Opinions Without Knowledge Are Worth Belly Button Lint
On feminism, women in tech, and learning to know better
I’m a feminist. I’ve been one for a long time. If you’re reading this expecting a certain kind of feminist, I want to be clear about where I stand before we go any further, so no one feels surprised later and decides they own a piece of me for it.
All women are women. If you identify as a woman, you’re a woman. Full stop.
I remember the first time I heard someone talk about transitioning. I didn’t understand it. I’ll be honest about that. But I hold one firm principle: an opinion formed without knowledge is worth about as much as belly button lint. So I learned. I didn’t do that alone, some of what I know came from people in my life, men and women, who were willing to make that journey alongside me.
I write about women in tech because I’ve been one for a long time. I have stories. Some of them are not pretty. I’ll tell them.
But I can only speak from where I stand. I’m an old white woman. My experience in this industry is mine, not everyone’s. Women of color in tech have lived a different version of this. LGBTQIA+ women in tech have lived a different version. Those stories are not mine to claim.
When I write “women in tech,” I mean all of us.
We’re all women.
I love this Alison. And the belly button lint phrase made me laugh! And I’ll be honest, it may have been on brand with the Code Like an Old Lady vibe. 🤣 And I love hearing about different experiences and stories that show how the patterns are real but also unique at the individual level.