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Comment by freshflowers | Hacker News Reader

Maybe just a total coincidence, but the mid-80's is also the time when media and authorities started their witch hunt against hackers and the word "hacker" became equal to "criminal".

Basically, in the mid-80's the predominant media image of computer engineers was either social outcast of criminal.

Gee, wonder why women weren't attracted to that.

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You know, this might have more to do with it than the actual marketing of the time. As shown in another post here, home computer makers tried to market to the whole family. And why wouldn't they? Computers were relatively expensive and esoteric, why not aim at their uses for everyone in the family? And they did.

But WARGAMES and that whole media portrayal that followed of the computer hacker/enthusiast was definitely male and outsider.

Interesting point.

This argument seems to rest on the assumption that women are fundamentally more susceptible to decisions based on stereotypes than men are. Do you have any evidence both that this is the case, and that any measurable difference (if there is one) is significant enough to blame for this effect?

No, it suggests that men and women both are both susceptible to media stereotypes.

He's just suggesting that the "outsider outlaw" is more appealing to men than to women.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/9005552/Men-twi...

Not necessarily based on stereotypes, but rather what's more accepted by society.

Men are usually the outliers. (See % of male prisoners)

Note that he also said "Maybe just a total coincidence".

Why should the "not attracted to that" factor be specifically gendered?

>> Gee, wonder why women weren't attracted to that.

And men were, because...?

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