At 12:15 PM 7/13/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Tamara -- what have you heard about the m/f membership out of NY? This
>one sends our Seattle chapter into hysterics ... there are "hardliners"
>on both sides.
I haven't heard anything official from NY on this one. I know the original
charter was to create a place where women could gather and felt "safe" to
ask dumb questions -- i.e. assuming that a female-only space would be safe
from certain behaviors/attitudes -- but from what I've seen from the folks
in charge of our chapter, the reality isn't that men aren't allowed, but
rather that they aren't who the group is *for*.
HOWEVER....I also think that here in the Bay Area USA we have a more
(insert throat clearing sound here) *flexible* view of male and female than
in some other states, and thus may have a bit more relaxed idea of who can
and can't be a webgrrl. So, it may be that the reality is different in
different cities.
My personal belief is that there are still a lot of women in cyberspace who
feel intimidated when discussing (new-to-them) technology with a group of
men, so having a place where women can gather to ask each other for help is
a good thing. I'm personally not scared of voicing my opinion (like you
couldn't tell!) so I have no problem with men being on the list, but I have
exchanged email with other webgrrls who feel awkward just knowing that a
man has read their posting! So, if a majority of the grrls would be more
comfortable if the group had only girls, then I'll go with the flow. ("The
needs of the many outweigh the needs of the Few")
But hey, considering the fact that most webgrrls interaction takes place in
the virtual world -- where, yes, we don't even know the dogs from the cats
-- I don't know how we *can* keep the group from including men unless some
representative from the group has to personally meet every member. And even
then...well, I think we'd have to try that "don't ask, don't tell" policy
ourselves, and I'm sure we wouldn't be any more successful with it than the
US armed services have been!
My $.05 ($.02 thoughts, $.03 for consulting services rendered).
--Tamra Heathershaw-Hart
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