Cybersex and the Online Gender Gap
Introduction of a New Concept
Sex. This is one of the most commonly discussed topics face-to-face and online that stirs up controversy. The introduction of the Internet and its mass appeal and use has only kindled the flame of the ever-burning fire of the controversy of sex related material and the ever-present gender battle between men and women. Victor J. Vitanza’s Cyberreader contains a section entitled “Sexual Politics” that explores the issues of computers and sex, and the gender gap in the cyber world between men, women, and computers. After viewing these materials, I would like to discuss the behavior patterns of men and women when it comes to talking and learning about computers, the stereotypes with computers, and sex in the virtual/cyber world.
Men and women are capable of learning the same subject matter, but apparently neither gender wants to admit or state the obvious. The genders separate themselves in the computer/cyber world like they do in the real world. The predetermined stereotypes and prejudices that began with the invention of the computer and Internet are still the standards we hold today; men dominate the computer/cyber world. Another log on the fire of the gender battle is sex and the Internet. The behaviors displayed by men and women both bring the two genders together and split them apart. Gender shouldn’t matter online because it can be hidden in the sense that screen names don’t always hold a gender related characteristic.
The Gender Gap
Computers and everything that relates to them has always been perceived as “a man’s job” or a male dominated field. This so called gender gap got its roots from this misconception, and the following essays give some insightful information to help clear up these misunderstandings in the computer/cyber/virtual world.
According to Barbara Kantrowitz the gender gap begins at an early age when children begin learning about computers. “Girls get subtle messages--from society if not their parents--that they should keep their hands clean and play with their dolls. Too often, they’re discouraged from taking science and math…” (Kantrowitz, 177) Kantrowitz goes on to discuss how around the fifth grade these subtle little messages kick in with girls because computers are “not quite feminine topics”, so girls don’t dive into the computer world like boys do.
In “Modern Romance,” Celeste Biever describes romantic relationships in the Internet community. She describes how people can romantically be involved on the Internet and how the Internet teaches one to learn about a person from the inside out.In “Cyberspace and Identity,” Sherry Turkle also expresses her interest in the Internet and how it allows for the act of self-exploration. Even though their focus on what the Internet is used for are different from the perspective of one another, Biever and Turkle both see the Internet as a place for exploration in a general sense.
Meghan Daum, born in1970 in California, is an American author, essayist, and journalist. Her article “Virtual Love” published in the August 25-September 1, 1997 issue of The New Yorker follows the author’s personal encounter with cyberspace relationships. Through this article the author presents to us the progress of an online relationship that after seeming entertaining and life changing at the beginning becomes nothing more than a faded memory. In fact she even ends the text stating that “reality is seldom able to match the expectations raised by intoxication of an idealized cyber romance.”(Daum, 1997, P.10) Daum concludes that online-dating or virtual love rarely survives the physical world when confronted by its obstacles such as its pace, idealization, and mainly expectations. However, although the message of the author is true, yet the way by which it was conveyed is found faulty.
Trinity College. Jack Dougherty, 2 May 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. “Gender.”
Imperialism, when a country takes over another colony beyond its borders, caused many positive and negative effects on Africa. Some positives include the push to end slavery, introduction to education, medicine, and technology, and improved infrastructure. Negative effects include mass deaths, robbing of raw materials, exploitation of labor, and prevention from industrializing or gaining civil service. Today, Africa is struggling as a whole due to what happened about 200 years ago. Many states are landlocked, blocked from traditional migration routes and trade routes, and contains mixed, diverse cultures. Overall, imperialism of European countries was a negative event in African history. It plays a big part in how successful and structured Africa is
Frederick Douglass had moved into a new mistresses home who had never known of slavery. While she had initially taught him to read, fed him well, and looked upon him like an equal human being, she eventually forbade him from reading and whipped him at her husband’s request. The kind woman he had known became inhumane and degrading because that was required to maintain the unwarranted power over slaves.
Tyler, R. T. (2002). Is the Internet Changing Social Life? Journal of Social Issues, 58 (1), 195-205.
Occupations in the field of computer science are considered to be “male” jobs. Women are increasingly less likely to enter the field than in years past. However, two of the first people that we were introduced to in our textbook as key people in the history of Computer Science are Ada Augusta and Grace Murray Hopper. The page limits of this paper do not allow the author to adequately describe all of the contributions that Grace made to Computer Science. Instead, you will be introduced to Grace Hopper and how her pioneering work on the Mark I continue to influence women and the world of computer science.
The World Wide Web and Internet are great places to study, work, or even play. But there is an ugly side of cyberspace. Cyberspace reflects the real world and some people tend to forget that. Cyberstalking and harassment are problems that a large number of people (especially women) are realizing. (Jenson, 1996, p.1)
Parents and educators both display actions that could be and continue to affect the gender gap in STEM. By parents not giving both their sons and daughters an equal to the questions they ask, it supports the idea of why there is a lack of women in these areas of study. Female teachers also may be openly expressing their struggles with math and other similar areas have negatively affected the gap in STEM today. Direct biases and unconscious biases are both reasons that lead to a gap in these areas. But as female teenagers mature and grow older, they have different wants than men do when they grow
Davis, M., Hart, G., Bolding, G., Sherr, L., & Elford, J. (2006). Sex and the Internet: Gay men,
Whitty, M. T (2008). Liberating or debilitating? An examination of romantic relationships, sexual relationships and friendships on the Net. Computers in Human Behavior [Online] 24 (5) p.1837–1850.
regarding women who engage in cybersex activities as well as “sexting”. As women find empowerment in other aspects among societal norms, sexual empowerment via cyberspace relationships would seem likely.
The first video games didn’t call for much attention to gender as there weren’t really any humans present. Games such as Snake or Asteroids were really just a revolution in technology. As time progressed, gaming consisted of male-dominated industry whose
In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.
The computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.