[Sigia-l] Just for you women out there

[Christopher Fahey]

> Christopher Fahey:
> > There are some gender stereotypes and traditions that
> > are harmful and unfair.
Listera: 
> Can you think of an example of one in the context of a 
> notebook design?

Not at all.

> If not, how about a more general example?

TV shows portraying blonde women as dumb.

> Does a designer of burqas or an architect of segregated 
> drinking fountains get a pass because some like it that 
> way?

Not to me. 

> Is there a fundamental difference between a pink iPod 
> and the NEC laptop?

Not to me. 

There's a fine line, but a line indeed, between a distate for sexism and a
distate for gender markers in general. And then there's another fine line
between a distate for gender markers in general and a simple distate for
*feminine* gender markers. Which are you displaying?

What about this laptop? 

<http://tinyurl.com/rbbdr>
<http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/Aurora_mALX/aurora-m_gallery.
aspx?SysCode=PC-LT-AURORA-M-ALX&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT#pdp-nav>

Is this a sexist stereotype of men as little more than mindless
fantasy-driven adolescents, fetishizing weaponry and living in constant fear
of femininity? I find this design as silly and demeaning -- and as
idiosyncratic and expressive -- as the Hello Kitty laptop. Neither are my
own personal style, but it's a free world and whoever shows up at a meeting
with me with either model will demonstrate, at the very least, an
idiosyncratic personality, something that automatically makes that person
more interesting than the vast majority of the people in the world.

Idiosyncratic personal devices are here to stay
(<http://tinyurl.com/2hxu2v>). Our laptops will look as different as our
clothing and our hairstyles, which are already heavily gendered. Let's get
used to it.

-Cf

Christopher Fahey
____________________________
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