Is Open Source Software Development Sexist?

Individualist feminist libertarian Wendy McElroy has written this touching article on The Daily Bell that includes a letter to her late father. In the article McElroy responds to claims by the “thick” or “humanitarian” libertarians and other do-gooders that the open source software development community is biased in favor of white males. It seems that there are hardly any minorities or women contributing to such geek work. But McElroy states that she is considering leaving the Liberty movement because of these accusations of open source bigotry as the last straw. (Is it that bad? I mean, are those “humanitarian” libertarians really that obnoxious that they could drive out someone as prominent in modern libertarianism as Wendy McElroy? I hope not.)

And frankly, I also resent being called “brutal” merely for believing that libertarianism is about self-ownership and non-aggression, and that the concerns regarding racism and sexism are sociological issues irrelevant to libertarianism. And to me, “brutal” is generally a physical description, as in “police brutality.”

But if there aren’t really that many females participating in the open source software industry, then that is by choice. There are no restrictions or barriers against females in that area that I know of. Sadly, many women just happen to prefer to go shopping at Macy’s and thumb through Glamour Magazine than be concerned with learning code and participating in software development. That’s just the way it is.

But I hope that Wendy McElroy doesn’t abandon the cause of Liberty just because of a few insecure, self-righteous PC stasi. I know I won’t.

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8:24 am on August 11, 2014