David Merrill wrote:
> > The problem with this is that it perpetuates the belief that women
> > cannot compete in the field. We need to see women writing and
> > producing publicly, not behind pseudonyms.
On Thu, 31 May 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I agree... but why is there the pressure which leads women to be
> more comfortable using male pseudonyms?
But...are we here to "change the world" or are we here to write code?
In the 19th century, women had to write novels either anonymously
or under male pseudonyms to get published. I would submit that
the bias against women is so strong in the open source community
that having a female name is an A#1 way to get completely ignored,
shut out, asked to write documentation and so forth. Not so when
you use a male pseudonym. Not worth fighting it if you want to
write code.
And think about it -- the only time gender really matters in
terms of "changing the world" is after a product makes it big.
Which is when a gal's gender is going to come out in the press
anyway.
So, in a lot of ways, it's probably *better* to publish under a
male pseudonym -- and then when girls start leading open source
projects that make it big -- THAT'S when we'll start changing
the world.
But fighting sexism from the bottom is like shoveling sand
against the tide.
When people started figuring out that George Sand and George
Eliot were women, the publishing climate for women started to
change not incrementally, but radically. Even Colette was
originally published under her husband's name (but that's
because he locked her in the house and stole her literary work).
And you know what? It's been over a century since it's become
an acceptable pursuit for women to write novels, and take a
look at the "top 100 books of the century" or the Booker prize.
Far more men than women, still. And that's in something people
are constantly saying that girls are *better* at than boys!
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