Digital Media Design, Gender and Games Yasmin Kafai - November 5, 2012
Being
a woman in the field of Computer Science, I have definitely had a lot
of first hand experience on the male centric nature of technology. I
think it is interesting that she began the talk in speaking to why
girls are not brought up to be 'interested' in technology as a
malleable tool. In high school I played a lot of sports and spent my
time living the typical socially driven high school experience while
most of my fellow Computer Science majors were becoming acquainted
with computing as an interactive activity. When I talk to my guy
friends, computer scientists or not, most have had some sort of
exposure to the field be that through video games or classes. Yet
girls rarely know anything about the possibilities and access made
available through the study of computer science. Its as if men have
been given the confidence to pursue and contribute to that
educational world while women have been left to play eternal catch
up. I would definitely agree with the judgement that a lot of this
divide has been developed through the separation of those who play
video games and those who don't. I have two brothers who play a lot
of video games and when I first decided to declare CS as my major
they were the only people in my family who had really any idea what
is the purpose and methods used in such a study. However, as she
mentions, women have not become more prevalent in the act of
computing even in Scratch which is meant to be a more inclusive
community. I think it is pretty obvious that the disconnect comes
from the social developed archetype of what is meant to be feminine
in our society. I think I may take a pretty strong stance against the
fact that she is proposing and promoting these “crafty” natures
that women have been limited by. To bring women into computing, I
would argue that we need to debunk this relationship between
computers and 'geeks'. Computers are a tool that can be used in many
areas of life to many different ends. Computer science is typically a
study tied with engineering, which then inevitably ties it to
robotics or mechanics as that is the general interaction it has with
its neighboring majors. But the computer, and an understanding of the
inner workings of that computers, is a means that can benefit many
intellectual studies. Therefore, as maybe some of you hav heard, the
college of Arts and Sciences has recently begun the development of a
major program for attaining a bachelors of arts in the study of
computer science. I predict this idea of breaking the mold of who is
creating our computers will inevitably change the computer industry
itself.
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