Katie Lee writes...
When Shiny Shiny first started in 2004, I was one of only a handful of female technology journalists. Now, of course, in this more enlightened age, gadget writers of the lady persuasion are ten a penny, but for many we still remain something of a novelty – and an enigma. Because of this, I’m frequently requested to share my insider information on what ladies are looking for when it comes to tech. The problem is, women are as much a mystery to me as they are to everyone else.
Why’s that? Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: women are all different! No really! Shocking, I know, but try to digest it as best you can. Yes, it turns out that the female of the species is not part of one amalgous blob that thinks alike and speaks alike. We don’t all consult the collective hive-mind when we decide whether we like something or not, and only a small handful of us fit into that restrictive female stereotype that women’s magazines seem to keen to sell to us.
So when [insert lady magazine title here] rings me up to ask me what gadgets appeal to women, I really am at a loss for words (happens so rarely). What possible answer can I give? I went to an all-girl school, I grew up in a house with four sisters, all the goats we owned were nannies, the dogs were all bitches, the hamsters all had wombs. Of our 9 full time Shiny Media employees (not including my fellow co-founders) only one of them is a man (sorry about that, Sheldon). And, in spite of that oestrogen-rich environment, not once have I thought to myself “that’s it! I have the key! I understand the lady-mind!”
And just as I’ve never cracked the female code (mainly because there isn’t one), I’ve also never quite worked out why anyone would suspect me of having the answer. I’m a geek for godssake! I like science fiction, taking things apart, fixing stuff, Buffy fansites, and collecting boring trivia about bands. As a teenager, I wore a lot of black and a constant half-sneer. If anyone’s going to be able to speak on behalf of femalekind, it surely shouldn’t be me! I have more in common with most teenage boys than I do with the stereotypical everywoman.
Except, of course, for the fact that I like nice shoes (looking at them rather than wearing them – I’m too impatient to totter), regularly coo at fluffy kittens and have been known to surreptitiously cry at third rate chick flicks (whilst audibly belittling them, of course – I try to retain a degree of self-respect).
And that’s the point – like most women, (and here’s where you’ll all need to punch the air and holler “you go girl!”) I have my own mind. It’s hardly earth-shattering news, is it. And yet, in my role as a gadget girl rent-a-gob, it seems it’s my duty to speak on behalf of all women with faux authority, inwardly cringing the entire time. So, I apologise if I misrepresent you at any time. But, remember, when I make generalisations about the sexes for the benefit an interviewer, I’m obviously not talking about *you*.
God, this whole thing would be so much easier if we had a hive-mind. We should probably look into getting one.
