[Linux-aus] An Open Letter to the Open Source Community

[James Purser]

On Wed, 2007-05-23 at 21:45 +1000, Richard Neal wrote:
> Before I let loose on this subject let me explain my personal position.
> 
> Everyone has the right to be treated with respect and courtesy and deserves 
> not to be judged or have inferred labels or beliefs forced upon them by 
> anyone be they male, female or other.
> 
I think we can all agree on this one.

> For starters "both sex's" can be sexist, and just because your "female" 
> doesn't mean your the only one to suffer from this issue.

Hey welcome to humanity, stupid reasons to hate people is one of our
less endearing qualities as a species. Hey guess what, Melissa already
pointed that one out.

However it has to be said, that male to female sexism, is a lot more out
there and a lot more entrenched in certain sectors of the general
community than the other way round.

> A good opposing example is males make up 0.5% of knitting clubs are all males 
> being locked out ? or could is it because  males due to gender or cultural 
> differences don't really have much interest in knitting ?

Most likely cultural reasons are what prevent men from taking up
knitting. Think of the social stigma that would be applied to a "bloke"
who took up knitting. In certain areas, the only reason there is a
"gender difference" is due to cultural rules. I think this is what
Melissa is driving at with regards to women and the IT/FOSS community.
> 
> If you have issues with individuals then talk to them and learn communicate 
> don't jump onto a mailing list and try and infere some huge male conspiracy 
> while at the same time painting all with the same brush.

The problem here is the perception that there is a core group of men and
women who just don't like one another, for whatever reason. These people
don't do "talking" and would much rather rant and rave at each other. In
the mean time you have women looking at the shouting and ranting who are
saying "Why the hell would I want to get involved in that?" and you have
men who are saying "But I treat women with the respect they deserve, why
am I getting blasted?"

Seriously people I think its time we stopped thinking in terms of who
has what wiggly bits and just move on. A brain is a brain, doesn't
matter whether its attached to a male or a female body, and thats what
you're interacting with.

> So as a male, I'm sorry if any members either male or female have insulted you 
> but please refrain from inferring we agree or support this in any way.
> 
> PS Also get thicker skin, I was the only male in an all female work place for 
> 14 years and sexist remarks were common, I never took them personally 

Umm, as someone who's spent some time in an all female work environment
(4.5 years doing tech support for them), I know what its like. HOWEVER,
I also know that if someone had come into the office who the ladies knew
didn't like that sort of talk (and boy the sort of talk they felt
comfortable about having around me would curl your ears), they stopped.
Its about knowing the boundries and respecting them.

> "Proud to be male".
> 
Personally I'm proud to be a dad and a husband.
-- 
James Purser
http://k-sit.com
0406 576 553
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