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Comment by jakderrida | Hacker News Reader

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I am curious, though, why they made Carol a girl.

I guess depending on your political agenda they were either trying to be inclusive and promoting gender diversity in STEM, or they were being subtly misogynistic by implying that women aren't as careful as men.

Or maybe it was just arbitrary and maybe we don't have to read anything into it? But what do I know.

> I guess depending on your political agenda they were either trying to be inclusive and promoting gender diversity in STEM, or they were being subtly misogynistic by implying that women aren't as careful as men.

Nah, I actually believe it's the first one. That's why it's so hilarious. The irony is what it insinuates about what happens to women in STEM.

Alternate idea: they weren't thinking about gender at all. Maybe that was the first hit for "blind person clipart" and they just went with the perceived gender of the person in the image.

@jakderrida - it doesn't really matter what Carol's gender is, it is about the message. And on that note, you added zero value to the conversation.

IIRC it came from a (mixed gender) series, and the one with Carol was just the one that people found funny enough that it stuck.

The vast majority of the lab techs at both unis I attended were women.

Women outnumbered men in my chemistry course.

Depends on the domain. Biology labs are often composed of more women than men. Chemistry tend to be the opposite.

And they both use substances that would destroy your eyes.

It's the irony that I find hilarious. I imagine them saying, "We should make it a woman to portray more women in STEM" while completely neglecting that she's a cautionary tale.

Inclusion goes both ways?

On a serious note: What are you on about?

> Inclusion goes both ways?

Yes, I agree. That's why making it a girl is so hilarious. As to why you're so offended that I find it hilarious, I honestly don't know what to tell you. It's funny for the same reason I'll refer to a hypothetical serial killer as "him" and follow by saying "or her, of course" to females as if I'm pandering. The joke is that they weren't offended to be excluded from being serial killers.

It's not hilarious.

And I'm not offended. I just have zero idea what your issue is. I never gave it any second thought what gender the person is. I don't care and I wonder what you're reading into it.

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