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anuleczka's comments

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

Yeah, it's sad how those terms ("white male", "feminist") have become loaded. But again, I think it's because of perceived power differences. For some reason, the term "feminist" has come to mean, in some circles, "person who wants to take away my power". When in reality, promoting an egalitarian world benefits both women and men, since it reduces jerk behavior. Promoting equal rights for women does not take away rights from men, you know?

I feel you on the second paragraph, but I think what's really distracting is the unnecessary stigma of the labels. What if more women and men, especially those with influence, openly identified as feminist? It's like the xkcd comic about girls being bad at math (https://xkcd.com/385/). If one self-described feminist behaves poorly, you'd probably blame that on her personally, instead of writing off all feminists (and feminism, at the same time).

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

Sure! But I guess my point is that by embracing the voices of marginalized groups, we can solve a huge chunk of that at once. If you think about it, jerks usually act the way they do because of a perceived power differential. The guy with enough insecurity to harass a woman (or POC, or LBGTQ person) is likely to try to power trip other men, too.

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

If you do not believe in the inherent equality and humanity of men and women (along with all other marginalized groups), then yes, it's safe to say that you are indeed a jerk.

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

That's the thing, though. By promoting a more feminist, egalitarian, diverse culture for tech, we by definition eliminate the jerks. Why do we have to take as a given that we have to take the jerks along with the money?

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

Thanks for your honesty. It's hard to be courageous, whether you're the victim or the bystander (since it means you put yourself at risk of being the next victim, yes?). But it's not impossible, so let's all try to remember that.

anuleczka | 12 years ago | on: An open letter on feminism in tech

Thank you for your honesty. As a woman, I tend to respond to these situations in the exact same way - out of shock and mortification. But that's exactly why this behavior can continue. So together, let's speak up for ourselves, for others, and for what is right.

anuleczka | 13 years ago | on: Show HN: Mantaphrase, an app that lets you converse in a foreign language

Yeah, I've found it really depends. Shortly after I came here, I had one Swiss person say in a huff (and in perfect English!), "You've been here for three months, and you still don't speak French?" How long ago did you live in St. Gallen? These days it seems like there's a bit of anti-foreigner mentality, so I've noticed I get a warmer reception if I at least try to speak the language.

anuleczka | 13 years ago | on: Show HN: Mantaphrase, an app that lets you converse in a foreign language

This is excellent! I recently moved to Switzerland without knowing any French, and while using Google Translate to figure out how to ask basic questions works fine in a pinch, I'm usually at a loss if the person responds by speaking too fast or using complex vocabulary. Though I can get by in French now, I'll definitely bring this with me when I'm Taipei and Tokyo later this year. Keep it up!
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