reply to post by Jenna
When I first read the title of the thread, even before clicking the link (of which I did hesitate) my first thought was "dude, you just stepped in it
with both feet." I was actually relieved to see that it was you, Jenna, that started it.
Now the question of to what exactly the above paragraph means is dependent on the reader's point of view. Some would say that I was relieved that a
female started it. Some would say that I figuratively just patted you on the head (or bottom for some) and said There, there now girl."
Actually what I meant was that I really am glad that it was you, specifically. You write well , speak your mind and sometimes don't sugarcoat
(certainly not to please others).
As to why some guys do this, well age and upbringing have quite a bit to do with it as well as personal experiences. Some guys can not handle women in
positions of power (supervisor at work) or socializing with women formally (female coworkers during break). But here on ATS they have to do both
between Mods and Members. Not all the male posters that do this are young (though most are).
Funny thing about gender and the internet is unless the name or avatar strongly suggest female, then usually the writing does not give the information
to many that hold women in low regard. How many times have you seen people mistake BH or Byrd as male? It happens quite often.
As for the 16 year old drama queen commentary....most ATS females do not act that way actually. Sure, a few do. And there are/have been some members
that played their membership as a persona and not as the person they are. And some of them play that persona exceptionally well and are quite
entertaining especially with their consistency (Major Discrepancy being among one of my favorites--although I am pretty sure he is a male poster).
Then there are a few females that are thought of as being flirty or whatever and are not that way at all, intentionally but some will perceive them as
such. (see the flap over the title of Conspiracy Chicks for better insight to that misunderstanding).
I'd like to say a person's experience is what they make of it. But that, unfortunately, is not true at all. There are those that use the amenity to
be jerks (and some, I suspect, truly are asshats in real life).
But as much as I would like to say it, it really is an issue that can not be ignored and really is not a comfortable position to be in. While my best
advice will sound hollow with the old "hit the alert button", I hope you can take some solstice in knowing that not every male member is not like
that, in fact I would say that the numbers are smaller than what it seems. But it doesn't make it any less offensive when it does happen.
