Since I have started here at UIC, I have encountered many
class discussions on gendering issuse and difference in our society. The second
lecture that I watched for this class is called Gendering of the Internet given
by Professor Merez. Professor Merez’
lecture is about the decrease of women in the field of computer science. Every time
I take part in these lectures or discussions I find myself becoming very
irritated.
I think that less and less women are simply becoming less
interested in the field. There are a few different reasons but just like any
other thing men and women favor different things. For example, cars; in the
automotive industry you will hardly find any females. There are certain things
that guys are more interested in, and certain things females are more
interested in. On the other hand if a female wanted to get into the automotive
industry or if a male wants to study fashion they will not be forbidden. They
may face more challenges because they “stand out,” but that is something our
society is becoming more accepting of.
Which leads me into my next point of a womens role. In the
lecture Professor Merez shows us a clip of the lady being challenged because
she pubically announced that she leaves work everyday at 5:30 pm to have dinner
with her children. This was happening because she is in the computer science
field and she expected to work 80 hours a week. When she leaves early she is
looked at as weak or maybe lazy. On the other hand if she does not spend time
with her kids she would be looked at as a bad mother that works too much. This lady
maintains a double life as full time mother and full time worker yet she is
still being crtitcized for something that is no ones business.
People are interested in certain things and if it so happens
that more females are interested in one thing and more males are interested in
another so be it. I think society spends too much time analyzing irrelevant
factors. If they focused on themselves, bettering themselves, and bettering
society, then more positive would be accomplished.
I agree with Fabby that sometimes irrelevant components of a topic are over analyzed. Rather than seeing this issue as women being pushed out of the field, there could also just be a general lack of interest by women. However, I think it's important to see why there is a lack of interest by women. This could be tied in to ideas of socialization.
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