He said, she said

[hutzelbein]

I wish there would be an option to indicate if you are a guy or a girl in your profile. Somehow, people always assume that you are a guy - unless user name and/or profile picture are very girly. It's not a big deal, but I think it would add value.

It could be a voluntary thing, but for those choosing to use the option it could show up somewhere next to or under the user name. Just like the area you are from.

What do you guys (and girls) think?

[WV]

When gender matters, people mention it in their post.

Are those curly locks under that cap, Hutzelbein?

[hutzelbein]

When gender matters, people mention it in their post.

Hm, not sure about that. The forum seems to be dominated by guys, and I often notice this in the posts as well. I think if you're a guy, you don't notice. Just one example: if somebody asks "which underquilt is the right one for me?" or "my underquilt is good to 20°, but I'm always cold", gender matters. Even if it is not mentioned.

Are those curly locks under that cap, Hutzelbein?

It was too hot to let them grow. I should add a signature *sigh*

[Zilla]

When gender matters, people mention it in their post.

Are those curly locks under that cap, Hutzelbein?

Agreed,

[WV]

I'm glad this question was raised. I think I usually try to address questions about hammocks without reference to gender, but I bet that sometimes comes out sounding like I think all my readers are men. There are some obvious topics for which gender distinctions need to be made, such as solo hiking or center of gravity, but there are lots of others for which I might need the occasional reminder about a woman's perspective. I wouldn't mind if gender were indicated in a person's profile, but only if he or she wants it to be.

[jwright]

I'm glad this question was raised. I think I usually try to address questions about hammocks without reference to gender, but I bet that sometimes comes out sounding like I think all my readers are men. There are some obvious topics for which gender distinctions need to be made, such as solo hiking or center of gravity, but there are lots of others for which I might need the occasional reminder about a woman's perspective. I wouldn't mind if gender were indicated in a person's profile, but only if he or she wants it to be.

Thank you WV for summing up my thoughts on this subject. I think I have 5 posts here and I still didn't quite get this sentiment across.
Now, can you write me a nice note to get me off the hook with the misses for my black friday-cyber moday hammock related purchases .
Jason

[Gumbo]

If you wan't folks to know your gender you can always add that little tidbit into your tag line.

As for me, my gender is not what I come here to discuss.

[hutzelbein]

As for me, my gender is not what I come here to discuss.

Not as such. But if you meet somebody and talk about hammocks, you would probably take into account the gender.

As I said, guys probably don't notice it, since the majority in most forums are male - especially those with an outdoor theme.

[Floridahanger]

...As for me, my gender is not what I come here to discuss.

Not as such. But if you meet somebody and talk about hammocks, you would probably take into account the gender.

As I said, guys probably don't notice it, since the majority in most forums are male - especially those with an outdoor theme.

The problem is that stereotyping of gender instead of quality of mind just overshadows what is being discussed sometimes. Not so much on this forum, but in general, I have noticed that others seem to dismiss the info or add weight to info based on gender.

I agree that if someone wants to add gender to help on the info discussed, that would be appropriate for that discussion, but not for the entire forum. We do a great job on this forum using the info provided here regardless of gender and also with the addition of gender, Male or Female when necessary for that specific discussion.

[nothermark]

I think a lot of women here keep it quiet to avoid some of the stereotyping that can happen. I'd say it probably will not happen and is probably better that way. If gender does matter then use it in the description of the problem. "What kind of quilt would be good for a woman ..."

I did get a chuckle out of somebody saying something like that guy hutzelbein has gave good advice. ;-) It did take me a while to catch on before that. I also found one of the threads on women's perspective interesting when I saw some of the names. ;-)