Some Geek Feminism guest posts of 2010

Here are some of my favourite guest posts of 2010. I’ve organized them by topic, but many of the links appear under more than one category.

On Geek Identity

• G33k & G4M3R Girls: You’re doing it wrong. by Metaneira
• She Geek: Women and Self-Labeling in Online Geek Communities by Courtney

Critical

• G33k & G4M3R Girls: You’re doing it wrong. by Metaneira
• How to Appear Incompetent in One Easy Step by Amber

Inspirational

• If She Can Do It, I Can Too by Leslie Hawthorn
• In Pursuit of Awesome by Cate Huston

Instructional

• In Pursuit of Awesome by Cate Huston
• Drupal Voices 100: Jack Aponte on Diversity, Power and Privilege in Open Source Communities by Neville Park

This is a personal (biased) list of favourites, and I did not consult other Geek Feminism bloggers before making the list. The full list of guest posts are tagged ‘guest post‘.

Earlier this year, I found this interesting drawing at Wrestling Buddies and unicorns: a personal reflection on gender:

In the accompanying text, Nicole Lorenz writes:

Secretly, I wanted to run away with my brother’s Wrestling Buddy (which he still slept with every night), bind my boobs, and live the rest of my life as a boy.

Even more secretly, though, I wanted to be a girl – and not just any girl, but a capital-G, trend-setting, epitome of femininity, datable, respectable Girl. I had the right biological accouterments. I had the right level of socialized self-consciousness. Thanks to my parents’ unintentional sexism around the holidays, I had the right toys in the back of my closet. What was wrong with me that kept me from being a Girl?

Near as I could tell, other girls had access to some sort of mythical well of girliness – some ace in their perfectly pressed sleeves that I didn’t have.

I wanted to provide commentary before posting the image and quote, but I never got around to it, so I want to hear your thoughts.