chapter 8 - gender and technology Flashcards
how is gender viewed in tech design and use?
- invisible
- not important consideration
- need to be seen as a complex interplay of biological and physiological features and interactions with the social world
what is gender?
more than an individual’s identity and personality, cultural ideals and stereotypes of masculinity and femininity (symbolic) and the sexual division of labour in institutions and organizations(structural)
” individual’s person experience of their gender, which may or may not align with their sex and may include of be define along a spectrum of unique identities “in between” or outside male or female”
gender identity
what are the 3 key observations surrounding gender and tech?
- Tech treated as neutral objects and designed with no gender in mind
- Tech perceived as impacting all sexes equally
- Debates around gender issues are often initiated only after the design of a tool is completed
true or false: debates around women and technology is historically grounded in discussions of women in science, household work, and paid labour
true
what are the 2 opposing views informing our understanding on tech and women?
- women’s liberation view
- women’s oppression view
women’s liberation view?
advocates that technology can liberate women by
- Supporting fertility choices
- Easing the burden of household work
- Creating alternative, flexible work environments particularly suited for women
women’s oppression view?
states that women will
- Be enslaved through these technological advances
- Have fewer choices in general
- Become more reliant on the existing technologies
what does Stanworth provide an overview of?
what kinds of tech are grouped under reproductive technology which includes birth control, foetal monitoring, and infertility programs
what does Wajcman stress?
most discussions view technology responsible for social change in society and for the well-being of women
what does Shorter see about women?
victims of their own bodies and reiterates that reproductive technologies have allowed them to become equal to men
what is the 3rd view that could advocate for women’s inclusion in shaping tech?
women’s inclusion view
advocates that women need to be more integrated into the technology debate not only as users, but also as active participants
what kinds of household tech continue to proliferate?
vacuum cleaners, dishwashers and irons
what does Ann Oakley’s book shows?
shift in how industrial sociology views housework by arguing that it is also work, even if unpaid (women’s work in home)
what is alienation?
deep separation between labour and identity
what are the 3 characteristics of housework according to Wajcman?
- privatized
- decentralized
- labour incentive
privatized?
housework is not visible and is not directly compensated or acknowledged in the same way as many other forms of work are
There is no final product celebrated by a community
decentralized?
dependent only on the homemaker
no formal roles, tasks, or deadlines, making it difficult to determine when work is complete
labour incentive?
many jobs in the service sector require long hours but are not necessarily physically demanding
Housework is physically labour intensive and has no pre-established beginning and end
why was household tech endorsed and what term was developed from it?
facilitated the work of homemakers
labour-saving technology = direct impact of technology on housework
what did Vanek say about this?
despite the increased reliance on household technology by homemakers, no conclusive evidence could be found of actual savings of labour and time
what did McGraw conclude on this as well?
“substantial changes” in household technology left sex, hours, efficiency, and status of the household worker essentially unaltered”
what is the use-actor gender gap?
women are represented as users, but not as engaged actors in the process of tool development
what gender was more likely to own a computer between me and women and add info?
men
- even though women were the primary users of computers in the workplace
- have equal levels of access yet there are differences
who uses social media more and why?
women
- used to draw attention to key social problems such as giving a voice to women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed
true or false: change in social media is fast and discrimination is not coded into the very design of these tools
false
it is slow and does show discrimination
what is gender resegregation?
women are placed in positions perceived as more feminine jobs that women occupy ( “women’s work”)
eg. secretaries
“women, commonly working in the Global South, who are paid minimum wage for routine data-entry jobs”
Cybertariats
what are the 3 prime explanations for the absence of women in data entry jobs?
- gendered socialization
- gendered roles/school departments
- toxic workplace environments
gender socialization?
gendered construction often occurs early in socialization and in many cases is hidden rather than overt
effect of socialization evidenced in how teachers behave towards girls and boys in elementary and secondary schools, often placing different expectations on them
gendered roles a
many jobs are gendered and this can influence career choices
eg. nursing is still considered a more feminine job, while computing is often considered more masculine
toxic workplace environments?
some work environments are male dominant and females struggle to feel accepted
This is often the case in game development, where men game developers still outnumber women; in the UK only 4 percent of developers are women
“neglect of considerations related to the body in the design and use of technology, including a person’s body shape, ethnicity, and specific gender characteristics and features”
body erasure
what are the 3 reasons for bringing the “body back” into the discussion of tech?
- tech interacts with the body
- not all bodies are the same
- tech does not determine the body
how does tech interact with the body?
directly interacts and integrates with the body, often becoming entangled
McLuhan - close interplay between what our bodies do and what technologies allow our bodies to do
how are not all bodies the same?
assumption that the body can be erased is problematic simply because not all bodies are the same
example - development of the bicycle as they were designed so it was almost impossible to ride in typical women’s clothing
how does tech not determine the body?
- assumptions of technological determinism are responsible for body erasure
- reproductive technologies - intro of birth control pill was seen as a major positive change for women
- not all positive - reproduce existing inequalities of power, wealth, and marginalization
what did the pro-ana case study do?
- brought the body back to the internet and into the virtual realm
what did the study of boero and pascoe show?
shows that boundary work in pro-ana communities also embodiment work
what is boundary work?
establishment of boundaries around who is a member of the pro-ana community and who is an outsider
what is embodiment work?
work done to bring discussions around the body to the forefront through the display of images, text referring to the body, and the discussions around ideal body shapes
what does Yeshua-Katz and Martins (2013) argue?
body serves as a means to demonstrate membership in the online community and that members seek social support from others online
- these women get little support in their physical, everyday communities because of the stigma surrounding individuals living with anorezia nervosa
