Gender, Writing, and the Web:

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Gender, Writing, and the Web

• Considerations of web use, web navigation, fan
  avatars

Dr. Jennifer L. Bowie For Gender and Writing
March 27, 2008
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Overview

• Internet and web use
• Sex gender differences in web navigation
• Harry Potter fan avatar recent research

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Image from Internet The mainstreaming of Online
life Pew Report http//www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/I
nternet_Status_2005.pdf page 60.
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Image from Internet The mainstreaming of Online
life Pew Report http//www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/I
nternet_Status_2005.pdf page 61.
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Tool vs Toy?

• Men play with technology, women use it as a tool
  (Barnum 370)
• According to Kantrowitz
• Males see computers as a male-machine bonding
  thing (like cars), are seduced by the
  technology, and see technology as a status symbol
  and almost a virtual religion
• Females see computers as something to be used for
  work (177).
• OConnor suggests
• Men see technology as a gadget to explore, as
  something to play with and as entertainment men
  are more positive about technology
• Women see technology as a time saving device (1)
• Tannen says, most women want one thing from a
  computerfor it to work (185).
• Females are interested in information and not
  interested in getting the computer to submit
  (185).
• Nicholson found that
• Men see technology as area of bragging rights
• Women are more interested in seeing if the
  computer works well enough to accomplish their
  tasks (188).
• And you?

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Interest in computers?

• Females and males have equal interests in
  computers until fifth grade, when males computer
  use increases, and females computer use
  decreases (Kantrowitz 178).
• Why might this be?

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Differences in Net Use

• Men are significantly more likely to view sex
  sites online and are more likely to report
  relaxation and escape as the primary reason
  for using the Internet (Knox et al. 3).
• Women are more likely to lie (43 to 35) (Knox
  et al. 3).
• More males than females are addicted to sex and
  the Internet (9.9 compared to 4) (Kelsey 1).
• When using the net for sex females focused on
  relationships and used Internet chat features
  whereas males were more visual (Kelsey 1).
• Boys were more interested in learning about
  technology, playing games and building Web
  pages whereas girls were more
  goal-orientated, using their time online to
  read publications, do homework, and communicate
  with others (Bowman1).
• Males visit more sites than females do (301.2 to
  271 pages) (Bowman)
• Women are more loyal in their website usage
  patterns and men prefer browsing the whole
  Internet (Bowman 2).
• Females experience higher levels of anxiety
  online and thus were less likely to use the web
  for entertainment and to pass time (Tewksbury and
  Althaus 131).

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Talking online

• Youth dialogue in KIDCAFE roughly supports
  Tannens theory of female rapport talk and male
  report talk (Michel)
• Women were more likely to initiate agreements in
  online communication, equally likely to initiate
  disagreements, but were less likely to challenge
  others or speak in their own defense (Wolfe 153).
  
• Female collaborators often discussed more than
  their male collaborators (Duin and Archee)
• Gender a bigger indicator than sex those who
  tested as feminine less likely to participate in
  all class discussions (on and offline) and those
  who tested as masculine and androgynous
  participated more (Rickly 137).
• Computer voices with the same scripts (Nass and
  Moon)
• Female voiced computers were seen as less
  friendly, less complimentary, less compelling,
  but more informative about the topic of love and
  relationships
• Male voiced computers were seen as more competent
  and informative about computer and related topics

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Web as a Clubhouse for Girls?

• Pamela Takayoshi along with Emily Huot and Meghan
  Huot (Takayoshis stepdaughters) look
  particularly at how girls use their websites.
• Computer culture for many females is an
  inhospitable and sometimes dangerous space for
  girls, or females in general and is an electric
  clubhouse for boys (89).
• Some girls are actively weaving the web,
  creating corners of the web that reflect girls
  interests, values, and solidarity (90).
• Girls are using the web as a space to share
  their voices and ideas with real audiences (95)
• The female presence on the web is bold, loud,
  and proud (95)
• The Web is a productive venue for girls
  self-expression.. Gives girls a place for
  self-expression while intimately involving them
  in the working of technology (104)
• Girls are not only using the web, but are
  creating or recreating it with their own voices
  and websites

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How do you navigate?

• http//www.photo.net

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Landmarks, Links, Search Engines

• Global landmark
• Sex gender
• Sex
• Opposite use of methods
• Initial navigation Females most often used
  global and males landmark
• Complete navigation Females most often used
  landmark and males global
• Gender
• Initial navigation Feminine used landmark (4),
  masculine used global (4), androgynous and
  undifferentiated used global (3)
• Complete navigation Masculine used global (2),
  androgynous and undifferentiated used global for
  one and landmark for the other, Females used
  landmark or mixed
• What do these finding mean for web design? Web
  writing? Arrangement and delivery?

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Harry Potter Fan Avatars 1

• Method
• Examined the forum of two popular Harry Potter
  Fan sites
• Site 1 was avatar heavy and the majority
  disclosed their sex
• Site 2 had less avatars and few disclosed their
  sex
• Gathered 40 female avatars
• Analyzed the avatars for self-identity, voice,
  and power
• Initial findings
• Of 101 unique avatars
• 59 do not disclose their sex (only 1 from site 1)
• 2 self-identified as male (both on site 2)
• 40 self-identified as female

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Harry Potter Fan Avatars Findings

• Sex gender
• 17 have a feminine theme
• 4 have a masculine theme
• 15 are of females
• 16 are of males
• 9 have multiple people (3 are all male, the rest
  male female)

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Harry Potter Fan Avatars Findings

• Attributes
• 14 are strong
• 10 are powerful
• 6 are weak
• 1 is sexy
• 9 are pretty
• 8 are cute
• 8 are childlike
• 6 have attitude
• 4 are smart

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Harry Potter Fan Avatars Findings

• Traditional Depictions?
• 18 had traditional feminine depictions
• 6 had non-traditional depictions
• 5 of those also had traditional elements

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Harry Potter Fan Avatars Summary

• 42 are feminine only 10 masculine
• Females were slightly more likely to select male
  avatars than a female (16 to 15)
• 35 were strong, 25 powerful, and only 15 weak
• Only 2 were sexy, but 23 pretty and 20 are
  cute
• 23 were childlike, but 15 had attitude
• 45 are traditional depictions of the female,
  only 15 had non-traditional depictions, but 13
  include both traditional and non-traditional
• Many females may not be disclosing their sex
• Females are much more likely to have avatars than
  males
• Some females are weaving and authoring strong
  feminist identities online, but too many stay
  with the traditional and thus reinforce the
  problematic

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Questions

• What do these findings say about voice, writing,
  rhetoric, representation, and gender online?
• How can we empower females to visualize and
  identify themselves in feminist ways?
• Why are self-identifying females more likely to
  use avatars?
• Why do they choose their avatars and what are
  they trying to say/do with them?
• What do these avatars say about females as
  authors and agents of their identity? What does
  it mean that they are using outside images?

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Other Questions Discussion

• jbowie_at_gsu.edu
• www.screenspace.org