I’m asking why he thinks that different gender ratio would be a big change. Are men and women so different from each other that it would be noticeable? Even if the discussions are strictly about rationalism?
I’m also asking why he thinks change like that wont happen. Are women inherently less rationalistic?
And a question for you: why it is likely that people who want to join have that skewed sex ratio?
(Disclaimer: I’m asking these questions because I’m interested in what people think, and I’m trying to keep them as “unthreatening” as possible. But as they are questions, they always seem somewhat aggressive :P)
You raise a good point. There are certain statistically proven differences between sexes and making generalizations based on these statistics is a good strategy for example under the conditions you specified. Differencies of this kind include things like “men on average are taller than women” and “women on average have higher percantage of body fat than men”. I don’t think anyone in here has a problem with generalizations like these.
My point was that there is a different class of generalizations which is problematic. One of the examples I used above was “men don’t cry”. This implies that if you don’t adhere to the norm described, you don’t fit in. Showing emotions is “unmanly” and and boys are actually told this when growing up (using a masculine example purely intentional). While the claim “men don’t cry” might have some statistical support, we should think about the causal relations between the claim and the reality. The fact that the claim exists and is used bringing up boys will establish a situation where it becomes a norm. Men will not cry because they are told not to, not because that is inherently built in the Y chromosome. With generalizations like this everyone in here should have a problem.
On your comment about excluding discussions about sex from other discussions about rationalism: I think this would generate a unneccessary blind spot. Rationalism should be applied whenever possible, and I find discussions about sex in no way an exception to this “rule”. The area is difficult because humans are so interested in it and it affects us in many ways, most of which are hard to see. This is why there might be a lot to gain.