FAQ

to be completed

Section 1: for people who accept this exists

How did WikiChix come about?: A thread on wikiEN-l began in November 2006 called Systemic bias wrt gender initially concerning the English Wikipedia coverage of topics that could be considered stereotypically "female", and how low participation by female editors could be contributing to that. It soon expanded to a discussion of how comfortable women felt contributing to the existing channels. Thus, with an eye to successful existing groups such as LinuxChix, WikiChix was born.

How can I get started being a Wikipedia editor?: (add some basic answers here); The best way to start at Wikipedia is by creating an account. People react more favorably to the edits of a person than to an IP address. Don't be afraid to edit pages you are capable of editing :] . Find an area in which you are interested and see if there is an associated project. Find people in the project and ask them what you can do to help out. Make friends! Establishing a group of people with whom you are familiar will help you through any stressful periods.; ...

How can we, as women, work together to correct some of the systemic gender bias in Wikipedia?: (ideas here) Swarming - Developing entries ahead of time elsewhere in greenhouses or feminist think tanks and them adding them to Wikipedia when they're fleshed out - Notability, authority, sourcing - Telling our stories of experiencing bias (testimony) in a supportive environment, for validation - (add more)

What are the pressures on women that contribute towards their lower levels of participation in Wikipedia?: Self-perception of expertise level - Unwillingness to become a target of sexist criticisms - Impatience with condescending attitudes - Confrontational situations like revert wars - (add your own here)

Separate channels for women are not needed because they're divisive.: WikiChix is intended as an additional possible channel for women, not as a replacement for existing channels. The existence of WikiChix does not imply that the issues of gender bias and encouraging female participation are no longer of interest to the existing channels.

Separate channels for women are not needed because they distract from the task at hand. We should just denounce sexism where we see it and get on with the job.: Puppy's post explains that the problem can be more insidious: simply "kicking out the bad people" won't work. The "bad people" is us.

How do you know there's a problem? I don't see any regular complaints of sexism.: Well, you're seeing a complaint now, so listen up. Relevant posts have been made by Puppy and Stan Shebs concerning women's tendency to avoid posting in channels they perceive to be intimidating. There is pressure in any system with power inequalities for those discriminated against not to complain. So, marginalizing "complaints of sexism" (for instance) is sexist in its own context. Sexism exists. And not only does it exist, it is so pervasive that its marginalization is essential for power inequalities to reinforce one another.

When I, or a system I am part of, is called out for sexism or bias, how can I respond?: Defensiveness is common; denying the validity of the person making the claim, as well. Long explanations of your own non-sexism is also to be expected. These reactions are not "wrong"; in fact they are probably necessary for you to work through. I would suggest this excellent essay on "Alas, A Blog" as a starting point; it is about racism, but it applies very well to discussions of sexism. In a nutshell, its advice is to look at the criticism seriously, and continue listening.

Isn't this just reverse sexism? I'm a man and feel like you're oppressing me.: No. Instead of feeling excluded, try to see it as an opportunity to hear a conversation you would not hear otherwise. If men are not talking, what women say to each other becomes a different conversation. When we as women can stop defending ourselves and explaining that bias, sexism, or patriarchy exist, then we can move further in discussion and support of each other.