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1995-01-03
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Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 13:59 CDT
From: <BOEHLEFELD@WISCSSC.BITNET>
Subject: File 2-- Response to Wes Morgan
Wes Morgan wrote:
> Can you
>give an example of a free speech forum that does *NOT* have the po-
>tential to cause this fear and/or reticence?
No, I can't, Wes, and maybe that's the point? I think it's obvious
that I'm not one of the women who feels "chilled" by verbal sparring.
Among the points which I was trying to make is that *some* women (and
some men) are.
Just as a quick recap, my main points (apparently ill developed) were
these:
1. There's nothing wrong with using a feminist perspective to conduct
social science studies of computer mediated communication and computer
technology issues. I did not, and do not intend to, suggest other
perspectives should not also be used.
2. Several factors (accessibility and "harassing" posts among them)
may be operating in such a way as to systematically exclude women from
full participation in the net community.
3. I think the existing data are slim. We need more.
I'll stop there, because even though there were some subpoints
embedded in my first comments, I don't think I need to rehash them.
I will say that since the post ran, I've received notes from folks
whose opinions of what I wrote range from thinking I was "too obtuse"
to thanking me for my "thoughtful response."
But, to address Wes Morgan's concerns specifically, let me return to
the line quoted at the top of this post.
I cannot think of any existing "free speech forum" that doesn't
include the potential for some chilling effect. I also believe other
forums may also systematically exclude women from full participation.
(Please note: I said *may* exclude. I have neither done, nor examined
fully, existing research about those forums.) I'm interested, however,
in the development of some kind of data base from which such
hypotheses can be tested in an empirical manner. And I believe that
is only one such hypothesis that needs testing.
When people like Les Landwehr and others rail about "feminist dogma,"
I worry that the research necessary to come to some sort of reasonable
conclusion about these hypotheses will be shunted aside for other,
"easier" projects. OK, I'll admit that some folks will think this an
imagined fear. Actually, I hope they're right.
I agree with Wes that the problems which may exist in cyberspace are
probably reflective, to a great extent, of problems within the larger
society. I also agree that it's possible to ignore them in this
medium, as it is to ignore them in other media. But I guess I don't
really believe that ignoring a problem makes it go away.
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