Technology's Feminine Side

By Carolyn Y. Johnson


No one would make the argument that megapixels are masculine or that gigabytes have a gender. But as gadgets and websites become an integral part of everyday life, a high-tech world that has been largely built and engineered by men is getting the feminine touch. Digital cameras, cellphones, and online social networks appear unisex - but social scientists argue that every product is hardwired in subtle ways that reflect the cultural assumptions of its makers.

In a technology world that has been dominated by men, a growing number of companies are realizing that "feminizing" their products - essentially, by putting style and functionality on an equal footing with power and speed - is good for business.

"Women say, 'Listen, I always have demands on my time - kids or husbands or in-laws or my parents... I don't want technology that requires me to fiddle around with it,"' said Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist at Intel Corp. who has over the past decade helped push the company to consider consumers in its engineering choices. "It makes women really interesting bellwethers or benchmarks for usability."

Traditionally, women haven't been thought of as the first audience for most tech firms. But Bell says women may be the original early adopters - they brought some of the earliest machines into the home, used automation in their daily lives, and were gatekeepers for the television, the telephone, and the radio.

NPD Group found that women outspend men on things like calculators, cordless phones, and digital cameras, and are inching up to nearly half of all MP3 players.

That spending is helping to reshape the products.

Associated Link: Full article: Tech's feminine side

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