Herringís Discussion and Analysis

What conclusions does Herring draw from the aforementioned findings? The overall result is that ëcyberspace may be perceived as more hostile and less hospitable by women than men, thus discouraging female participation."(Herring, 138.) The gendered preferences in discursive practices and ethical norms can be perceived to be hostile towards women. While the discursive styles, rhetorical strategies, and ethical distinctions put forth by Herring are gendered extremes, male values can be seen to have normative significance in regard to CMC. Further, "dominance and submission patterns on the Net are disadvantageous to women (as well as to non-adversarial men), and therefore it is important that they be recognized and questioned."(Herring, 137.) Communication on listserv lists typically takes place on male-defined terms. Power relations on the Internet are far from neutral. They are only constructed as such. Male dominance in computer-based asynchronous communication forums is evident and must be contested before the rules are written in stone. The relation of some of these arguments to feminist epistemology is evident. Yet, feminist theory is far from a unified whole, and many feminists would disagree with Herringís claims.

Herringís Relation to Feminist Epistemology