Miriam Posner, in her work entitled ‘Think Talk Make Do: Power and the Digital Humanities’ discusses her own work on the importance of coding for people involved in digital humanities, as well as the ensuing reaction to it from people in general and more specifically those within the discipline itself. She also briefly discusses the way in which a person’s original and intended piece of work (for instance, a post on a blogging site) changes into a final creation that incorporates all the “comments, responses, and conversations it leaves in its wake”. In relation to my work on ‘male privilege’ in our Timeline Assignment there were many observations and similarities I can draw from her piece. Her discussion about the differences in expectations and abilities of male coders and female coders highlights the pervasiveness of male privilege in this respect. As Posner said, men (more so than women) were more likely to be given a computer at a younger age and encouraged to use and enjoy it. Men are also actively involved in (and create a distinct environment within) online communities that teach coding and are also actively involved in what Posner called a “culture of code” which is not particularly receptive to women. It is in this way that men (specifically white men) experience privilege and that women experience exclusion within the coding world.
Posner also raises a solution, which is similarly argued for in regards to male privilege, that in order to solve this inequality or unfairness is for men (in this case) to acknowledge their level of privilege and to perhaps let those who are oppressed talk ad actively listen to them in order to create a more just society. Posner stipulates that in order to rectify this inequality between men and women one needs to actively acknowledge that they can be racist and sexist at times, and to realise when they are being so. People need to also listen to those who “feel uncomfortable” which is exactly what Jamie Kilstein argues in his video on Male Privilege. In his video he tells men (or those who want to call themselves a feminist/ally) that they need to “listen to women” and to not “be a dick to women”. Kilstein goes on to contend that when women talk or complain about “women’s issues”, it normally doesn’t have anything to do with men.
Posner I think is raising an interesting point which consistently happens in society, in that people often tell others who complain about not being able to do something (or of their inability to achieve some goal) that they need to do what everyone who has accomplished said aim should do, which in this case is coding. In many situations however, the person who is struggling is encountering obstacles in their path limiting their ability to do what they are asking for, so their advise is inherently useless. People should not focus on advising people to just “do it” but take down the barriers limiting their potential and allow for an open dialogue which would help in these ambitions.
digital feminisms 