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Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

She wasn't "asked" if she was technical. The person assumed she wasn't based on her appearance and behaved accordingly. Why twist the narrative to make a point unrelated to the story?

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I'm not sure what you're talking about. The "Are you actually technical" quote is not part of her anecdote, its in the list of things "men have said straight to my face at tech events" and it is quoted directly as "Are you actually technical". There is not context or narrative that can be twisted.

Sorry, I was fixated on the comment that directly preceded that one (which is obviously much more memorable).

I'm sorry for suggesting that the comment twisted the narrative.

I'll add, though: "are you actually technical" is an unpleasant way to phrase the question. It implies surprise that she might be.

Yeah I agree. I would be annoyed too if people kept saying those things to me.

What is wrong with assuming she was not technical? Doesn't tech industry has more technical men than women?

Because the assumption that women at technical events are not technical is one of the things preventing women from joining the field. It's also extremely condescending, and being condescending is rude and unpleasant. So please don't do that.

Making assumptions based on state of the real-world is condescending?

Also, please present your thoughts instead of telling others what to do based on your world-view.

You've been on the site an hour. Lurk more.

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