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No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

code.likeagirl.io

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Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#171

Post by didibus »

wccrawford wrote: post #159
didibus wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, pinkifying is not a real term, but the truth is, I was trying to describe the stereotype and couldn't for boys. I thought girls stereotypes are they like pink, flowers, dresses, sparkles, dolls, etc. And then I chocked on boys, I wouldn't be able to go ahead and "masculinize" something, because I wouldn't know what that means. I'm thinking boys like fighting, to argue, the color blue or red, trucks, cars, heavy…

Yes, liking cute, pink things is a common girl stereotype. Liking rough sports, guns, cars, and having a lot of testosterone are male stereotypes, among others. If you need a visual thing you can do to something to make men like it more, you could paint it with racing stripes or hunter/army camo. It doesn't lend itself to a pithy word easily, but it's the same idea. I'm not saying it's right to stereotype anyone. I'm…

I think its definitly not irrelevant though. The fact is, my bias is weaker for boys, at least I have to assume, since I need to think harder to come up with it. If this is true at large, it could be that boys are held to lesser expectations of conformance to a strict set of behaviors and interests.

I also find it interesting how once I do come up with the stereotypes, they do seem to lead right into the current job ratios.

Now, I don't know the cause of the stereotypes, they could be observations of nature, or creations of nurture, but I do find they tell a bit of a story.

Not eye-opening I'll admit, but an interesting detail.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#172

Post by watwut »

mantas wrote: post #127
watwut wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would really like to know why this was dovnvoted. Horses used to be boy toys when men worked with horses and now are exclusively girl toys.

Because girls usually loved shiny-but-useless objects. Meanwhile boys preferred work tools. Horse happened to move from work tool to shiny-but-useless thing.

Girls liked toys that resembled female work: sewing, cooking, babies. Funny thing is, it was women who fought to be allowed into work, not men.

I can play the game too. Meanwhile boys liked thinks that make noise and are "cool" which is usually useless and often nothing but aggressive.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#174

Post by vfulco »

jayd16 wrote: post #125
softawre wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> gamer->modder->hacker path This doesn't exist today? What about Minecraft mods, or building Redstone circuits? Game modding is as big as it was when I went through that cycle, isn't it? At least, that's what I plan to show my daughter when she gets a bit older to test her interest.

Games are often male dominated and the culture can be toxic.

Where are the women game developers creating blockbuster hits for their gender? I am asking in a non-inflammatory way. Same with companies. Break the system and its bonds if it is not serving 50% of the population. Should be tons of opportunity to be had.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#175

Post by brlewis »

qihqi wrote: post #162
brlewis wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This calls for a full-blown essay at some point, but for now I'll just throw this comment out there. [Using the terms girl and boy to continue the language of the parent comment; not meaning to be diminutive to anybody.] Computers are inherently designed as girl toys, and boys are the foreigners in this world. With the caveat that any statement you make about half the population is going to be wrong about a lot of pe…

Parent comment seems to be asking about aesthetics. Is the black brick 'thinkpad' or silver macbook more aesthetic to boys or girls? However, since we are in topic of risk. Things like TDD and type systems only start to ring a bell when someone is already reasonably invested in computer science. The initial exploration (click all the menu items to see what is there, etc) is a risk seeking behavior.

True that the parent comment was more about aesthetics. I may have jumped too eagerly on the word "inherently".

Back to the topic of risk, I don't think the average girl is so risk-averse that she won't engage in exploratory activities. Curiosity is universal.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#176

Post by jagermo »

jorjordandan wrote: post #21

My daughter is six. I never wanted her to be interested in things that were traditionally gendered - but she just is. I would buy neutral toys, but her eyes would light up when she saw the babies and pink princesses. So, is she wrong to like those things? We have done the minecraft hour of code together, (she likes minecraft too) but if there was an even more 'girly' version I an guarantee that she would be more enga…

Same here. The short time it took for Elsa and Anna to break our non-gender toy approach is astounding.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#177

Post by twobyfour »

chongli wrote: post #167
twobyfour wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make a very good point! I'll just note that some of us who might have been most attracted to the profession would be turned off by pinkification, and that we may be harder to recruit into recruiting efforts that we perceive as ghettoizing. I quit a women's organization dedicated to a specific technology because all the meetups they organized seemed to be oriented around manicures. Someone mentioned above that law…

I'll just note that some of us who might have been most attracted to the profession would be turned off by pinkification, and that we may be harder to recruit into recruiting efforts that we perceive as ghettoizing. You touched upon something that's critical to the whole issue: the perception of traditionally female stuff as inferior. The feminist movement has come a long way getting women through the door and into t…

Absolutely, I agree with that. But I also think that misses the point that we need to eliminate the notion that pink is girly and blue is boyish - or rather, that there are colors, interests, and pursuits that are masculine and others that are feminine.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#178

Post by CM30 »

jayd16 wrote: post #125
softawre wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> gamer->modder->hacker path This doesn't exist today? What about Minecraft mods, or building Redstone circuits? Game modding is as big as it was when I went through that cycle, isn't it? At least, that's what I plan to show my daughter when she gets a bit older to test her interest.

Games are often male dominated and the culture can be toxic.

Gaming culture isn't really any more toxic than other culture held by people who take the subject of their interests too seriously. Other forms of media also have various unhinged individuals acting like jerks online.

And neither have anything on sports, where the toxicity can go beyond the internet in quite a few situations. For all the comments about toxicity and causing violence, games actually have a pretty good record by comparison.

Re: No need to pinkify – Girls get interested in tech because it is interesting

#179

Post by mantas »

watwut wrote: post #172
mantas wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because girls usually loved shiny-but-useless objects. Meanwhile boys preferred work tools. Horse happened to move from work tool to shiny-but-useless thing.

Girls liked toys that resembled female work: sewing, cooking, babies. Funny thing is, it was women who fought to be allowed into work, not men. I can play the game too. Meanwhile boys liked thinks that make noise and are "cool" which is usually useless and often nothing but aggressive.

So yes, girls like girly things - home making, looking after family and making nice things they need to get male attention. Meanwhile boys like toys about jobs to provide to family. Or aggressive toys imitating tools to fend off aggressors or attract females.

Checks out, no?

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