"the world is half women, even though they're not on the c-punkslist"

["Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>]

At 10:20 AM -0800 12/21/96, Dale Thorn wrote:

>Ya' know, guys, the world is half women, even though they're not on
>the c-punks list.  Get in touch with them.  They're fun people.

Ah, it's been a while since we had the "why aren't more women on the list?"
discussion.

Frankly, women are of course welcome. If the list interests them, they are
welcome to subscribe. As it has always been.

That so few women are subscribers, or remain subscribers, or attend
Cypherpunks physical meetings....well, that's a larger issue involving
familiar issues:

- why are libertarian events so dominated by males? (in attendance, for
example)

- why do political extremist parties (Libertarian, Aryan Nations, JDL, KKK,
Wobblies, etc.) tend to be more attractive to men in general?

(While women are now well-integrated into the Democratic Party, and
increasingly into the Republican Party, they are severely underrepresented
in the various extremist and fringe parties noted above.)

- why do men get a charge out of the thought of "seeing the walls come
crashing down" as crypto methods undermine taxation, control of citizens,
etc., while most women seem _disturbed_ by the implications?

(I've explained crypto anarchy to many men and women over the past 6-8
years. I've seen the guy's get agitated, or bothered, but usually
_interested_. I've seen eyes light up as they understand the likely
implications of untraceable payments, anonymous communications, avoidance
of Big Brother, etc. But with almost all women who've been exposed to this
stuff, the reaction is negative, and one of disinterest. "Why would anyone
want anarchy?" is a common question. Sociologists and psychologists could
perhaps better explain why this is not a surprising reaction. I think it's
why we seem to have at most a couple of active women subscribers at any
given moment.)

So, Dale, feel free to recruit more women to this and other lists. But
don't presume from the traffic you see here--or from comments about the
utter stupidity of little Jessica Dubroff, her pilot, her parents, and the
complicitous news media--that we need a lecture on getting in touch with
women.

--Tim May


Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside"
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."