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Unread 16-04-2013, 13:39
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Re: What happened to the "Patriarchy, misogyny, and sexism in robotics." thread?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexa Stott View Post
My last thought on this is that we also must be careful about engaging in benevolent sexism (seriously, read this article). When young women join robotics, they are treated differently, even if this different treatment is positive. This just reinforces the idea that women need men to help them along on the path to success. This is one of the reasons I'm on the fence about all-girls teams (except, of course, for teams that are all girls because they go to an all girls school). Is this an example of separate but equal? Part of me views this as an example of benevolent sexism. It's not reflective of the real world and it could potentially be harmful to both men and women in that women are set apart as being "different." This could potentially teach women that they can only succeed in all-female spaces. It could also teach men that women cannot keep up with them and never gives them the opportunity to experience working in a diverse group including different genders.
-- Thanks for sharing that article, it is very interesting. I think that mutual respect is the only way that this will eventually work better. And working together toward a common goal (like building a robot) can go a long way toward building that kind of respect. Often it is when we see what each of us brings to the table that we can see the value of that ability. I don't think that men need to be trained to be more sensitive and I don't think that women should need to change to fit into the existing male mold either. And let's not forget that there are men who are more expressive and women who are more ambitious... and they too are valuable assets. We all need to learn to accept and value our differences and what that diversity brings to the task at hand... and not to pre-judge anyone's aptitudes and skills based on their gender.
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