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Honestly, I'm not a dude.
I don't spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not I'm discriminated against for being a chick. I'm already aware that I get treated like shit on occasion for being fat, for not being Christian, and even for being married to a black guy--yes, even in a liberal town in contemporary America.
Every so often, people who read something I've written think I must be a dude. Some podcasters responded to an old Walking Dead article I wrote (panning the show after the S2 finale). They called me "Lee" despite a clear byline with my right name, and referred to me as "he" and "him" throughout their commentary. I didn't really care. They wanted to have me on their podcast to discuss it, but stopped communicating with me after I told them I was not a dude.
It's no secret that the nerd scene can be surprisingly anti-chick. Aside from Gamergate, there are plenty of people who dismiss the opinions of women (even if they don't call themselves Feminists (TM) or Womyn or whatever). Because I'm a hardcore fan of most things I'm a fan of and am reasonably articulate--I've never had the feeling that I was being dismissed because of my gender. That doesn't mean it's never happened--only that I didn't notice if it did.
Last week I applied to write TV reviews for a different website, one that pays considerably more than the one I write for now. They made me an offer which I accepted, though we're still ironing out the details. Got some correspondence from my new editor, their wordpress rules and such. They call me "Lee" as well, and are using male pronouns when discussing me. I don't really care outright about that. I'm happy to provide a gender-neutral, pronoun-free bio. Admittedly, I imagine certain types of nerds will take me more seriously if they think I'm a dude--especially if I'm reviewing something like Family Guy or South Park. So whatevs. As long as I get my proper byline, I don't care.
I wonder though...do I have a moral or ethical obligation to clearly state that I'm a chick? What happens if I do that and they decide not to hire me after all? Is it dishonest not to correct them? Have any of you had to deal with this?
Every so often, people who read something I've written think I must be a dude. Some podcasters responded to an old Walking Dead article I wrote (panning the show after the S2 finale). They called me "Lee" despite a clear byline with my right name, and referred to me as "he" and "him" throughout their commentary. I didn't really care. They wanted to have me on their podcast to discuss it, but stopped communicating with me after I told them I was not a dude.
It's no secret that the nerd scene can be surprisingly anti-chick. Aside from Gamergate, there are plenty of people who dismiss the opinions of women (even if they don't call themselves Feminists (TM) or Womyn or whatever). Because I'm a hardcore fan of most things I'm a fan of and am reasonably articulate--I've never had the feeling that I was being dismissed because of my gender. That doesn't mean it's never happened--only that I didn't notice if it did.
Last week I applied to write TV reviews for a different website, one that pays considerably more than the one I write for now. They made me an offer which I accepted, though we're still ironing out the details. Got some correspondence from my new editor, their wordpress rules and such. They call me "Lee" as well, and are using male pronouns when discussing me. I don't really care outright about that. I'm happy to provide a gender-neutral, pronoun-free bio. Admittedly, I imagine certain types of nerds will take me more seriously if they think I'm a dude--especially if I'm reviewing something like Family Guy or South Park. So whatevs. As long as I get my proper byline, I don't care.
I wonder though...do I have a moral or ethical obligation to clearly state that I'm a chick? What happens if I do that and they decide not to hire me after all? Is it dishonest not to correct them? Have any of you had to deal with this?
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