[cs648]

It was abuse, using a misogynistic word, in a department where there is already a dearth of women due to the hostility they face. Brushing it under the carpet by denying her experience isn't helpful. You don't need to read this story to learn of sexism in CS departments, just ask any woman who does computer science and you can hear plenty of stories.

[kaonashi]

Right, but it's an anecdote. The title of the piece suggests some sort of comprehensive study, but fails to deliver anything beyond a single story of friction between two people (one of whom clearly has women issues).

[s_baby]

"Bitch" being a misogynistic term is a stretch...

[mmmelissa]

Its more about what was communicated/interpreted than the actual words.

Take for instance: "I'm not going to let some bitch tell me what to do" vs. "Hey bitches, whats up?"

the first statement could communicate that the speaker has issues with females telling him what to do. The second statement is playful and affectionate.

However, because the word bitch is so generic and well used, the first speaker could easily only have issues with unpleasant people, not females. Its not clear.

That's why it is better to talk about a person's pattern of behavior, rather than labeling an isolated incident as sexism.

[ucee054]

where there is already a dearth of women due to the hostility they face

Where the hell did you pull that from? I suppose there's a "dearth" of men in nursing too? Can I infer an epidemic of misandry because we don't have 50% male nurses? Ludicrous.

just ask any woman

Yeah, because the plural of anecdote is data </sarcasm>