Woman's Forum

[JPA Cate]

Would a woman's forum be discriminatory? possibly.

Would an exclusively woman's forum be possible on the internet? Nah!! A safe haven? No to that too, IMO. I think it is only an illusion of a safe haven, as there is no privacy on the internet.

Just my thoughts.

Ann

[Celestialsailor]

That is a good point Ann. So I will point out that there are a few other source's available to women other than this electronic forum. Forming sailing/Yacht clubs for women only might be a good start.

[Greenhand]

An internet safe haven has nothing to do with privacy nor the genitalia of posters and everything to do with community expectations of civility and respect.

I have no desire to fight the good fight on the general forums. In my experience, both IRL and online, the people who make the most offensive remarks just think that anyone who calls them out is an overly sensitive pansy and unlikely to engage introspection. However, on a forum designated as a safe haven, they could just be excluded from the conversation.


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[Pelagic]

I think having a woman's only sailing forum is great!

I am quite sure it helps to promote female camaraderie, support and advice against stereotypical chauvinistic behavior, that angry divorced sailors (Neanderthals) offtimes exhibit on this Forum.

No matter how nice we ask each other to be, sometimes it is just easier to have a cleansing rant or laugh about the opposite sex"s behavior amongst your like minded peers of the same sex.

Or to have a chat about specific female/mother's needs or concerns.

Obviously their membership success indicates both a need and a valid reason.

This Forum provides a much more utilitarian service.... where sensitivity often takes a back seat to the facts...... I can live with that!

[Cuttyhunk]

I hesitate to reply, as I have been harassed here before and just this reply might mean I have to change my username (again) or start a new account. I am not an overly sensitive person and worked in male-dominated fields my entire career, but the internet is another thing entirely.

The search function and categorization algorithm on CF is inherently sexist. If you start a topic with "women" in the subject line, it gets tagged and is searchable as "men". Bleccch.

Facebook is a different animal. Most people use their real names and real genders, and closed moderated groups are easy and free to set up. If there is a men-only sailing group on Facebook, that's fine with me and I would not want to infiltrate it. Just because men on the internet are rude to each other all the time doesn't mean that behavior is a desirable thing.

If you are in the majority, it's easy to belittle the concerns of the minority or just plain turn a blind eye to them. That doesn't make those concerns any less real. Empathy is one thing that is in short supply in most places on the internet.


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[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Cuttyhunk

...... Empathy is one thing that is in short supply in most places on the internet.

Interesting post Cuttyhunk.
I wonder if the reason behind the above quoted part is because Forums try to attract the greatest cross section of members?
Couple that with some individuals adopting an "internet persona" that is larger than life.... and you create an imperfect conversation.

I imagine that will still happen on a woman's' only forum.... but with one less layer of confusion.