Weaknesses of Herringís Findings

While gender discrepancies are evident in Herring's distinction between anarchic-agonistic and positive-politeness ethics, focusing on the extremes fails to sufficiently address the wide range of human diversity. Herring emphasizes the differences between women and men, while speaking little of similarities. "Calling men and women opposite sexes has probably biased our thinking about gender roles. The truth is that there are far more similarities than differences, and even when statistical differences are found on some measure, the variation within each group is almost always extremely high."(Wallace, 249) Her population for this research was somewhat limited in scope. In the early 1990s, it is likely that the subscribers to these listserv lists were predominantly white middle-to-upper class academics and activists. Her analysis is also narrow in the sense that gender is the only independent variable. Other variables that could have had a strong impact on the findings include those of race, class, region, and level of education. In addition, her observations are limited to asynchronous communication patterns. Because only one type of CMC is observed, her findings may not ring true when one looks at synchronous forms of CMC such as chat rooms, MUDs and MOOs, and IRC. The lack of acknowledgement of these issues weakens her argument.

Another issue surrounding gender is highly problematic in regard to Herring's research and analysis. Gender, according to Judith Butler in Gender Trouble, is "never fixed, always fluid."(Lawley: 1993) This is particularly evident on the Internet. In many cases, there is no way to substantiate the gender of individuals online ñ some wittingly manipulate gender. In "Women and Children First", Laura Miller argues that "There may not actually be a masculine or feminine mind or outlook, but simply a conventional way of interpreting individuals that recognizes behavior seen as in accordance with their biological gender and ignores behavior that isn't"(Miller, 56) This, of course, relates back to Herringís gender prototypes. Yet, while Herring argues women must create their own online spaces in order to encourage the development of their own ethical values, Miller suggests that such ghettoization is not a suitable solution. Miller writes that

Withdrawing into an electronic purdah where one will never be challenged or provoked, allowing the ludicrous ritual chest-thumping of some users intimidate us into silence ñ surely women can come up with a more spirited response than this.(Miller, 55)

I tend to agree. The rules are not firmly entrenched. Thus, they can be challenged and changed as this new communication medium evolves. If women wish to attain equality online, it is best that they avoid relegating themselves willingly to the margins.

Bibliography