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Female Founders

paulgraham.com

461–470 of 634 posts

Re: Female Founders

#461
post #146

Judging by the comments on this article, it would appear that once you've been labeled a sexist it is downright impossible to dispel. I'm not sure what people expect, exactly. Is pg supposed to give up all his worldly goals and possessions and live as some sort of equality monk? Should he know of and contribute to every one of the many groups and organizations involved in gender equality? And what exactly is wrong wi…

>Judging by the comments on this article, it would appear that once you've been labeled a sexist it is downright impossible to dispel.

That's because it's easy. The "sexism-accusers" don't have to do anything themselves to fight sexism. Anything concrete I mean.

It's enough that they voice their anger and point their finger to this or that scapegoat (and ocassional real offender), and they can feel good, nay, champions of equality.

Plus, they have all their similar minded peers to high five, usually all people of upper middle class upbringing, that are oh so sensitive and oh so beautiful souls that even overhearing a guy telling a "dongle" joke in private to his friend can make them feel enraged -- until is time for their fair trade coffee break that is.

That leaves pg to prove a negative.

Re: Female Founders

#462

You know what I'd love to see the next time one of these inflammatory gender-related posts comes up? One thread that only women are allowed to post to. No men to challenge them, play devil's advocate or otherwise defend their privilege. Just one place for us to say our piece without being downvoted into oblivion, where our voice can be heard (in all its glorious heterogeneity). Because that's what's missing in this c…

>Carry on mansplaining your way through it boys

Using language like this is no more constructive than male chauvinists telling you to stop bitching and get back in the kitchen. It might rally those who already share your beliefs, but it sure won't help you connect with the people you most want to reach.

Re: Female Founders

#463

My main takeaway from reading this article and the comments here is: The awareness of this problem is still very nascent and more & more solutions are emerging, as are criticisms of people who are beginning to acknowledge this problem. To hopefully steer this in another direction, and because I have a little girl, what are some resources you all have seen that can help girls become interested and go into technical di…

For role models, Limor Fried (owner of http://www.adafruit.com/ ) and Vi Hart ( http://www.youtube.com/user/Vihart ) are both super awesome!

don't forget jeri ellsworth, who is imo the most talented hacker out there today, male or female...

http://www.youtube.com/user/jeriellsworth

Re: Female Founders

#464
post #436
post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that sticks out most is this: Of the very angry people who were repeatedly tweeting attacks at him after the Valleywag article, I haven't seen even one apologize. It's just sad. Edit: @antics, I just reread the stream of angry @paulg tweets from Dec. 28th and have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe I missed tptacek's tweet both times. Please don't attack me over it.

'tptaeck didn't tweet, it was a comment on HN, just FYI. I think you two are taking about two different things.

I remember this guy, for starters. Nobody's holier than him:

https://mobile.twitter.com/jacobian/status/41791439674503168... https://mobile.twitter.com/jacobian/status/41790492741167923... https://mobile.twitter.com/jacobian/status/41777583546709606...

Re: Female Founders

#465
On the differences between sexes (from Sex Money Kiss by Gene Simmons http://www.amazon.com/SEX-MONEY-KISS-Gene-Simmons-ebook/dp/B...)

The Perfect Day for HER!

8:15 a.m. Wake up to hugs & kisses 8:30 a.m. Weight in five pounds lighter than yesterday 8:45 a.m. Breakfast in bed, fresh squeezed orange juice and croissants. Open presents: expensive jewelry chosen by thoughtful partner 9:15 a.m. Soothing hot bath with grangipani bath oil. 10:00 a.m. Light workout at club with handsome, funny personal trainer. 10:30 a.m. Facial, manicure, shampoo, and comb out. 12:00 a.m. Lunch with best friend at an outdoor cafe. 12:45 p.m. Notice ex-boyfriend's wife, she has gained 30 lbs.. 1:00 p.m. Shopping with friends. 3:00 p.m. Nap. 4:00 p.m. A dozen roses delivered by florist. Card is from a secret admirer. 4:15 p.m. Light workout at club followed by a gentle massage 5:30 p.m. Pick outfit for dinner. Primp before mirror. 7:30 p.m. Candlelight dinner for two followed by dancing. 10:00 p.m. Hot shower. Alone. 10:30 p.m. Make love. 11:00 p.m. Pillow talk, light touching and cuddling. 11:15 p.m. Fall asleep in his big, strong arms.

The Perfect Day for HIM!

6:00 a.m. Alarm. 6:15 a.m. Blow-job. 6:30 a.m. Massive dump while reading the sports section. 7:00 a.m. Breakfast. Filet Mignon, eggs, toast and coffee. 7:30 a.m. Limo arrives. 7:45 a.m. Bloody Mary en route to airport. 8:15 a.m. Private jet to Augusta, Georgia. 9:30 a.m. Limo to Augusta National Golf Club. 9:45 a.m. Play front nine at Augusta, finish 2 under par. 11:45 a.m. Lunch. 2 dozen oysters on the half shell. 3 Heinekens. 12:15 p.m. Blow-job. 12:30 p.m. Play back nine holes of golf course, four under 2:15 p.m. Limo back to airport. Drink 2 Bombay martinis. 2:30 p.m. Private jet to Nassau, Bahamas. Nap. 3:15 p.m. Late afternoon fishing excursion with topless female crew, all nude, who frequently bend over a lot displaying growlers. 4:30 p.m. Catch world record light tackle marlin-1249 lbs. 5:00 p.m. Jet back home. En route, get massage from naked supermodel (bending over naturally) 7:00 p.m. Watch CNN Newsflash. Bush resigns. Porn Legalized. 7:30 p.m. Dinner. Lobster appetizers, 1963 Dom Perignon, 20 Oz. New York strip. For dessert: ice cream served on a big pair of tits. 9:00 p.m. Relax after dinner with 1789 Augler Cognac and Cohiba Cuban cigar. 10:00 p.m. Massage and Jacuzzi with tasty pizza snacks cleansing ale. 11:00 p.m. Sex with 3 women, all with lesbian tendencies ... some bending over. 11:30 p.m. Nightcap Blow-job. 11:45 p.m. Go to bed alone. 11:50 p.m. A twenty two second fart that changes notes four times & forces dog to leave the room.

Re: Female Founders

#466
post #146

Judging by the comments on this article, it would appear that once you've been labeled a sexist it is downright impossible to dispel. I'm not sure what people expect, exactly. Is pg supposed to give up all his worldly goals and possessions and live as some sort of equality monk? Should he know of and contribute to every one of the many groups and organizations involved in gender equality? And what exactly is wrong wi…

So true, in the end, it's not pg's fault if there is sexism and racism in the tech industry. They are doing their bit to improve the situation. Others should also try and do the same.

How much sexism and racism is there really in the tech industry? Most tech companies are quite the rainbow - 5 or 6 different native languages in a small company is not uncommon.

Re: Female Founders

#468

You know what I'd love to see the next time one of these inflammatory gender-related posts comes up? One thread that only women are allowed to post to. No men to challenge them, play devil's advocate or otherwise defend their privilege. Just one place for us to say our piece without being downvoted into oblivion, where our voice can be heard (in all its glorious heterogeneity). Because that's what's missing in this c…

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6998559

Re: Female Founders

#469
Napoleon Bonaparte believed there was a star in the sky that was dedicated to him.

Men seem to have a higher opinion of themselves and are more willing to invest in their sometimes farfetched ideas. Some of those farfetched ideas have turned out to be valuable and have harvested a bounty.

Awareness of bounty results in more people taking more risks and chasing after their hairbrained ideas, a few of which are share a wide appeal.

The California gold rush is a good example, a time when many San Francisco merchants became rich.

Only a madman would pursue a dream that reaped no harvest and many do.

We need more mad women.

Re: Female Founders

#470

The tone of this article is pretty defensive and borders on hostile. Understandably? Yeah, it sucks when people misinterpret a sentiment or take something out of context, but if you really want an open discussion about why there aren't more female founders, acknowledge your part. There's a dearth of female founders because YC and angels and VCs are just not as willing to fund females. Until 1974 -- when the Equal Cre…

> We decided that we were about 95 percent certain that if it had been 2 guys applying with this idea, YC would have at least given us an interview

What gives you that certainty? There are a lot of teams with similar credentials to yours that apply to YC and don't get interviews. Perhaps you didn't convey yourself well in the application or they simply preferred other applications.

It's crazy that people take their rejections from YC so personally (even posting Facebook updates like "we'll prove them wrong" etc). If there was something astonishingly impressive in your app that's different .. but just in my batch there were published PhDs, people who've written novels, sold companies, personally knew celebrities, some with millions of users already .. etc. For most "regular" competitive applications, there's a decent chance you'll be missed just due to randomness.

> It's an emerging green-tech niche in an industry beyond primed for some technical disruption.

That's what you think .. You can't just assume everyone (and the YC partners) are going to think the same way (and perhaps they didn't buy your line of thought).

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