[extropy-chat] RE: [wta-talk] The Gender Genie - analyzing writing styles

Hughes, James james.hughes at trincoll.edu
Mon Dec 1 15:57:34 UTC 2003


Very cool Samantha - thanks for sharing this. I think it relates to a
sometimes subtle, often overt problem in transhumanist discussion lists
- the dominant masculine style of aggressive tech, politics and
philosophy argumentation, with less reference to personal life and
relationships. Sometimes, as a man, I think women are handicapped by
socialization to be uncomfortable with self-assertion and disputation,
and sometimes I feel like the male communication style in general, and
its extreme versions on our lists, are both a political problem for
transhumanism in our inability to attract more women and an
organizational problem that makes it more difficult to build on-line
community. I see the problem also in the context of the very similar
issues in the socialist movement (my background) which is similarly
disproportionately male and conversationally disputatious. But at least
there is a strong spirit of feminist self-criticism among socialist men
which made us more conscious of the problem, and more open to
counter-vailing efforts, even if they met with little success.

J. Hughes



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