----- Original Message ----- From: Caroline <caroline at abelgratis.co.uk> To: Michael Pugliese <debsian at pacbell.net> Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2000 3:13 AM Subject: Re: Gender & Free Speech (was Re: LM, Louis, and Free Speech)
> (Michael - this is my contribution. You can forward it to the lists is you
> want to - if people want to reply they can email me on
> caroline at abelgratis.co.uk)
>
> Why are there so few female contributors to left lists?
>
> Well I think it depends on a number of factors-
>
> a) The list itself - maybe female Maoists are too busy having
'revolutionary
> babies' or something similar but there is no obvious gender imbalance in
> anarchist list alter-ee.
>
> b) The gender (and class) imbalance in internet access and computer use
> generally.
>
> c) Women generally have less 'spare' time than men due to their other
> responsibilities. What are some of these male list contributor's partners
> doing whilst they read their 100+ email messages? Cooking their dinner?
> Looking after their children?
>
> d) The 'point' of the discussion. I think this is linked to why US women
may
> not ring into talk radio. I have never heard US talk radio but if it is
> anything like UK radio phone ins they are a preserve of the self-obsessed
> bore and those who are in love with the sounds of their own voices.
>
> Personally I only join in discussions that are worth bothering with. I
don't
> have a thing about seeing my name all over the internet - I'd rather
> actually *do* something than spend hours on cybermasturbation. I
contribute
> to the right-left list and alter-ee (and my chechnya list) because of the
> QUALITY of the list - there are too many male lefties who think they are
> experts on every issue because they've read the odd book and have a
> universal theory of everything - politics as religion.
>
> I have come across too many people who speak with authority on things that
> they know absolutely nothing about - it is generally a male preserve.
>
> I think some of the 'email full-timers' should go and do real activity
with
> real working class people rather than spending time talking to themselves,
> endlessly.
>
>
> Caroline
>