Preface - Electronic Poetry Center

From: Juliana Spahr
Subject: Re: boy talk
Reasons why I might not respond at any given moment:
* the conversation goes too quick
* a fear of conversation getting out of control
* I rarely tend to respond to non-personal messages of any sort
(my minor input into this list has been indicative of my role on other lists,
including the women’s studies list)
* the feeling that the list is mainly boys talking about boys books or boys
talking to boys, I must admit, also plays a part
I am not sure how much of this has to do with gender.
I do understand the serious nature of the technology-gender problem (and the
technology-race and the technology-class problems), the poetry-gender
problem (which I am not sure how but continues to remain a serious problem
despite a large number of active women poets), and various other socialinduced,
gender-related ills.
I do not know how to counter act them.
I do not want the conversation on this list or any other list to have to be policed
by some sort of affirmative action of response or mention.
I just wish society was different, I think, that people were a little more selfaware
of what they talked about and how and to whom. I guess the only answer
I can suggest to Ron’s question about how to get more women to respond is to
fight for the overthrow of the patriarchal system which is the cause of fewer
women being wired. Nothing short of that is going to do much, or maybe, mean
much. I wonder if there were equal amounts of women and men on this list if
the gender construction of the conversation would not be more equal.
I am not sure there is a gender proclivity to lurk or not lurk.