Gender Ratio on Revleft

[khlib]

I haven't noticed many other girls on here, and I was wondering why that was. Why are internet forums in general such a male-dominated places?

[RedAnarchist]

Political forums, as a sub-group of forums, tend to be even more male-dominated than more general forums. I think it's just a mixture of individual interests, gender roles/societal expectations and also the culture of a forum can put off some groups from joining a forum.

[Tablo]

Also some of the females we have on the forum aren't very vocal about their gender/sex.

[Franz Fanonipants]

the medium is the issue

[khlib]

the medium is the issue

is that a McLuhan reference? :)

[X5N]

It all has to do with gender roles/norms/whatever the term would be.

In American society at least, the way males and females are socialized makes males more likely to participate in "antisocial" activities like talking to Internet people all day, even though it really isn't a norm for either gender. And on top of that, for the same reasons, males are more likely to be really into politics.

[Kitty_Paine]

I think It might have to do with the overall level of hostility and male related topics in general. Maybe the fact that girls are generally less tech oriented as well, in general... there are obviously a lot of tech savy girls too... I'm not one though. I admit being on this forum is a little strange for me. I'm not into internet "socializing" on any level, not that this is "socializing" or anything, lol. I mean I fucking hate facebook.... this is about as far as I go...

Plus, I have no sisters and no mother so.... I might be lacking that "feminine" touch... lol. I dont know...

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Because I need to get my drink on. lol

[Blackburn]

All the women are on Facebook. True story.

[Kitty_Paine]

Because I need to get my drink on. lol

Plus rep a million times... :lol:


All the women are on Facebook. True story.

I hate facebook with every fiber of my being, I will never be on Facebook again... most of my hate is probably unwarranted but I refuse to let go of it. :rolleyes:

[Ocean Seal]

Mainly, its because its the internet. There are less women on the internet just as a whole. I think that women in general just don't like to waste time on the internet as much as men, and the fact that the internet for the most part can be categorized as filled to the brim with sexist shit.

[Tablo]

Mainly, its because its the internet. There are less women on the internet just as a whole. I think that women in general just don't like to waste time on the internet as much as men, and the fact that the internet for the most part can be categorized as filled to the brim with sexist shit.
They are on the internet. I don't think that web forums are appealing to most.

[Comrade Samuel]

My best guess is most leftist women just don't know revleft exsists. Im sure that that the overall ratio for the whole world is fairly even its probably just because in modern socity to approach anyone with news of a place where the left unites is weird so we remain with the same small community of mostly males.

Lack of publicity is why there's such a drastic difference.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Plus rep a million times... :lol:
Truth of my reason for disappearing so long is that I was in an abusive relationship with a very possessive man who was isolating me, trying to control me and beating me.

[Kitty_Paine]

Truth of my reason for disappearing so long is that I was in an abusive relationship with a very possessive man who was isolating me, trying to control me and beating me.

Oh :huh:

And I'm assuming you got the fuck outta there, right?

While I can't relate on all levels, I've been in less intense, similar situations briefly and I'm empathetic towards you as much as I can be, having never really been there myself. Knowing that now though, It's even better that you've returned! I'm thoroughly pleased to see you've escaped such a sadistic person and relationship! May he get what's coming... I could say more but I shouldn't, lol.

[X5N]

:ohmy:

That's good that you got out of there, Esperanza.

[The Young Pioneer]

I'm here because I want to learn some history/political theory/keep up with current events that they won't teach me in my bastardised Western education system.

I also happen to have a vagina. Big fucking deal.

[Agent Ducky]

I dunno. But Revleft is definitely better than a lot of web forums where guys are free to make sexist jokes and tell me to make them a sammich because that's so flippin' funny and totally original.

[Kitty_Paine]

I dunno. But Revleft is definitely better than a lot of web forums where guys are free to make sexist jokes and tell me to make them a sammich because that's so flippin' funny and totally original.

Hell, I get told to make a 'sammich' in real life too. It's turned me into a cold hearted *****... lol. But don't blame me, blame the system. I've been forced into my circumstance but teenaged boys brainwashed by the media. Therefore I've had to adapt and tell them to go 'Fuck themselves' before kicking them mercilessly in the balls countless times... lol.

But don't hate the player (me), hate the game (fucking capitalism).... :rolleyes:

[piet11111]

Some of our female members left because they felt the standard of discussion was lacking and resembled a boys locker room too much.

I miss tragic clown most she had great posts on sexism.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Oh :huh:

And I'm assuming you got the fuck outta there, right?

While I can't relate on all levels, I've been in less intense, similar situations briefly and I'm empathetic towards you as much as I can be, having never really been there myself. Knowing that now though, It's even better that you've returned! I'm thoroughly pleased to see you've escaped such a sadistic person and relationship! May he get what's coming... I could say more but I shouldn't, lol.
Yeah, and the time since I left him ended with me growing emotionally and made me stronger. I've become stronger as far as my feminist views too since then as well.

[Die Rote Fahne]

Tech savvy females are looked down upon a lot of the time as neither feminine or sexy. That's the reason. Therefore, to maintain the gender roles they have been assigned, many women, who would be interested in technology, allow themselves to be swallowed into the "smart isn't sexy" idea, because they want to be "sexy".

[The Young Pioneer]

Ladies, next time a guy tells you to make a sammich, tell him you're a lesbian and you don't do that- You eat out.

:D

[kahimikarie]

There are a lot of women on places like Tumblr, Jezebel, (LiveJournal previously...) and other sites full of women talking about politics. I don't think the women don't use the internet/women don't talk about politics ideas hold up.
I think women dislike the sexism/boy's club mentality typically found on forums, and are also more into the variety of topics and personal focus that places like Tumblr offer as opposed to forums. This is one of the "better" forums, but I find myself avoiding revleft a lot due to sexism/misogyny/general androcentrism. There are other leftist forums with a lot more female members as they are less sexist iirc.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Ladies, next time a guy tells you to make a sammich, tell him you're a lesbian and you don't do that- You eat out.

:D
Psssht, in my case the phrase is bi by nature and lezzie due to experience. The end result is the same as far as the last part. lol. I've sworn off hetero relationships.

[Chambered Word]

Therefore I've had to adapt and tell them to go 'Fuck themselves' before kicking them mercilessly in the balls countless times... lol.

I like you. :thumbup1:

[Kitty_Paine]

Ladies, next time a guy tells you to make a sammich, tell him you're a lesbian and you don't do that- You eat out.

:D

I almost choked to death on milk because on this... I've never thanked anybody for almost commiting unintentional manslaughter on me but... Thank you, I LOL'd really good.


Psssht, in my case the phrase is bi by nature and lezzie due to experience. The end result is the same as far as the last part. lol. I've sworn off hetero relationships.

I'm beginning to love this thread :rolleyes:


I like you. :thumbup1:

Really?! Well.... I like you then :)

[Il Medico]

Revleft's Guy/Girl ratio, in olde timey pictures:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4361743870_b9c298c334.jpg
:
http://www.amberausten.com/storage/1940sgirlscout.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1299 169435938

[Agent Ducky]

Tech savvy females are looked down upon a lot of the time as neither feminine or sexy. That's the reason. Therefore, to maintain the gender roles they have been assigned, many women, who would be interested in technology, allow themselves to be swallowed into the "smart isn't sexy" idea, because they want to be "sexy".

Well I say fuck femininity and fuck being "sexy". And this is why I end up on Revleft.

[Manic Impressive]

Some of our female members left because they felt the standard of discussion was lacking and resembled a boys locker room too much.

I miss tragic clown most she had great posts on sexism.
That's not why TC left (http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2138194&postcount=1)

[Os Cangaceiros]

Mainly, its because its the internet. There are less women on the internet just as a whole. I think that women in general just don't like to waste time on the internet as much as men, and the fact that the internet for the most part can be categorized as filled to the brim with sexist shit.

It may be technically true that more men use the internet than women, but it's not true in any really relevant way:

http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/internet-usage-by-age.gif

[Os Cangaceiros]

Anyway, close to equal measures (equal within a 3% margin of error) of men and women use the internet. From my own anecdotal experiences (plus the anecdotal experiences of other people on this forum, including one aforementioned TC) the gender ratio of many radical groups is pretty close to half and half, too, dispelling the notion that women aren't interested in politics. So honestly I don't know why the gender ratio is the way it is here, and I'm not comfortable speculating on it because that necessarily leads to sweeping generalizations, ie women are fragile flowers who don't like spirited debate, or women aren't nerds with nerdy interests, etc.

[piet11111]

That's not why TC left (http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2138194&postcount=1)

She left once before that due to the boys locker room mentality but later was talked into coming back if i recall correctly.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Well I say fuck femininity and fuck being "sexy". And this is why I end up on Revleft.
Feminity and sexy are not mutually exclusive with being on revleft.

[Azraella]

Bigendered female here.

About men and relationships, been there done that. I prefer my androgynous husband thank you very much and the occasional woman. :lol:

[khlib]

I am glad to see all of the ladies coming out of the cracks here!

[black magick hustla]

There are a lot of women on places like Tumblr, Jezebel, (LiveJournal previously...) and other sites full of women talking about politics. I don't think the women don't use the internet/women don't talk about politics ideas hold up.
I think women dislike the sexism/boy's club mentality typically found on forums, and are also more into the variety of topics and personal focus that places like Tumblr offer as opposed to forums. This is one of the "better" forums, but I find myself avoiding revleft a lot due to sexism/misogyny/general androcentrism. There are other leftist forums with a lot more female members as they are less sexist iirc.

i agree about tumblr. all the internetfeministbrigade 20somethings congregate around tumblr. but tumblr, livejournal etc are not "discussion forums" in the same way this forum is. there aren't really agressive discussions in a feminist tumblr, generally people just support and reinforce each others views.


i think revleft does have a nerd boy feel but i don't think it is misoginistic. yea i am a dude but at the same time i dont trust either some of the members that complain about the "misoginy" here because they are heavily ideological committed to certain viewpoints. (in the same way i won't trust a chicano nationalist on the issue of racism). i think there are some threads sometimes that make me really uncomfortable (relationship threads, threads about "poor me i dont get enough pussy", etc) because sometimes the way nerdy boys talk about women is embarrassing and a bit sexist. however, i do think that some members exaggerate this, and use the whole "female members are driven away by sexism" when someone disagreed with them somewhere about feminism or something like that and then obviously it had to do because the other guy had a dick and not because of honest theoretical differences.

[Philosophis Pony]

This thread seems overtly biased toward male and females, your all forgetting many important things of equality between Intersex, Transgender, Gender fluid, Pangender, Third gender, and Agender people. Just putting it out there for reference..

[TheGodlessUtopian]

This thread seems overtly biased toward male and females, your all forgetting many important things of equality between Intersex, Transgender, Gender fluid, Pangender, Third gender, and Agender people. Just putting it out there for reference..

A byproduct of heteronormative society which needs to be dismantled.

Thank you for the reminder.:)

[Agent Ducky]

Feminity and sexy are not mutually exclusive with being on revleft.

Oh, I know that. I just don't give many fucks about seeming feminine or sexy. It doesn't mean I'm not, subjectively, some level of either; or that someone who uses revleft can't be feminine or sexy... It just means that it leaves me uninhibited from anything that I wouldn't do otherwise for fear of seeming unfeminine or unsexy. Not necessarily revleft. Anything.

[9]

your all forgetting many important things of equality between Intersex, Transgender, Gender fluid, Pangender, Third gender, and Agender people. Just putting it out there for reference..

Actually, such people seem to be relatively well represented on revleft, for what its worth.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Actually, such people seem to be relatively well represented on revleft, for what its worth.

Who are these people? I know of a few but those people are not fully out about such a trait.In any case only a handful of such people that I personally know.Perhaps I am just not well connected.

[black magick hustla]

Who are these people? I know of a few but those people are not fully out about such a trait.In any case only a handful of such people that I personally know.Perhaps I am just not well connected.

i can think of three of the top of my head who are really active. yea i havent met as many trans irl as i have met here def. there seems to be a lot of gay people as well

[TheGodlessUtopian]

i can think of three of the top of my head who are really active. yea i havent met as many trans irl as i have met here def. there seems to be a lot of gay people as well

Justin's comment however was regarding Intersex, Transgender, Gender fluid, Pangender, Third gender, and Agender people though.Sexual orientation was not involved in his obersation but rather gender identity.

[black magick hustla]

honestly the only thing that i see really lacking in here are cis females for one reason or the other. i dont want to theorize too much about it because it always ends up with either "girls dont come because obviously there isnt enough feminism!!!!!!11" or "girls are brainwashed by the media". i just think the community in general is set up in such a way to mimick male nerdom (like DnD or whatever)

[Quail]

I'm a woman. I haven't been posting much because I don't have internet at my house, and there haven't been many threads I really want to post in. This forum is pretty good when it comes to sexism, but it's not perfect. Certain threads do have an off-puttingly "boys' club" type feel to them, and I think that sometimes male posters can be insensitive to women's issues. Part of this is probably due to the age demographic though (i.e. there are a lot of teenage boys here). Nevertheless, I think the main reason there are fewer women on revleft is that women don't tend to use internet forums as much as men do. More of my male friends use forums than my female friends (and actually the only females I know who use internet forums use mental health forums, not political/debating ones).

[Kitty_Paine]

Oh, I know that. I just don't give many fucks about seeming feminine or sexy. It doesn't mean I'm not, subjectively, some level of either; or that someone who uses revleft can't be feminine or sexy... It just means that it leaves me uninhibited from anything that I wouldn't do otherwise for fear of seeming unfeminine or unsexy. Not necessarily revleft. Anything.

As long as everyone is comfortable with who they are, being feminine/sexy or not, or both even, that's what's important. I like using my femininity to my advantage sometimes, and I enjoy being a female, I enjoy everything about it but I also like to throw all that out the door sometimes and get into fights and get dirty (literally and figuratively, lol)...


(i.e. there are a lot of teenage boys here)

^ This. :laugh:

[Chambered Word]

honestly the only thing that i see really lacking in here are cis females for one reason or the other. i dont want to theorize too much about it because it always ends up with either "girls dont come because obviously there isnt enough feminism!!!!!!11" or "girls are brainwashed by the media". i just think the community in general is set up in such a way to mimick male nerdom (like DnD or whatever)

that kind of implies that there's sort of a nerd mentality that is primary male, so in the end it kind of comes down to conditioning. still, that's not the same as saying hurr all women are brainwashed.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

A byproduct of heteronormative society which needs to be dismantled.

Thank you for the reminder.:)
Fuck you!


Justin's comment however was regarding Intersex, Transgender, Gender fluid, Pangender, Third gender, and Agender people though.Sexual orientation was not involved in his obersation but rather gender identity. Intersex is biological sex not gender identity.


Oh, I know that. I just don't give many fucks about seeming feminine or sexy. It doesn't mean I'm not, subjectively, some level of either; or that someone who uses revleft can't be feminine or sexy... It just means that it leaves me uninhibited from anything that I wouldn't do otherwise for fear of seeming unfeminine or unsexy. Not necessarily revleft. Anything.
I feel ya on that.

[praxis1966]

My contribution to thread number 7,382 on the subject...

What's getting discussed here are basically two different issues once motivation is considered, one decidedly more difficult to substantiate than the other. The first is "Why don't more women (whether cis, trans or otherwise) join RL?" and the second is, "Why do women leave RL?"

The first question reminds me of an old Yogi Berra quote, "If nobody wants to come out to the ballpark, how are you gonna stop 'em?" In other words, and at the risk of sounding tautological, I don't like supposition and conjecture because they aren't a particularly scientific way to think. Besides, all you have to do is read back through this thread and you've got a pretty good summation on pretty much every perspective on the topic.

The second question is answerable definitively for any number of reasons. Some women, indeed users in general, leave because they've had conflicts with others, whether that amounts to conflicts with the administration or other users (irrespective of gender) is another story. Yes, occasionally there can be a "locker room" mentality here, something that has run other female members off in the past (I could rattle off at least a half dozen members off the top of my head)... Although, and as ridiculous as this may sound, I dare say we do a much better job of stamping out sexism whether through argumentation or administrative action than we did going on 9 years ago when I joined. The best reason I've seen women leave this place is, like their male counterparts, they actually get old enough and theoretically developed enough to do some real world activism (there's no two ways about it, male or female, this place is heavily populated by teenagers who may or may not have ready access to established radical organizations in their immediate areas and their parents wouldn't approve of their activities even if they did)... After that, this place just doesn't seem that important anymore.

Lastly, perhaps one of the saddest reason I've seen women leave is that (and I know this occurs because I'm still in contact with some of the old skool female members) is that their politics either moderate or they become apathetic as they grow older... Here again, though, we're not talking about a trend unique to women.

In the final analysis, it's decidedly more noticeable when a woman leaves this place (relative to when men do it) because there are so few of them here to begin with. So personally, I'd say that some of this has to do with perspective.