View source for Terms to designate groups for women | Geek Feminism Wiki

Are you [[founding a women geeks group]]? Then you'll probably need a name. Here are some words/terms/names you could use to show that it is for women.

When choosing a name, it's important to be welcoming to trans women and not just cis women. Additionally, if you want to include genderqueer and/or non-binary-identified people who aren't male in your organization, it's worth thinking about how to choose a name that is inclusive.

==Women==
Examples:
* Tends to be used in [[List of academic organizations interested in women in CS|university CS groups]]
* Popular with Linux distros - [[Debian Women]], [[FedoraWomen]], [[Ubuntu Women]], [[GnomeWomen]], [[KDEWomen]]
* (GNOME) [[Outreach Program for Women]]
* [[Women in Drupal]] - formerly DrupalChix
* [[PHP Women]]
* [[WikiWomen]]
* [[Ruby Women]]
* [[Women Who Code]]
* [[OWOOT|Oceania Women of Open Tech (OWOOT)]]

Pros:
* Probably the most neutral term available now. Less polarizing than other terms.
* Very inclusive to adult women, especially ages 25-120
* Common on restroom signs
* Recommended in journalism by AP Stylebook

Cons:
* Doesn't rhyme with anything
* Younger women and teenagers don't necessarily associate themselves with the term
* Can feel overly formal and businesslike

==Ladies==
Examples:
* [[PyLadies]]
* [[Lambda Ladies]]
* [[Tech Lady Mafia]]
* [[Glorious Ladies of Free Software]][http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Womenscaucus]

Pros:
* Commonly reappropriated in hip-hop feminism, e.g. [http://rap.genius.com/Queen-latifah-ladies-first-lyrics Ladies First] by Queen Latifah. Has come back into vogue in recent years [http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/11/29/hey-lady-an-exchange/][http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/society-and-culture/a-ladylike-comeback-20111208-1ol9f.html]
* Can be fun in a retro, ironic way, e.g. "Single Ladies" by <span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.399999618530273px;line-height:17.920000076293945px;">Beyoncé</span>
* <span style="line-height:17.920000076293945px;">Commonly used on restroom signs in some places, esp. multicultural urban areas</span>
* <span style="line-height:17.920000076293945px;">More casual and playful than "women"</span>
* <span style="line-height:17.920000076293945px;">Commonly used by college-aged women who might not identify with the term "woman" yet. Widely used by sororities. [http://publicrelationsmatters.com/tag/ap-style/ [3]] </span>

Cons:
* Offensive in some places and contexts [http://ask.metafilter.com/200453/Why-are-some-women-offended-by-the-term-ladies [4]]
* Can feel overly old-fashioned
* Can feel classist
* "Woman" preferred over "lady" in journalism. AP Stylebook says, "lady: Do not use as a synonym for women. Lady may be used when it is a courtesy title or when a specific reference to fine manners is appropriate without patronizing overtones." [5]
* Association with the correct manners, and gendered rules: e.g. ladylike.

==Female==
Examples:
* [http://www.fitt.org.au/ Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications]

;Pros:
* Age-inclusive
* Inclusive of people who don't feel practically feminine even though they identify as female.

;Cons:
* Often considered disrespectful or demeaning in modern usage. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/magazine/18wwlnsafire.t.html?_r=0]
* Can be exclusive to trans women due to use by trans-excluding radical feminists to refer exclusively to cis women.

==Girls==
Examples:
* [[Black Girls Code]] (for girls)
* [[Go Girl, Go for IT]] (for girls)
* [[Girls' Programming Network]] (for girls)
* [http://girldevelopit.com/ Girl Develop It]
* [[Girl Geek Dinners]]
* [[Geek Girl Tech Conferences]]
* [[GeekGirlCon]]
* [[RailsGirls]]
* [[DjangoGirls]]

Pros:
* concise
* appropriate for groups intended for ages 5-18

Cons:
* Off-putting/infantilising to some women
* Used widely in sexualizing contexts, can lead to undesirable web search results
* professional women in male-dominated fields may have strong association between being called a girl and sexist (micro)aggression
* Can be confusing to actual intent of audience
* often paired with "men", making a mix of adult and child words. e.g. "you can choose from men's tshirts, or girl's tshirts". see also [[T-shirts]]

==Grrls==
Examples:
* [[LinuxChix]]'s grrls-only mailing list.

Pros:
* Rad 90s RiotGrrl zine vibe

Cons:
* Similar to 'girls', can be off-putting to women
* Can be alienating
* suitability limited to contexts where a read rad 90s RiotGrrl zine vibe is relevant

==Gals==
Examples:
* [https://www.facebook.com/hackergals Hacker Gals]

Pros:
* Casual, fun

Cons:
* Similar to 'girls', can be off-putting to women
* Trivialising? Depends on purpose of the group

==Chicks/Chix==
Examples:
* [[LinuxChix]]
* [[WikiChix]]
* [[CodeChix]]
* [[DevChix]]
* DrupalChix (changed to [[Women in Drupal]])

Pros:
*Fun, casual, and light-hearted. Playful.
*Fun and empowering to [[Reclamation|reclaim]] the word.
*Common in women's tech group names. Easily identifiable as a fun technical women's group.

Cons:
* Pretty 90s.
* "Chicks" is a trivialising and somewhat sexualized term for women. So using it has the pros/cons of [[reclamation]].
* Can be embarrassing or accidentally offensive to say aloud because it sounds like saying "chicks," e.g. sounds like saying, "Are you going to the Linux Chicks meetup?"
* If referred to by a man verbally, it can cause accidental insult, e.g. "You're a Dev Chick, right?"

==Dolls==
Examples:
* [[Frag Dolls]]

Pros/Cons:
* Very informal
* Dolls are actually objects, not people.

==Sisters==
Examples:
* [[Systers]]
* CSters (a university group)

Pros:
* Not necessarily too casual
* Age-inclusive at both ends
* Not classist or dated
* Free of solid association to the trivializing, sexualizing, objectifying use of words like 'girls' or 'chicks'.

Cons:
* Suggests a level of closeness that may be offputting for a casual group.

== Feminist ==
''See also [[Explicitly feminist geek groups]]''

Examples:
* Geek Feminism
* [[Feminist Frequency]]

Pros:
* explicitly claims a feminist space
* does not exclude feminists who aren't women

Cons:
* may be alienating to [[Not all geek women are feminists|women who are not feminists]]
* does not work for a woman-only space

==Divas==
* [[Digital Divas]] (for girls)

Pros:
* fun and casual
* does not exclude non-cis women

Cons:
* may be alienating to women who do not identify as 'divas' and/or traditionally feminine
* may be alienating to women who want to be taken seriously
* may take the attention from the actual content to associations with the word 'diva' (melodrama, physical appearance, grand personas)
* negative term for self-centered, overly dramatic people.

==Broads==
Examples:
* [[Broad Universe]]

Pros:
* casual
* short
* lends itself to puns

Cons:
* outdated
* offensive term in certain spheres.

== Identity references ==
Examples: 
* Lesbians Who Tech
Pros: 
* Explicitly includes women of that identity
* Can include other people if the group desires
* Can exclude women who are not of that identity in order to focus on the unique intersecting issues of being a woman with that identity in tech
Cons: 
* Excludes women who are not of that identity (who are in other under-served populations), if only by implication
* Even if the group's rules include other people, the name may discourage people (in other under-served populations) who would be welcomed if they joined, from doing any further research on the group 

== Womyn ==
Seen in feminist literature and as a self-identification

Pros:
* Symbolically removes dependence on men/males

Cons:
* Not usually taken seriously
* May be taken as a claim of radical feminism
* Term is widely used by Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminists and is strongly associated with Transmisogynistic bigotry

== Unicorns ==
From the [[unicorn law]], ie, female geeks supposedly being as rare/mythical as a unicorn.

Examples:
*The [[Haecksen miniconf]] doesn't use it as a name, but has made considerable use of unicorn logos.

Pros:
* Lends itself well to visuals.
* Fun, different.
* Non-obvious connection to feminism.
* Unicorns/horses/ponies are somewhat feminine-coded: embracing feminine-coded symbols can be powerful

Cons:
* The term is not well known outside the geek feminism community, and therefore can confuse or alienate people.
* Not explicitly about women.
* Haecksen found that some men missed the irony and were encouraged to ''actually treat women like unicorns'': ie, to photograph them and exclaim over a coveted "unicorn" sighting.
* You will sometimes be mistaken for a pop culture fan group (eg, for ''My Little Ponies'')

==Mother/Mom==
Examples:
* [[Mothership HackerMoms]]

Pros/Cons:
* Only a good idea if explicitly for mothers and that is relevant to the group
* Terms for female parent vary widely even within english speaking cultures. Words like mum, mom, mama, noni, nan etc  are coded to narrow group who use that term.

==She/Her (female pronouns)==
Examples:
* [[BlogHer]]
* [[She's Geeky]]
* [[She Hacks]]

Pros:
* concise
* clear
* encompasses all who identify with the pronouns she/her
* about as little sexist/infantilising/classist/generational schemata as possible

Cons:
* use of the word 'her' can produce phrases that are objectifying on the grammatical level
* may produce names that sound more like phrases than names

== Miss/Ms/Mrs (female titles) ==
Examples:
* [[MzTek]]
* [[Miss Baltazar's Laboratory]]

Pros:
* Short.

Cons:
* Can feel classist and dated.
* Can feel overly formal.
* Negative connotations if used to formulate a woman-specific version of a gender-neutral name.
* Has baggage from a history of women being required to declare their marital status publicly via their title, while men do not.

== XX ==
Pros: 
* Biology reference
Cons: 
* Inherently chromosomal-essentialist: implies that all people with XX chromosomes are women, and that no one without XX chromosomes are women. 

== Abbreviation that uses one of the above terms ==
Examples:
* [[WoMoz]], short for "Women & Mozilla"

Pro:
* If you can make a nice acronym it can work well

Con:
* Can be obscure

== Name reference to a famous woman in the field ==
* [[Anita Borg Institute]]
* [[Grace Hopper Celebration]]
* [[Ada Initiative]] and [[AdaCamp]]
* [[Disreputable Order of Hopperites]]
* Edinburgh University Hoppers

Pros:
* Different.
* Works against erasure, dismissal, and ignorance of women's historical importance in the field.
* Suits familiar naming conventions for institutions and such.

Cons:
* May be too obscure if you choose a lesser-known name.
* May not be that different if you choose a well-known name.
* May be long.

==Borrowing from other languages==
Examples:
* [[Haecksen]]
* [[Foufem]] (based in a bilingual city)

Pros:
* Valid choice for events/groups held in languages other than English

Cons:
* Obscure for an English audience
* Potentially appropriative

==No gender connotation at all==
Examples:
* Seems to be popular with [[feminist hackerspaces]] - [[Double Union]], [[Seattle Attic]], [[Spanning Tree]]
* [[PyStar]]
* [[Code n Splode]]

Pros:
* Lots of flexibility
* Can avoid a connotation that your group intends to be the ''only'' women's group with your scope (as opposed to "ProjectName Women" or "CityName Feminist Hackerspace"

Cons:
* May need a nearly permanent subtitle
* Not obvious in a passing reference that women are the intended audience
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