Surprising Discovery, Gender-wise

[akirlu]

Surely there are enough actual incidences of women getting harassed and threatened online without whingeing about invented hypothetical ones? No one actually knows what would have happened if a woman had gone off like Chris Priest. They are guessing, asserting observer bias as fact. Or, to put it another way, if making caustic, abrasive, emphatic, hyperbolic rhetorical flourishes online without being subjected to rape threats or similar harassment is an Exclusively Male Privilege, then people, I am a man.

And speaking of surprising gender discoveries, has James Nicoll commented on the gender balance in the Hugo fiction short list this year, or is it only noteworthy when it *isn't* balanced?

Comments

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

Surely there are enough actual incidences of women getting harassed and threatened online without whingeing about invented hypothetical ones?

You'd think that, wouldn't you? But no.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I would think that. Particularly because I feel that complaining about things that didn't happen undermines, rather than emphasizes, the seriousness of the problem when it does occur.

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

I'd think so, too. (Just in case it wasn't clear that the "you" in this case was intended to be the second-person-generic-with-irony-on-the-side, or whatever its actual name is.)

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Naw, you were clear the first time. I was just agreeing/reiterating/expanding.

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to make certain. Matching tone online is a lot like trying to match color samples under fluorescent light . . . something that looked perfectly good in the shop will end up screaming "What in the world was she thinking of?" outside on a sunny day.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Heh. True dat. I am minded of a sweater I have that is olive in one sort of light spectrum, and tan in the other. The more egregious example was a silky chenille t-shirt I had in high school that changed from emerald to rust, again depending on the light. So yeah, yay for double-checking. Because hey, the innernauts are also already sufficiently full of loud, acrimonious agreements.

[davidgoldfarb.livejournal.com]

He did his usual table showing ratios. I haven't seen much more in the way of comment.