gender

A short while ago, I edited my drupal.org account, and changed my gender from unknown to female.

I breathed a sigh of anticipation and release after making the change.

I wondered what had taken me so long to admit that I am actually female.

I began to realize that my fears of being hounded or harassed, while may come true, as some of the tales of previous female pioneers sung by webchick in 'Women in Opensource'.

I think (I philosophize) that an awesome woman coder is easy to spot, and no one doubts her skills. As a mediocre (currently) middle-aged female new Drupal coder I think it's harder to gain respect, to be included in the conversation, and generally to be seen as having the potential to gain the skillset. Sometimes, I wish I were male and 25. The assumptions are different.

(Recently told on a job interview that they were looking for someone fresh out of school... both in initial phone call, and at the interview... so, in that case, she didn't mean male, she just meant half my age...)