A quote often attributed to Gloria Steinem says: “We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.” Maker culture, with its goal to get everyone access to the traditionally male domain of making, has focused on the first. But its success means that it further devalues the traditionally female domain of caregiving, by continuing to enforce the idea that only making things is valuable.
Chachra, Debbie. “Why I Am Not a Maker.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/why-i-am-not-a-maker/384767/.
The subject of Digital Humanities, and more broadly the Maker Movement, have become known as young, up-and-coming fields that encourage exciting new methods for collaboration, creation, and expression. This quote from The Atlantic, however, serves as an important reminder that new fields are often built on problematic pasts.
To press ahead into the future without revealing and discussing the past is to ignore problems rather than address them. That’s what made this passage stand out to me as I scrolled past it, because if DH and the Maker Movement are truly dedicated to collaboration, they must address the ways in which creation is overvalued as a male-dominated field, and take action to not only uplift the work of non male-identifying makers, but to acknowledge the value of caregiving and it’s role within these fields.
For me, as a cis male-identifying individual who plans to go into a field in tech, this passage reinforced my knowledge that I have a role to play in making these fields more inclusive for all, but particularly for those who have been underrepresented in them.
Within DH, I am most interested to learn about how my knowledge of computer science connects with the humanities through web design and software development. I’m also eager to learn how to design a wide variety of things using many different tools in aesthetic and helpful ways. I think that it is becoming increasingly useful for people to have a wide variety of digital skills in order to communicate data, art, and other fields effectively. I have not had experience with GIS mapping, 3D modeling, or formal web development yet, and I’m excited to learn these skills!
Nicely said! It is paramount to support underrepresented groups to change the current scenario and progress to a more diverse and inclusive tech culture. I also share your interests in software development!