Well, not exactly, but apparently I write like one. I know what you're thinking: "Huh?""On the internet, there is a new website that claims to be able to tell you, with 80% accuracy, whether a piece of writing has been done by a man or by a woman. It uses a computer programme developed by a team of Israeli scientists after an exhaustive study of the differences between male and female use of language."
So... I did a little experiment. I went to the site and randomly entered 9 of my blog entries into the "Gender Genie". Here were their assessments:
Using women as scapegoats... writer is male
Having an education is an oppressive factor??? writer is male
A picture is worth 1000 words... writer is male
Boo to political attack ads... writer is male
A purpose defeated? writer is male
Are we serving international students to the best of our ability? writer is male
Al Gore coming to Regina... writer is male
My Junos experience... writer is male
Speak up and Sing writer is male
80% accuracy huh?
Lots of questions surface in my mind about this assessment. What is it about my writing style that the Gender Genie assumes I am male? Is it because I write about social issues? Is it because I write about issues that primarily take place outside of the home? Is it because I write about issues that are considered to be a man's domain? Is it because I don't speak "submissively"? Really, I don't know. Is there really a distinct way males and females are biologically programmed to write, or is it a learned behaviour, or is this whole thing just a load of crap? Who knows...
Anyway, The Guardian wrote a good article on this, which you can visit at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1079265,00.html
And, if you want to take the assessment yourself to see if you are writing in accordance with your "gender"--test the Gender Genie at: http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php
By the way, I also tested this blog entry, and the Gender Genie has determined that the writer of this post is... MALE!
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