Is there a gender imbalance in Great Debates? Most of the time I look around, and if I’m in a thread that isn’t specifically discussing an issue like abortion, I sense a major testosterone overload.
Is this real, or is it just my perception? And if you also perceive a gender imbalance in GD, why do you think it’s the case? Does it other you?
That’s what I get for multi-tasking. (hey, no fair picking on me! What, you never made a typo?)
**Tremmie: ** what, you don’t think large penises interest women? Well, men sure think they do. If only they knew the real story…personally, I love them for their minds. The ones who have minds, anyway. Although backrub skills count for something, too.
But what good is it if you win a GD argument, then, if no women are around to know it? If a thread falls in the GD forest and nobody reads it, it ain’t going to get you any nookie. Or do you just think all the women are lurking?
I stay out of GDs mostly because they scare the crap out of me. They seem like they are mostly discussions that result in name-calling and misunderstandings. Hell, I’ve got a dad for that already. It also makes me a bit sad to see that there are such racist/homophobic/etc. folks around in this day and age. And don’t even get me started on the witnessing!!
And I don’t think that I am going to weigh in on the whole ‘loving penises for their minds,’ ok? Jeevmon probably doesn’t want it discussed in a public forum.
Testosterone makes us competitive. Thus, we try to show each other up by presenting jaw-droppingly well rendered arguments guaranteed to silence our critics and make all other Dopers respect our authoritay.
Women seem to feel less of this urge for self promotion.
I stopped going into GD for the most part- got me too worked up and made me want to smoke.
I just read the first GD thread I’ve read in a long time. Lots of semantics and obfuscating meaning behind WAY too many words. I am very proud that I’ve been able to keep myself from just jumping in the middle of the threads with “All right, guys, whip it out and we’ll settle this once and for all!” :rolleyes:
Yes, there’s a definite gender imbalance there. And it bothers me.
Yes, I’d say there is a real imbalance. I’d guess that women tend to be less inclined to debate things to death, and less worried about “winning” arguments that aren’t personal to themselves. Whether this is a cultural thing or a real difference between the genders I couldn’t say.
I’d say also that women have a better innate understanding of intent than do most men, so while women may read a GD post and say, “That’s stated badly, but I know what he meant,” men are likely to pounce on awkward phrases and nitpick semantics or go off on tangents related to how someone said something.
Hmmm…I can refute that pretty thoroughly with little effort, so I’ll let you rethink that one if you like and come back with proof if you still believe it.
Again, I think I can show you more than a few cites where that is blatantly false. Like before, think about it and get back to me.
I’m married with a kid. I can beat someone anytime I want. :rolleyes:
My hsuband posts in Great Debates far more than I do, though I often read the threads there. Posters make some great points and interesting arguments, but I get tired of wading through the vitriol. I want to hear intelligent viewpoints–especially intelligent, well-reasoned viewpoints that differ from my own–not petty name-calling. Promising threads so often degenerate into: “Conservatives are heartless, puppy-kicking bastards!” “Liberals are spineless, idiotic busybodies!”
I like discussion. I don’t like “my cite is bigger than yours” or the silly namecalling that goes on in GD. If I’m going to get involved in a debate, I’m not going to talk to anyone who starts up anything like “All (people of x belief) are stupid!” That means the number of people I could actually talk to in GD is vanishingly small.
In all fairness, I’m male and I’m not a conflict-seeker. I don’t participate much in Great Debates unless I see a poster who has absolutely no point to make. I appreciate reading the various points of view about politics and religion and sexuality but I’m more likely to avoid contributing to them because of the highly charged personalities than because I don’t understand the issues. I don’t want to be branded a “liberal” or a “heathen” or a “homophobe” simply because I pointed out someone’s spelling error, you know?