Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!xanth!mcnc!ecsvax!skyler
From: skyler@ecsvax.UUCP (Patricia Roberts)
Newsgroups: comp.society.women
Subject: Women on the Net
Message-ID: <6377@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: 10 Feb 89 15:48:47 GMT
Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service
Lines: 48
Approved: skyler@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Moderator -- Trish Roberts)
Comments-to: comp-women-request@cs.purdue.edu
Submissions-to: comp-women@cs.purdue.edu

Several people have asked me about the discrimination/harassment
distinction.  I'll try to explain:

Most people said that they didn't think women are discriminated
against on the net.

Several people said that they thought women are treated differently
in soc* groups--women's postings are perceived as more hostile,
responded to in a much more hostile manner, treated with more
condescension.  

Several people also said that they felt intimidated by what was
described in terms ranging from "lonely hearts mail" to "sexual
harassment."  (For more than one person, such mail led to extremely
unpleasant situations.)  That is, just the possibility of receiving
such mail meant that some women didn't want to post.

And, as I said before, women seemed more concerned that men about
how co-workers would perceive them.

I found four things interesting about the "survey."  

	1)  That people seem to have a clear sense of "discrimination"
	and that they limit that term to mean "restricting access to
	something."  Hence, since women have equal access to the net,
	there is not discrimination.

	2)  I had assumed that many women were intimidated and they
	were intimidated by the possibility of receiving hostile mail.
	But few women mentioned that.  Women don't seem to think that
	the net is a hostile place for them.  Thus, women's equal access
	is not restricted by hostility.

	3)  Women are intimidated, however.  I think it's fascinating that
	some (many?) women are more intimidated by the possibility of
	receiving suggestive mail than hostile mail.   

	4)  That women do seem to operate under a double-standard.  I
	don't think it's projected, either.  I think women really do have
	to stay much more within "acceptable" behavior.  Women told me
	several stories along the lines of someone showing their postings
	to co-workers, supervisors, and so on.  (I'm sure that happens
	to men as well, but I got the sense these were pretty mild
	postings.)

I'm still not sure what any of this means.

-Trish