Just curious, who do you think the bloggernacle celebrities are?

But then again, as a solo-practice lawyer and entrepeneur, maybe it’s easier for me to see these kind of possibilities.

ECS,
I LOL when I read this but I’m still not sure if you meant it to be funny. I think it underlines the frustration i’ve felt in this discussion. Rusty suggests I don’t use anecdotes and then recommends what he would do in a situation which is somehow supposed to be representative of how the general public feels. I would expect Rusty to enbody all the good aspects of society. While anecdotes and such are not the same as a statistical analysis(and can sometimes lead us astray), I’m not sure Rusty has offered a sufficient alternative. After all, isn’t this statement by Milton Glazer giving the same kind of analysis I have?

The reason there are so few female rock star graphic designers is that women get pregnant, have children, go home and take care of their children.

I think anecdotes illustrate this well. I’ve been an engineer for 20 years, and two guys at the shop not long ago were goggling because I …. get this…. *used a tape measure* (gasp). I really had hoped we were past that. =) I wonder what they would think if they’d seen me rebuilding my Land Cruiser’s brakes a few years back, or turning spacers for my skate bearings on the lathe? None of these things are the slightest bit unfeminine. It’s just the weird conventions of our society make a lot fewer opportunities for girls to be exposed to many of these things. As children, girls generally love building toys like lego, k’nex, no-ends, etc. as much as boys do. Why more of them don’t grow up to build things for a living, I don’t know, but the change happens around puberty, when they’re receiving strong messages about conformity and what is and isn’t attractive in a girl.

I don’t buy the childrearing argument as the reason for such gender-disparity in celebs of any field. It seems clear to me that it comes far more from our perceptions of what a superstar designer or chef or engineer *should* be like. When our perceptions change, we’ll find that the conventions will too.

:)

cj douglas – I’ve met Rusty. He’s not intimidated by confident, independent women. :)

CJ,
I’ve heard this sentiment many times before and maybe because I’m young and I live in New York but this sounds really, really strange. My mind can’t wrap itself around the idea of being threatened by an independent/confident woman (or women). Speaking generally it very well could be the case but to me it just sounds so dang “psychologist-trying-to-sound-intelligent” phony.

Mark,
Oh. I see what you were saying now.

ECS,
Have you been discriminated against (in the workplace) because of your gender? Would you say men have had an unfair advantage in your direct experience (based solely on their gender, nothing else)? I’m asking because I’m sincerely curious if you’re speaking from first-hand experience or otherwise.