Gender stereotypes in SL: "Real" women

Fixed it for ya!

As far as I'm concerned, none of the myths listed in the OP apply across the board to females any more so than they would apply to males.

I could list a slew of females who are every bit as skilled as their male counterparts in SL. In fact it occurs to me that there are many more outstanding female builders/scripters/texture artists than males. Anyone who browses these forums regularly would be singularly unobservant if they couldn't say the same. Of course RL gender is never a certainty but there is quite enough contextual information to verify that I'm not thinking of fellas who like to run a female av just for a little variety.

This reflects the RL gender balance of IT in general. As far back as I can recall, successful women have been just as common in the workplace as men.

Elsewhere I have said that it is possible to tell when the SL gender of an account holder does not square with their RL gender but I think that's an altogether different argument. In general, I have found that females can be every bit as adventurous with what they can do in SL as males (or just as boring, depending on the individual in question): they are perhaps just a little more complicated about how they go about it.

The only marked gender difference I have noted from my earliest days in SL is that females are less comfortable with the concept of RL anonymity than males. Males tend to drop the subject of RL when I make it clear I don't want to talk about it whereas females will gently tease me on the issue at best or at worst, they will blank me altogether.

Why would I want to do that? If I want to do something so inefficient and personal I would use PM/IM/non-spam email. I am not so rude, however, - as some people have ignorantly demonstrated recently to me in a couple of hissy fits - as to take differences of forum opinion inworld.

Pep (The forums are a much more effective way of communicating with the unwashed masses.)

The real problem with sl is that you can't see whether the other person is wearing "Hanson Brothers" geek glasses.

Pep (Much more important than their gender)

If you read the forum Guidelines (please read before posting) at the top of the forum page, and its link in there to the Core Rules of Netiquette, Rule 5, it does say:



and it's "you're all here to debate", not "your".

Thanks Truth.

Pep (But now you will be accused of being another of my multitude of alts! Sorry about that. )

Of course, a good teacher is always happy to learn from their own mistakes, so allow me to assist ...

Student Teacher: "Just don't be surprised if your views, opinions and arguments are not taken as seriously as if you took more care in presenting them."

Sometime Teacher: Almost right dear - just follow your own advice and take a little more care with your syntax - I've made my correction in capitals:

"Just don't be surprised if your views, opinions and arguments are not taken as seriously as THEY WOULD BE if you took more care in presenting them."

[Sometime Teacher smiles at the irony of having to correct a sentence expressing this particular sentiment.]

If you're going to set yourself up as an authority, you owe it to those you criticise to get it right every time - or apologise when you get it wrong. Ridiculing people from NESB for their faults in English looks pretty silly when you make simple mistakes in your native language.

I've never yet seen you have the grace to accept even the mildest criticism, so feel free to contrive the usual scathing response. Just don't expect to even prick my thick hide, or goad me into retaliation - you already know that I'm very good at ignoring schoolyard bullies, and I do it without even hitting the 'ignore' button.

Is that (omission of an understood clause) all you can come up with? Did you not teach style as well as grammar?

Pep ("Hands up anyone at all with an IQ of greater than room temperature - and not an ESLer - who was confused"

PS That isn't irony either.

Time for coffee!

Guys, dudes and dudettes, peers and acolytes:

Pep isn't here to teach.

Pep's here to sneer.

You know it, Pep knows it, everyone with any common sense at all knows it, you're not doing anything but providing validation by responding.

Peace out.

/me smiles and nods in agreement

I won't even tell you in the forums what 'test' i would give...

Sanctimony like yours makes me angry.

That particular netiquette rule implies that people are judged by how they write, that is true. However, the intelligent judge takes into account many aspects of the post. Including the fact that the writer might not be a native speaker. In civil discourse that judgment is kept private and NOT publicly stated to belittle someone or aggrandize yourself. As a matter of fact I would rather read a fractured sentence that communicates an idea successfully than to read the sniggering comments of those who are unable to do the same and hide their inadequacy behind silly criticism of the mechanics of the written word.

Since you like to read guidelines, if you read a little further down Rule 5, you will see:



Ask yourself, if you and those that perpetrate this behavior in the Forums do it to be confrontational just for the sake of confrontation? Are some people so starved for attention that they will purposely hurt others to get some?

Another quote form the introduction of the forum guidelines themselves:



I do not see where in says that the Forums are also to be used to educate residents in the proper use of the English language. Am I missing something?

Finally from the Community Standards' themselves:



Inhibiting the exchange of ideas by publicly ridiculing people's writing IS against the basic Community Standards of SL. If you do not have ideas to discuss and you can only see the misplaced apostrophe, the misspelled word or the fractured grammar in a sentence, do me a favor, sit on your hands until you have something constructive to say.

.d

I have to admit that I spent a fruitless 30 seconds trying to kill and remove what appeared to be a small fly on the screen after the "s" of Standards.

You missed out an important word here. It is the "*satisfying* exchange of ideas" that is encouraged.

Ad hominem hypocrisy?

Pep (Don't let them get to you, Truth)

The words kettle and black suddenly sprung to my mind.

THAP

Your stereotypes lead me to believe you are a guy. Especially this one. See, my own stereotype belief is that only men try so hard to make people believe they are female that they ignore obvious RL/SL differences in applying RL stereotypes to SL. I'd point out a few that deal with clothing and social circles, but that'd detract from my main point, which is...

There's an amusing contradiction in your outfit-changing stereotype. Wouldn't maintaining multiple outfits (finding stuff to buy, inventory sorting, editing prim attachments, dealing with outfits that are partially no-copy, mastery of the viewer, spending that much time online, etc) demonstrate technical aptitude and geeky desire you don't think women possess?

Whether I wear the same outfit all the time or not depends on the avatar. I'm a much snappier dresser when I'm a bunny or a skunk than when I'm a ferret or fox.

I think you are giving in to species stereotypes Argent.

Not ALL ferrets or foxes are bland dressers!

What's the original topic again? Oh, right....gender stereotypes.

Personally, I take people at face value.

I'd say something derogatory about all stereotypes...but wouldn't that be stereotyping stereotypes. Eeep! My brain just popped!

No, one of my foxes is quite the fop.

Bah... After reading all these posts I'm starting to doubt my own gender... From both sides! (O.o)

I look at it this way: innocent until proven guilty.

When I meet people in SL I assume they are normal, polite, well-meaning people. I treat them as if they are until they go out of their way to prove me wrong.

There was only ONE time that I wondered if a girl was really a guy. It was because she had these ginormous breasts. In every other respect she seemed like a girl. So I put her breasts out of my mind, so to speak.

I have met male avatars who told me they were women and female avatars who told me they were men. And I always said the same thing when they told me: "Okay" (and sometimes I added, "Do you want to dance?"

I mean, what does it hurt me?

Oh, you know what it's like? It's like wondering in real life who is gay. Some people put a lot of time into figuring out who they know is actually a closeted gay. What is the point? I figure it doesn't matter unless you want to hook up with that person.

I *hate* it when people tell me that they think that someone is not what they appear, because it's hard to shake off doubt.

If you start out suspicious, it will poison your relationships.

One last thing: the stupidest test I heard. A woman I know is convinced that if a person gets angry when you question their real-life gender - it's proof that you are right.

.

oh dear, you think I'm a man.. The shame of it all.

When I first came inworld (another av and another time) I used to be called a man because I was too well dressed.

that's life and stereotypes I suppose

Well, after reading about the voice issue....I've got news for the men....if a female av tells you her mic is broken....it's not because she is a man, necessarily....most likely she just thinks you're a Creep....and her stomach can't handle that fact being verified by voice.