Dear All,
I have winced quite a bit reading this thread. I'm certain I am not alone in this sludgy feeling. I trust in Ye Olde Internet Meme that you all possess delete keys and know how to use them. For use example [1].
I can no longer remain politely silent on this issue. Doing so betrays other women and other survivors and misses a teachable moment, which cheapens this forum and the discourse at large. A hearty thank you to those people who understand and have been supportive in this thread.
I am speaking for myself not any group I might belong to.
****I would also warn anyone suffering from trauma to skip this email. It is not my intention or wish to retraumatise you.****
TL;DR: hit dogs holler. Discussion of oppression ceases when antagonism stops.
Let me state several factors that are personal in nature, some of which I am incapable of changing, and might bear weight on the current discussion. First, despite chronic algorithmic misgendering, I remain female. I also remain chirpy about having rights equal to those of the more fragile male sex. This radical idea has cost me opportunities and pay in a self-styled intellectual field more times than I wish to recount despite having a diploma from the best institution in the field. [2] What one is paid and one's true worth might not be the same thing. Outside of this field, please see the USNWT. [3]
Furthermore, I am a rape survivor. This was not within the context of a Library setting. It seemed like a statistical inevitability. [4] I have been kissed without being asked about it. This has happened within the context of a Library setting. I have received credible death threats. I have been stalked repeatedly. I have been propositioned dozens of times in a Library setting. I have been touched without consent hundreds of times. I cannot imagine what other people who are far more intelligent and fairer of form suffer.
I am sure my own behaviour has been suspect in past, which I have tried to correct and account for in addition to acknowledging my own mistakes and apologising for them.
I am bisexual. This is not correlated or causal to the rape paragraph, despite white men assuring me more times than I wish to recall that might be the case. I would submit that my argument on my own sexuality hinges on the uncomfortable fact that I was attracted to men and women before I was raped. If it is any comfort to the weaker sex, I have published academically on my sexuality, not that it is any of anyone's business.
Truly, I would love to live in a world where these things would silo themselves off and be irrelevant factors. Gentlemen, I assure you that such a case simply is not the reality we ladies live. I would further add that there are men who feel harassed and men who are rape survivors. It seems statistically likely that some of those men are reading this list. I also acknowledge that gender is not binary, but in largely speaking from a place of personal experience, the non binary people are in most instances not they who have caused discomfort in my world. DOJ backs this up. [5]
Why must one demand an institutional cost of entry to contribute to technical discussions? Are there not interesting contributions from all quarters? Consultants do not have institutional affiliations. Are we to ignore an entire subclass of field experts? Will we draw the line at Ivy League institutions? Raise the bar to only the greater Ivies? Shall we again ignore that most institutions are small institutions? Shall we accept the fallacy that those at small institutions also possess small minds? Is it strictly necessary to believe that where one comes from is more important than what one says? It is far too late to not get me started on the persistence necessary to gain entry to the ivory tower in the first place. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your few and far between scholarly awards. [6]
Is it really a good idea to demand that those with fewer resources allocate that which is needed to frippery to shore up shaky privileged egos and perpetuate a system that does not favour the oppressed rather than redirecting that time and energy towards aedunno anything else?
Anonymity, funnily enough, can sometimes help to shield those that have suffered violence. Yes, it is imperfect. However, I have found it helps winnow the inevitable harassment that is the perennial reward for those who are bold enough to say "Me too" from unbearable to merely exceedingly annoying. It is a shade of gray that some of us rely upon. There are an array of good reasons™ why someone might choose to remain anonymous. Please do consult MacKinnon for good examples™[7]
Lest we forget, those with ladyparts until fairly recently in history were forced to publish either pseudonymously or hope that one of the members of the lesser sex would take our ideas and let us bask in the knowledge that their aims were advanced by our hard misattributed work. [8] As of a few years ago, men were 8 times more likely to get published by virtue of their names alone. [9]
I look forward to privileged white men once again threatening me off list, phoning my employer to have me canned, cockblocking my advancement, possibly assaulting me again [it's been done lads, explore something new], foiling my academic progression, hitting on me in the pub yet not paying for my drinks, responding that my citations are not from reputable sources / cover vaguely different material while their own vague baseless assertions are not cited, et cetera.
Come at me, Patriarchy,BWS Johnson
[1]The Mac OS X Delete Key: It Goes Both Ways The Mac OS X Delete Key: It Goes Both Ways
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The Mac OS X Delete Key: It Goes Both Ways
Matthew Rogers
One of the biggest pet peeves for users who switch to Mac from Windows is the Delete key, because it feels backw...
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[2] Banking slips and CV available upon request for comparison
[3] Revealed: the $730,000 gender pay gap in US World Cup bonuses
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Revealed: the $730,000 gender pay gap in US World Cup bonuses
The US women’s team have earned $90,000 in bonuses for reaching the World Cup quarter-finals, a sum that would b...
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[4] Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Menhttps://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249736.pdf
[5]Sexual Assault: The Numbers | Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault
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Sexual Assault: The Numbers | Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexua...
Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
This guide covers the basics of what it means to be transgender, provides information about the high rate of sex...
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[6] Grimm's Fairy Tales, Rapunzel
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Grimm 012: Rapunzel
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[7]Consent of the Networked Facebookistan and Googledom
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Facebookistan and Googledom
Excerpt from Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon (2012, B...
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[8]5 Inspiring Female Authors Who Wrote Under Male Pen Names Read - ENTITY
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5 Inspiring Female Authors Who Wrote Under Male Pen Names Read - ENTITY
Women have been writing under male pen names since before the Victorian age. And for some, especially during tim...
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[9]Female author experiments with male pen name, gets staggering results
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Female author experiments with male pen name, gets staggering results
Catherine Nichols received many more responses from agents as a man
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On Sunday, July 14, 2019, 10:26:37 PM EDT, Stuart A. Yeates <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I was personally ambivalent about anonymity on the mailing list.
However, the fact that it appears to be predominantly men arguing for
banning anonymity and women arguing for allowing it is a tell that us
men folk might have our lower appendages in our orifices.
cheers
stuart
--
...let us be heard from red core to black sky
On Mon, 15 Jul 2019 at 14:12, Edward Almasy
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> On Jul 14, 2019, at 8:36pm, Eric Lease Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > IMHO, the Code4Lib mailing list should not be akin to an anonymous chat room where anyone can come in and say whatever they desire under the cloak of anonymity.
> > One must be accountable for what they say, and accountability is increased by knowledge of the source. It is similar to information literacy and citing one's references so the validity of an argument can be substantiated.
>
> There is also the issue of bias. Knowing, for example, that someone is from an institution or organization that has invested heavily in a particular platform or toolset can help put their views or advocacy into context.
>
> I think allowing anonymous or pseudonymous posts in this context decreases the integrity and value of the discourse.
>
> Ed
>
>
> --
> Edward Almasy <[log in to unmask]>
> Director • Internet Scout Research Group
> Computer Sciences Dept • U of Wisconsin - Madison
> 1210 W Dayton St • Madison WI 53706 • 3HCV+J6
> 608-262-6606 (voice) • 608-265-9296 (fax)
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