Where's the female view and does it matter?

[wasellajam]

The majority of new members never post so it's hard to tell but guessing from usernames less women sign up, and surely less post.

I don't think this is an issue in our workshops, it certainly isn't for me. A writer, a reader, a critic here each comes from their own experience and to me the workshops are, as they have always been, a collection of voices focused on the poem.

But I was wondering about it so, as usual, I vented to milo privately and, as usual, he provided a thought provoking response. So with permission:

(*snipped chitchat*) I was reading the film thread and thought This is so male weighted, I hope some women post. Then I realized oh shit, that would be me lol. I don't know why that is or what to do about it. Any thoughts on this?

Yah - it isn't just here, it is most online communities (although the absence is felt much more on a poetry workshop), men dominate forum posts on almost every subject while women dominate social media posts.

There have been numerous studies around this exact topic and from what I have read over the years:

Men tend to be more involved in discussion of topic while women are more about building communities and connections.

My guess would be that women don't feel as safe on anonymous discussion boards while some men feel too safe.

So I call bullshit on the studies, maybe men are on the surface debating some bullshit point but they seem to me to also remaking connections and are often community minded. And women will engage if they give a shit about the topic.

On milo's guess, it seems to me that an anonymous board would feel safer. Maybe. I'm still thinking about this.

This is not something I've thought about before so my opinions are fluid, I'd love to hear what you all think.