Comments on: It almost goes without saying

By: kgs

kgs — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:42:20 +0000

Jenny, I waited a while to respond to your comment until I felt my response had mellowed.

First, can you be more specific about the “sexist things” feminists do?

Second, I put myself forward as someone willing to complain AND to work hard. I think that describes just about everyone participating in this discussion. It doesn’t help to sweep sexism under the rug. It’s still there, and when you least expect it, you’ll trip over it.

This conversation began because of observations that women were not participating in key leadership discussions proportional to their representation in the profession. I feel it’s rationalizing away sexism to simply chalk up that phenom to those hardworking women too busy to grandstand.

By: Theresa A Tobin

Theresa A Tobin — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:11:05 +0000

Thank you Kathleen and Shinjoung for your remarks about the Feminist Task Force. This annual, COSWL, FTF and ACRL Women’s Studies Section members agreed to collaborate on a research project that will analyze the gender balance/imbalance at ALA programs and see what actions are dictated by this analysis.

Theresa (Coordinator, SRRT FTF)

By: jenny

jenny — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:14:38 +0000

I will confess to knowing little to nothing about the library 2.0 panel and whatever. And I will agree with you that library technology, in my experience, seems like a more sexist field than even just technology in general (perhaps some sort of library backlash?). But perhaps some of us women in the field are too busy trying to kick ass at our jobs to “prove” that women are good at this field to be involved in such things. Does it suck that I have to be better at my job than a guy would (IMO) to get the same amount of recognition? Yes. But instead of complaining, which would not get me anywhere with the sexists, I am just trying to kick ass as much as possible, to the point where it can’t be ignored.

And FWIW, I am one of those 20-something “I don’t consider myself a feminist”s. Since the word feminist has been used to do a lot of sexist things I don’t agree with, I would never ever use that word to describe myself.

By: Shinjoung Yeo

Shinjoung Yeo — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:35:45 +0000

To sum up the discussion so far, the issue of gender and technology. Technology is part of culture in which male domination has been the norm. This issue has not been limited to the library field. In order to challenge this,

I think we need to come up with better critiques of gender and technology within the library context. There has been much literature on this topic in academia such as Haraway, Zimmerman, etc and we should be able to articulate with our own terms and produce our own literature.

Second, I personally believe technology is not value neutral. It’s ideological. Thus, the simple fact of more representation is not the solution. We have to be able to participate economically, socially and politically in technological changes and be part of creating/designing technologies.

Third, we should be able to produce more competent technology users who will be able to shape/reshape techhnology practice.

One of the strengths of COSWL and FTF was to produce literature/critiques on gender inequality based on sophisticated evidence and theories. I think this brought change in library practices. Maybe it’s time again for us to work collaboratively and find various ways to shed light on this issue.

In solidarity.

Shinjoung Yeo
Chair of COSWL

By: kgs

kgs — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 15:11:32 +0000

Ryan, I appreciate your point about mentoring, but I also cannot tell you how many times in my career I have been expected, subtly or otherwise, to mentor a man up and over me. Sandy experienced this as well, first on Wall Street, but later, too. I also cannot tell you how many times I have seen slack cut for men when the bar was set very high for women.

I understand what you’re saying about turning the tables, but it needs to be done carefully–and with awareness that women have been mentoring men for thousands of years.

By: David Fiander

David Fiander — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:35:05 +0000

Ellen Spertus wrote about this a while ago. Fortunately the academic environment has changed (a little) since then, for women, at least.

By: kgs

kgs — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 01:27:54 +0000

I don’t think of it so much as a correction, Dorothea, as just one more facet to mull over… it’s so complex.

GeekChic, I know what you mean. It can be very complex (there’s that word again!) to be “out” when it just confirms everyone’s stereotypes. (I’m so glad I am bad at sports, particularly golf and softball.)

By: Dorothea Salo

Dorothea Salo — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 00:55:22 +0000

I appreciate the correction, Karen, and I look forward to your post on the subject.

By: GeekChic

GeekChic — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:38:09 +0000

Karen – Your comment about lesbianism and the purple menace certainly resonates with me. I’m a female systems librarian at a public library. I have never felt any sexism in my tech. posting (and I do work with mostly male colleagues and two male bosses) – though I definitely did in my last job as an assistant director (the guys didn’t like taking order – or being fired – by a woman).

I have, however, definitely experienced homophobia in both positions. In my current job, there have been several female librarians who have “accused” me of being a lesbian – I guess because I’m in a mostly male field and don’t seem bothered by it. My response of “And if I were…. ?” just discomfits them.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:28:43 +0000

My question regarding racial composition of the “gang” was not meant entirely seriously — although there is a serious issue of the digital divide which to some extent has a racial/economic component here in the USA. But in reading the dialogue here I believe in this particular case of the “Library 2.0 gang” there was no intention of gender discrimination. That is not to take away from the larger picture of what Karen discusses in this entry, and I admire her military service under the difficult circumstances she describes.