Not even if someone had been saying "Jehovah"? Oh well. Sigh.
Seriously, I'm pretty sure that the level of femme in my personal presentation contributes some to this, though of course not all. But the thing is, I think it's important for people to learn to deal with a wide variety of gender presentation from intelligent people who have a lot to say. If I get people to perceive me as smarter (or tougher or more competent or, yes, older) by looking less femme than I actually am, I reinforce the idea that smart/tough/competent/etc. women are not like that, when I actually am. Better that they should have to deal with the idea that I am a femme woman who can troubleshoot their experiment design and critique their story--it may be harder for me at the time, but it needs doing. (Other aspects of gender presentation come with other social assumptions that need undermining, too, of course, but not the same ones.)
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 03:01 pm (UTC)Seriously, I'm pretty sure that the level of femme in my personal presentation contributes some to this, though of course not all. But the thing is, I think it's important for people to learn to deal with a wide variety of gender presentation from intelligent people who have a lot to say. If I get people to perceive me as smarter (or tougher or more competent or, yes, older) by looking less femme than I actually am, I reinforce the idea that smart/tough/competent/etc. women are not like that, when I actually am. Better that they should have to deal with the idea that I am a femme woman who can troubleshoot their experiment design and critique their story--it may be harder for me at the time, but it needs doing. (Other aspects of gender presentation come with other social assumptions that need undermining, too, of course, but not the same ones.)