House Talion wrote:
Ive notivmced there has been a lot of new ppl coming on in the last few months. Yea I know, most of them are coming out of their own respective closets cause they're not suposed longer out of the house. The thing is that most news posting questions are guys and most gals posting are asking about things to help them get back into the community. I dont want to sound sexist, but what could there be about the female news that would stop them from posting questions as compared to the males or even the slightly experienced women?
Thanks for posting this. i appreciate that you are asking "what there could be about the female that would stop them from posting questions...." As a gay guy, it's not something i have to deal with, but it is a topic of interest and concern for me.
i think whether we like it or not, sexism is a given, and i think it's the automatic, subtle, invisible forms that can be the most deleterious? i'm a white gay male and i have to practice not being sexist. It may be easier for me to accept that it is there because i'm gay and have experienced the other side of implicit bias. I.e., i am not stereotypically 'gay,' plus i have been married to a woman, so most people assume i am straight unless i tell them otherwise. And no one has ever said: "oh yeah, i wondered" when i come out to them, it's always a double take and surprise. Consequently, no one hides their gay views for my consumption, assuming i'm just one of the guys. It's educational. Sorry, i digress.
For me, the short answer to the question you ask: "what could there be about the female...," is in the question, i.e., they are "female."
Just because we may not want to be sexist, does not mean we are not. It doesn't preclude having had it culturally conditioned into us. i include myself in that.
i've noticed that BDSM communities can attract some of the best people of understanding when it comes to issues like sexism and some of the worst oftenders. Who, with eyes and half a brain, has not noticed the "sharks" circling sub women as though they are "fresh meat" (as wonderful nerdygirl points out) who frequent BDSM communities? Just the sharks alone would make me hesitant to swim, yet they are here.
i think the bottom line is: it is safer to be a male than it is to be a woman. As men, we don't think about it because it's not an issue, but women dare not ignore it. As men, i think we can help by being aware, listening (especially to women who point it out) and learning to identify and root out sexism in our selves. i don't think that's a one time decision, but can be an ongoing process because so much of sexism is habit, and habits are not easily seen or broken.