Guest Post: A Female View on Technology

Today we have a great guest post from Freya, who writes about overcoming the stereotype. It’s a great post and I’m really lucky that Freya wrote this. Enjoy!

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Overcoming the stereotype: a female view on technology

Ok, so I’m not one to make sweeping generalisations, but it’s clear from the blogging community that the majority of technology bloggers are male. I suppose my blog fits this stereotype perfectly: I blog about fashion and girly things, things that would probably make most teen boys run a mile. I think it’s about time someone gave a female input into the value technology has on our society and with that I’m going to talk about how the (again not generalising) female mind could advance this technology even further.

Before I go any further, I’ll just define what I mean by ‘the female mind’. Whether or not you’re severely against gender stereotyping or are sitting on the fence, it’s true that in society there’s this idea that men are the logical technology enthusiasts, us women are the creative artists. Now I know many extremely logical girls and artistically talented boys, but if we’re going to debate a social issue, we need to look through the eyes of people with common opinion. So for the sake of this post, please leave behind any apprehensions and stereotype with society.

A quote from my friend today: you’re like electricity and water, you and technology do not mix. Yes, it’s true that I do crash/break/freeze an average of four school computers a week, but that doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the extraordinary cyber metropolis technology has brought us. I guess technology is not just confined to computers that can do crazy things; it’s a whole massive world of creative sparks that have become massive. I’d like to think the female population have made their substantial contribution.

Take Apple for example. I seriously doubt there’s anyone who thought of a sweet, crisp innocent fruit when they read that word, instead of the global phenomenon which brought us the iPod/pad etc. The truth is, behind the intense technique of perfecting those unbelievably brilliant screens that are so responsive they feel like ice (I believe my first exclamation upon using one, after the initial moment of dumbstruck disbelief was, “It’s so touch responsive!!!!”), there is this massive surge of creativity that began the whole thing. Creativity. That’s a word with so much potential. Being creative means thinking outside the box (suitably in this case the small, sleek box of the iProduct) and realising that there’s a massive side of modern technology where no one has ever been before. That’s where we come in.

As bloggers, both male and female, that’s what we do every day. It doesn’t matter whether we blog about how to build a computer or high street bargains, whether you know it or not we’re extremely creative, turning virtual sheets of paper into words that people want to read. Much like creating brand new ideas, there are no boundaries.

What I’m trying to say is, despite the fact that us girls, who are often seemingly detached from the physical development of technology, still have these creative minds that could be used, and are used regularly. So anyone who thinks that technology is just for people with an aptitude for computing brilliantly technical minds (in other words, what society believes are male characteristics), maybe it’s time for you to open yours.

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Freya’s quite girly but still brilliant blog is called “Freya’s World” and can be found here. Go and check it out for more great stuff from Freya.