Steve, with respect, I heartily disagree with your arguments.<br><br>Regarding the telephone, there was great concern when it was launched that women were using it "inappropriately," that is, for social reasons. In fact, the switches were designed specifically NOT to encourage social use. The fact that your grandmother and her friends used the party line in this unintended way does not demonstrate the neutral nature of technology. It demonstrates their co-opting of a male design.
<br><br>And while your daughter may perceive technology to be "neuter," as you say, well, she's quite simply wrong. Technology is not neutral at all. There are judgment calls made at each step of the design process, which are based on normative values. Should we have a switching system that allows for long, meandering conversations? Or should we have an "efficient" switching system intended for short, direct contact? This is not a neutral choice.
<br><br>I could go on, of course....the famous overpasses in New York state that disallowed buses (filled with poor, mostly black people) to make it to beaches (not a mistake, btw); the nuclear power stations that require round-the-clock guards instead of decentralized wind turbines on people's individual properties, the QWERTY keyboard designed to be more "efficient," etc....there are countless examples.
<br><br>The "don't like technology, so don't use it" argument underestimates the constraining forces we all face in "choice." Should I "choose" not to use email, I face repercussions. Should I "choose" not to use a computer, I also face repercussions. And we also know that girls and women in many countries have very little "choice" at all.
<br><br>How might a laptop change that? Well she could start emailing new friends in Scandinavia for example, who tell her she can and should go to school and not be married against her will. Okay, could happen. But chances are, the social context in which she is embedded will more likely see her brother steal her laptop from her and use it for his more "important" activities.
<br><br>Technology cannot be separated from the social. Anyone who says it can has a vested interest in its effects.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 31, 2007 1:12 AM, Steve Borsch <<a href="mailto:steve@iconnectdots.com">
steve@iconnectdots.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br><font color="#888888">Steve Borsch</font><div><div>
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