Women's forum

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I'm having a problem atm that I would like female feedback on.
If I post in the Women's forum, I post in the knowledge that every male on this forum could possibly read it, even if I tag it "women only".
That makes me feel uncomfortable.
So I don't post.
It doesn't seem serious enough to go to a doctor but I wonder if other women experience this and if it's somehow ASD related.
This is where a women's only section would be invaluable.

Raleigh, why does it say that your a male in your profile now?

This is speculation as to why the tag rule was added. You joined in 2013 the tag has been there as a rule since at least 2010. A different view may be revisionism.

I may have been some women feeling uncomfortable with men joining in with women's issues like women's health, which I can understand. As well as some disruptive posters. Also simply those assuming the Women's forum was exclusively for women.

There is an obvious flaw with comparing a study about conferences to a forum like WP. It is not like we are sitting in on a board meeting, making decisions on the future of a company. We are on discussion forum where we can contribute as and when wish. We have an equal opportunity to join up, make posts and start topics, due to the software.

I can't physically stop someone from typing. I don't have a very fast typing speed and my executive dysfunction means I spend an age trying to get something vaguely readable. There is no reason why a women couldn't dominate a topic on this forum if they wished. It is not like it is a time limited conference, were we have to come to result.

I'll let you into a secret. I'm a sensitive soul sometimes. I can feel affected by what people say, just like anyone. I just try to deal with it bet I can. The fact is feelings are subjective. So if women are put off, well so could men. Men can also feel intimidated, and vulnerable.

Either we are saying that women are to be treated the same, especially behind a computer screen which removes many constraints. Or we are saying women need extra help, on a forum where they can post just like anyone else.

In world there are people who are loud and confident, or quiet and shy. This isn't just do with gender. Same applies online. Even if there was a gender difference, that is not either gender's fault.

Aslo, few of these studies actual establish the actual reason why there is a differnce, it just take and inference based on the statistical/experimental methods used. It is important to understand the exact reasons why differnce occur, so we can solve the issue.

These studies need to be repeated and tested, because there is sometimes a tendency in academia to set up studies in order to prove themselves "right". One of the reasons is "inconclusive" is not a result most academics want for their studies, and if they have spend a long time on a theory it is human become attached to it.

It would help if I had a link to the actual studies, rather then a reports and opinion piece so I can look in detail at the test methods. Then I can make a judgment either way. At least one of them seems quite limited and were much tied to a set theory.

When I comes to studying human behavior I an advocate of the animal behaviorist approach to how we study other animal. We need to try to isolate ourselves from our own self influence and observe without projection. For some reason we sometimes study human behaviour as if we weren't also animals.

Nothing online is really private, you don't know what gender people are on the forums anyway.

I can think of things that I would feel very uncomfortable sharing with certain groups too.

Some doctors actually want break the taboo about discussing certain topics. Your mileage may vary.

Last edited by 0_equals_true on 02 Feb 2016, 6:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Posters have used a "Men Only" tag before, and no one had a problem with it.

And, yes, there has been a history of certain men on this forum turning any conversation about female issues into a discussion on male issues. Sometimes, women want to talk about THEIR experiences. This is niether sexist, nor a double standard.

There are other marginalised groups like transgender/gender-fluid maybe they would like a special tag.

Personally I think it would be better to have a gender discussion forum rather than a gendered forum. That would be more inclusive on the the subject of gender.

Not all discussions need to be "inclusive."

Sure would the same rules apply? "Compelling reasons", etc.

Or is the "compelling reasons" thing a bit of a nonsense? Since I was told not to worry about a clarification of what it meant, like it was none of my business. Why not just get rid of that clause? It seem a bit pointless in light everything I have learnt about this so far.

Anyone could start their own exclusive thread for whatever reason, and if folk don't like it start their own discussion.

Then again it might turn heads when we have "White Europeans Only" threads. I suppose it depend if they break the rules in the discussion.

I think some of the fears and protests around a 'women only' sub-forum are actually pretty compelling reasons for one to exist.

It's kind of funny (in an unintentionally ironic way) that this conversation about the Women's Forum is currently being dominated by two men discussing the rules of the Women's Discussion forum and discussing how men sometimes talk over women and how this is an established pattern throughout our society. You two (Adamantium and 0_equals_true) are illustrating the point rather well ATM. I'm not saying you shouldn't be discussing the rules or that it's wrong that you are (in fact I think this is an important discussion and everyone should be involved, especially the mods), but I do find it amusing.

I think the problem with the tags is that the judgement on the suitability for a thread is subjective; its a case by case basis, so there will have to be criteria to ensure consistency among the different moderators.

The less convoluted the solution/step forward is, the more likely it is to succeed.

It is amusing becuase I'm not stopping you from dominating the conversation. Dominate it then.

I have no interest in dominating this conversation. As I said, I think everyone should be involved in this discussion. I just think how well you are illustrating the point about men talking over women (even in regards to women's issues) is rather amusing and wanted to point it out.

Agreed.

Amusing maybe, but like you say anyone can be involved in this discussion, there is nothing preventing them.

I'm just responding, it is not my fault others aren't.

As a female, I don't think I'm being talked over by the males participating in this discussion.