("Gyno" as in "female")

Michelle Levesque (a.k.a. Catspaw) has a good rant about what it's like to be a woman in a subculture that marginalizes them: programming.

"Do you think you would have gotten this far if you'd been a guy?"
(Do you think you would have gotten farther if you hadn't been an excuse-searching ignorant asshole?)

I'll readily admit I am sexist to the extent that it's something I have to actively keep in check. When I saw her about to give her presentation at PyCon 2005, my first thoughts were, "Wow, she's pretty." For what it's worth, I found the presentation interesting and have cited it subsequently.

update It's threads like the that link that make me think it's a blessing that I don't have so many comments.

Although I'm more encouraged by the fact I had a thoughtful discussion with some female coworkers about the post, maybe it's a sign of progress that female geeks — like two of Catspaw's commenters — now feel entitled to be as immature and obnoxious as the guys. Sigh.

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.