I happen to be an active Drupal contributor who has blogged about this issue before... the reason I stayed away from deeper involvement in geekdom before Drupal was precisely this issue.
I don't think that men at tech events are trying to suppress my involvement. However, if I'm in a group of techies and it's clear that they doubt me more than others because of my physical appearance and gender presentation, then I'm likely to just leave. Even though I know I can prove myself in technical conversations and come to be highly respected over time, the fact that I would be underestimated every single time by every new person (and that others would not face this underestimation because they fit a certain physical mold) is just tiring.
If Drupal weren't the community it is, then I wouldn't be here and neither would my commits.
A huge thank you to Brock and all the others who get their knickers in a knot about this issue and others like it, it makes me so much more committed to this community.
Yes, this is an issue
Hi nick,
Yes, this is an issue.
I happen to be an active Drupal contributor who has blogged about this issue before... the reason I stayed away from deeper involvement in geekdom before Drupal was precisely this issue.
I don't think that men at tech events are trying to suppress my involvement. However, if I'm in a group of techies and it's clear that they doubt me more than others because of my physical appearance and gender presentation, then I'm likely to just leave. Even though I know I can prove myself in technical conversations and come to be highly respected over time, the fact that I would be underestimated every single time by every new person (and that others would not face this underestimation because they fit a certain physical mold) is just tiring.
If Drupal weren't the community it is, then I wouldn't be here and neither would my commits.
A huge thank you to Brock and all the others who get their knickers in a knot about this issue and others like it, it makes me so much more committed to this community.