On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 5:50 AM, Joseph Reagle <joseph.2...@reagle.org> wrote: > On 01/10/2013 10:04 PM, Emily Monroe wrote: >> >> (I do realize that Asperger's and other afflictions along the autism >> spectrum are supposed to be somewhat gender-linked.) > > > As I mentioned to Mike off-list, in earlier drafts I actually do mention > that I was the typical computer obsessed nerd -- and I can identify with > many asperger-type characteristics. However, this is a topic requiring much > care so as not to demonize or pathologize, so I didn't engage it since I > didn't think it was essential to understanding the gender gap problem in > free culture. I can point out that typical geek identity/behavior can be > alienating without conjecture about its source. Similarly, in the context of > the openness of these communities, I can claim "difficult people" are > alienating without conjecture as to what (if any) anti-social personality > disorder is present. > > That said, something that affected my thinking on the geek/autism/gender > issue was that the differences between genders might not be as great as we > originally thought, or, it's more complicated than we thought. Recommended > intervention for children often includes early and intensive social skills > therapy. Some argue girls *already* experience this simply as being raised > and expected to perform as girls. We are *just* starting to study [1] the > relationship between genetics, socialization, and the presentations of > autistic behavior in males and females (e.g., the topic of "special > interests"). > > [1]: > http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/09/14/news/doc5053f7b0f172f814146475.txt
I just had to say: +1. Thanks, -VAL -- Increasing the participation of women in open technology and culture http://adainitiative.org _______________________________________________ Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
