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Comment by herval | Hacker News Reader

sexist and generalist piece... you can't (and shouldn't, really) put all pieces of the same gender in a single bucket.

Plus, you have nicknames on HN. What can assure you anyone is (or isn't) a woman? If you feel unconfortable by "being one in the man's club", just pick a neutral nickname and be treated "like a man"...

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I'd much rather that women didn't have to hide their gender to be treated the same way that we'd treat men.

Yes, because men generally treat each other with the outmost care and respect in internet forums, including HN, right?

She's not asking to be treated with the utmost care and respect.

The article states, actually, exactly the opposite.

I never treated a woman in a professional environment differently than I treat men. Which I always thought be the right way of doing it.

But after having two women come to me and say that "I don't treat them like proper women" and making a former boss (also female) burst into tears during a technical discussion, I wonder if the sexism isn't something that I really SHOULD consider a right approach, in some cases. Like, appearently, the writer of this article...

Or, possibly, you should treat the men around you more nicely?

Not that you're necessarily treating them badly - but if you've got a manner that causes women to burst into tears you're probably causing some of the men to grit their teeth.

nope, I don't need to treat the men around like chinese porcelain vases, thank you! ;-)

There are plenty of women who do just that - hide their gender on HN or downplay it. That approach fails to change the social dynamic and, in fact, helps keep it entrenched.

But thanks for commenting.

Judging by your comments (http://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=Mz - I just skimmed through, didn't read every single one) - you specifically seem to talk a lot about "women in tech", "being a woman", "social issues" and non-technical stuff in general - I'd say you actually bring that fate of being treated "as a woman" on yourself: you won't get harsh comments threading these waters.

BUT judging by the responses your comments get, I'd say it's actually a cognitive bias instead of a fact. The comments don't seem any "nicer" than the usual response I read around here usually...

I think you have missed something: I think I initially got treated "like a girl" but don't much get treated that way anymore. This piece is my thoughts on how to consciously make that happen if any other woman is interested in trying it. I'm pretty happy with how people here talk to me.

Thanks.

Also I believe the HN culture of "be nice" is being discounted here. As part of that culture most on HN are generally more polite, than much of the rest of the wild wild web. It can not be excluded from the discussion or else it becomes the elephant in the room.

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