[OT] Girls Don't Code??

[Phil Davis]

Here is a Kickstarter project that dovetails nicely with this discussion:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/16029337/goldieblox-the-engineering-toy-for-girls

As I see it, LC is to conventional software dev as GoldieBlox is to the 
world of Legos and such. LC removes some of the reasons why more girls 
don't code. LC scripting is more like reading than hard-core coding.

But even though LC is my dev environment of choice, I didn't prefer 
dolls as a kid. I was all about building things and then blowing them up 
or testing them in some other way. And also tearing things apart, like 
old radios and clocks.

Phil Davis



On 10/5/12 10:58 AM, J. Landman Gay wrote:
> On 10/5/12 12:44 PM, Devin Asay wrote:
>>
>> On Oct 5, 2012, at 11:04 AM, Bob Sneidar wrote: <snip>
>>
>>> I think it is more a question of tendencies than abilities.
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> Our first two kids were boys. My wife and I, all full of high-minded
>> book learnin',  were all determined that we wouldn't force "gender
>> roles" on our first child.
>
> My parents didn't know about gender roles, they just knew that girls 
> wanted dolls and boys wanted trucks. They bought me dolls, I had no 
> interest. When I was 8 I asked for a chemistry set and later I wanted 
> a building set (remember the Kenner Girder and Panel set? Loved it. My 
> folks were puzzled and a little horrified.) My father wanted a boy but 
> he got me, so I helped him in his workshop. I was pissed off in 
> seventh grade because girls had to take home economics and I wasn't 
> allowed to take shop class. I wanted to work the saws.
>
> I like arts and crafts too but only once in a while. Woodworking is 
> arts and crafts for boys when you think about it. I can't do math. I 
> hate pink.
>
> Medicine is now half or more women, MIT has almost as many females as 
> males enrolling.
>
> I think some of it is genetic tendencies, some of it is culture, and 
> some of it is upbringing. If you could remove the cultural and child 
> rearing biases, the natural tendencies would win out, and I think 
> those may be more evenly balanced between genders than is commonly 
> thought.
>

-- 
Phil Davis