[Noisebridge-discuss] Gender & Technology followups from 5Mof

[Sai Emrys]

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 3:50 AM, maymay <bitetheappleback at gmail.com> wrote:
> I guess that's why I never went into customer service. :D

Me neither. I hate dealing with customers. :-P

(Funny site: notalwaysright.com)

> Trouble is, OkCupid can't possibly know how statistically relevant the
> portion of people who may not neatly fit into Male/Female dichotomies are
> because there's no place for these people to give OkCupid that information.
> This is the same problem with advertiser/marketers and forced choice
> surveys.

Very true, and ironic.

Of course, they could always a/b test it so as not to expose
themselves too much to something that's potentially going to affect
bounce rates.

> Having consumed my fair of bi porn, I wonder who that porn is really being
> produced for…. :(

I don't know. Most that I've seen is relatively "mainstream" (which is
an aesthetic I find distasteful, but hey, their kink is okay too).

> So, perhaps the anomaly here isn't that I'm "genderqueer" but that my
> desires aren't as moldable by advertising as many other people's are?

Possible (though my cogsci background makes me pretty cynical about
how moldable people, including me, are).

Maybe if they tell you macho is sexy enough you'll grow out of it? :-P

>> So why bother with railing against things that don't give a damn about
>> your queerness anyway? I think you'd be better off (unless of course
>> you simply want to vent, which I suppose is fine) picking more
>> malleable targets.
>
> Can you suggest some more malleable targets to me? Could prove useful….

I think OKC (and similar relatively hip matchmaking sites) is a good
target. Advertisers aren't.

> So, that's an interesting question. Do you know if OkCupid, or sites like
> it, really have a user base that comprises conservatives so significantly
> that the addition of unconventional gender options would damage the site?

I don't. I'm just saying it's a danger that they'd consider seriously.

I would guess that OKC leans liberal in its audience, but in the US
it's pretty close to 50-50 overall. (... if one buys into political
binaries, which of course is a whole 'nother kettle o' purple-shaded
fish...)

They probably have these stats, though. Hmmm...

- Sai