Woman=bitch?

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 7:06 AM on January 9, 2006.

A feminist critique of Wikipedia.

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Remedial misogyny.

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The Wikipedia debate is only heating up. After the high-profile Seigenthaler incident prompted a rule change (all editors must be registered), the door's been opened to increased scrutiny. The interesting question remains: what happens when information is decentralized? The answer seems to be that it reflects the biases, perspectives and prejudices of the culture at large. Below is one such case...

m. doesn't like what she sees in some Wikipedia articles: "when it comes to something like semiconductors or circuitry, no doubt wikipedia is competent. beyond that, no thanks."

When she looked up woman, here's a part of what she found: 5.2 Vulgar terms:

"i beg your pardon? vulgar terms….?! since when did that become the trademark of a good encyclopaedia article on anything? 'ho, bitch, cunt' … nice, wholesome education for our fifth graders, no doubt. ('where did you pick up that filthy abusive language?' 'why, I read it on wiki ma')"

No such entry exists for man.

Why didn't she just change the article? "because it wouldn't address the problem. editing the article changes nothing. what are the politics behind authorising such an article?"

When she wrote to complain, the response concluded: "It is unfortunate that Wikipeda contains content that some readers find offensive. However, we are (ambitiously) trying to document all human knowledge, and that means there will always be some material included that individuals may object to." Read m's reading [HERE].

Again, the interesting question remains: where do you draw the editorial line when your goal is the decentralizing of information? And who is the line drawer? (Scribble Pad, hat tip: Feministing)

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Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.

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Wikistupidea [Report this comment] Posted by: ConnecttheDots on Jan 9, 2006 1:01 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Since when does misinformation, disinformation and biased opinion make substantive contributions to the sum of human knowledge? Wikipedia provides yet another venue for people to outsource their critical thinking skills. Try to imagine serious writers citing Wikipedia as an information source. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] WHO THE HELL CARES...WHY IS THIS EVEN A BLOG ISSUE?? [Report this comment] Posted by: Velos on Jan 9, 2006 6:24 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I'm sorry.....Have I missed something? At the end of the day, Who the hell appointed Wiki the 'definitive authority' on abso-fucking-lutely anything? It's very simple, Dear Hearts,....Ignore Wiki,...continue to allow them to destroy their own credibility (as an alternative to the OED, Webster, etc.), and they'll die on the vine like the Pet Rock, Rubik's Cube, or Cabbage Patch Kids! It's just yet another computer-geek, neo-yuppie fad, like all the rest! [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] The Only Cure for Democracy [Report this comment] Posted by: howardadoughty on Jan 10, 2006 5:31 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] After all the bluster about the democratic potential of the Internet (e.g., cranking up popular participation in formal politics as displayed by Howard Dean's fundraising, facilitating mass anti-war rallies and anti-globalization protests, and providing such alternatives to mainstream media as "Alternet"), it is sad to see the speed with which people pull back from an experiment in "populist pedagogy." Do critics imagine that "democracy" is what Aristotle said it was - "mob rule"? Or, would they go along with crotchety old H. L. Mencken's observation that "the only cure for democracy is more democracy"? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Dude [Report this comment] Posted by: bettsoff on Jan 10, 2006 6:41 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Cabbage Patch is back. Didn't you get the memo? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Dude it's still a stupid fad Posted by: Velos Let's rewrite history! [Report this comment] Posted by: evermind on Jan 10, 2006 9:03 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I can't see something being offensive as a good reason for removing it from Wikipedia or any other texts, electronic or printed. There is a problem with censorship. There are lots of problems with censorship. One such as is being suggested here results in a society of denial. More extreme (but similar) cases of this have to do with nations after wars rewriting history so that future generations don't even have a chance to understand history and not relive it. I'd like to give an example of Japan and current trends towards remilitarization (and denials about WW2), but I'm really not well read on the subject. Maybe I should check wikipedia when I have a spare chance. In any event, removing offensive terms from wiki isn't going to remove them from all the published books (fiction and non-fiction) it which they reside. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Let's rewrite history! Posted by: carcinoid112

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