There’s a new tech site for women on the block. You might’ve heard about it already: it’s called Gadgette. Now, Gadgette has been causing a little bit of controversy since it launched. That’s probably putting it lightly.
If we’re going to slate a website that specifically targets women, because it targets women, we have a lot of other sites we need to bitch about. I don’t see anyone on the rampage against the Cosmopolitan listicle. Wait, I’ve done that already.
I am obviously not against any website or initiative for women in any industry. I work in a creative sector where the 3% Conference is still considered necessary. Funny Women began as a ‘sod you’ to a man who thought women couldn’t be funny. Gadgette is a similar ‘sod you’ to men who think women can’t (read: aren’t allowed to) do or be involved with tech.
Sure, the big question is ‘why do we need female-specific versions of anything?’ Can’t we all just play nice in the same sandbox? I agree, it would be nice not to need ‘female’ stuff. But we can’t just ignore the fact that, in 2015, women still need their own safe spaces in which to talk and build communities – especially online.
We’re not dividing men and women by giving ourselves a platform. We’re creating even ground. We need to establish ourselves somewhere, and yes it would help to do that in exactly the same place men do. But do we have time to get a foothold before being shouted down, trolled, doxxed or abused? Not always.
This is why Funny Women deliberately focuses on female comedy. In an ideal world, it would indeed all be just ‘comedy’. But it’s not quite like that yet. Not while women are still regularly being dropped from comedy club line-ups because the promoter booked one vagina too many.
A fairer world for women is what we’re all working towards here. We share Gadgette’s aim of bringing women into the conversations in their industry on their own terms. We appreciate the nods to comedy writing. Our sites have even written about Taylor Swift’s Apple takedown from two different angles.
Gadgette covers fashion, beauty and feminism as well as tech. Which is being taken as a bullet to the foot for female empowerment. But surely that’s fine? Saying ‘women like fashion’ is not on par with saying ‘women like being in the kitchen making sandwiches all day’.
And tech does directly affect fashion and beauty: exercise apps, clever products, augmented reality and so on. If someone could invent a robot that’ll dress me so I can have ten more minutes in bed, I want to be informed.
It’s the ‘feminism’ bit that’s turned heads, it seems. People are really starting to hate this word. Women aren’t allowed to like typical woman things any more, because it’s hurting their case when it comes to feminism. I’ve spoken to at least two ladies I respect who forcefully claim they’re not feminists. They don’t need feminism. It’s a dirty word. Anything with the word ‘feminism’ in it needs to be tarred, feathered, and sent down the Miss World runway to learn its place.
Here’s the thing. If ultimately all you’d like in this world is for men and women to be equal, that makes you a feminist. And that doesn’t mean equally not wearing makeup… or equally not being bothered how low our jeans sit.
Using pink backgrounds and writing about futuristic hair straighteners doesn’t make you a dirty feminist. It makes you someone who writes for a living and knows their way around a colour wheel. To deride something as ‘feminist’ is to deny women that safe, inclusive space they still desperately need in this day and age.
All of which is why I’d recommend you give Gadgette a look. Particularly this highly appropriate bit about having an opinion.
