Apologies in advance for very, very long post….

1) “The point is not that naming the product iPad was in any way in itself damaging to women’s rights, but that it shows how little women have been incorporated into this process in a country where so many people are ready to claim that we live in a post-feminist era” – well they are one and the same surely? If you claim women weren’t incorporated into the discussion you are making a statement about their rights (lack of voice etc). But, as a women I cannot believe, and am increasingly offended by, the idea that Anyone would take offence in any way with the name Ipad, and – asking other women their opinion on this, all I have asked (yes, I know, clearly biases will exist re who I asked etc) think it is absurd. Indeed, if anything the idea that ipad is in anyway seen as offensive, is offensive in itself – are women supposed to be so simple minded that a ordinary term like pad is now akin to talking about women’s periods.(“snigger – a term not unlike sanitary pad!”). As another poster said – what about ‘touch’ then? Seriously, do you really think most (any?) women are so simple minded that they would care???

2) I think this is most likely why the majority of posters said or implied it was irrelevant.

3) Pad is a western word, and an english shorthand term for – among Other things – sanitary pads. So, since when has this English word ‘pad’ been linked suddenly and absolutely, worldwide to the idea of sanitary pads with the same cultural associations (that it might by slightly unseemly or not etc)?

4) Many (indeed one of the top positions, including at Google) in the US in tech are in fact women – so no, I don’t think the word pad was an oversight because women weren’t part of the conversation. I believe it was quite the opposite – that women working on this item hadn’t even made such a stupid, juvenile link Because they are equals and Because they are clearly not in junior high and Because they saw the word as reflective of what it was meant to be – notepad (if you take the view it was misguided approach – why stop there? while we’re at it lets agree never to use the word facetious again….that sounds close to faeces after all, it may confuse or offend people!!) I think this was RJS’s point – and I agree with him. I think anyone who thinks women are or should be offended, or that this represents a misrepresentation of women is the sexist/clueless one.

5) Feminism is about supporting/encouraging the equality of women, and god forbid it is co-opted by people who think feminism is about ‘protecting’ or shielding women from supposedly ‘offensive’ or ill thought out words’ like ipad, or that such words are reflective of a “lack of women being part of the process”.

6) Seriously? You seriously, genuinely think that women on twitter represent a wide range of women worldwide of all ages and backgrounds? You don’t think it’s More likely that women online from/in LDC’s are likely to be elites (given the myriad of constraints such as cultural/resource (tech)/norms/poverty etc) and therefore more likely to associate with western ideals than representative of many women in their own country? Further, those online from outside the US will more likely not be viewing the same issues with the same media focus, will not have the same (as mentioned before) use of words/slang – how westerncentric can you be to assume otherwise? – and will – if they are of a certain age (with kids) probably not online much/if at all. You can argue this point if you want, but if this is a very real issue in the US/UK (see MamaPhD, Higher Education etc) then obviously (the reason most of us work In development) a country with less focus on online networking, less wealth, less connectivity and as often the case, less gender equality than it is highly likely they will not be on Twitter as much as you assume (in your last paragraph, or in Easterly’s original post). To assume all women are represented is therefore a fallacy.

7) What’s “Half the sky” got to do with anything? Nicholas Kristof is a great supporter of women, on the other hand as ‘Tales from the hood’ pointed out a while back in a recent article where N was interviewed (marketing ‘half the sky’) he is not immune to ill thought out comments and ideas (e.g. his idea of viewing the “process” of helping young girls out of poverty as you would drinking a pepsi was not his best moment). I respect N K – and obviously it’s important to support women’s equality worldwide, but I thought his comment in the interview was 100x more insensitive to women/girls/families/people in general than ‘Ipad’.

I got that the original post was slightly tongue in cheek….except that it wasn’t – I think Bill was trying to make a light point by assuming that women (“all joking aside!”) did in fact ‘kind of find it insensitive’, and that those on twitter Did/do, in fact, represent a wide range of ages and nationalities, background and wealth….I disagree with both.

9) Most likely women who posted responses on twitter did so because they Weren’t offended, but found it funny to varying degrees. Generally the more awkward and difficult an issue the Less jokes it generates – in this case if twitter ‘lit up’ is that most likely because a) women – worldwide, of all ages, backgrounds – found it an insensitive term and felt compelled, as a priority no less (!), because god knows the importance of semantics when you have a family to feed, or work to do, to go on twitter (!?) right away to state their anger at not being “incorporated into this process” particularly given Ipad was invented “in a country where so many people are ready to claim that we live in a post-feminist era” OR b) young college, tech savvy women, largely in the West, or elites in their own country, found it funny and inconsequential – and posted it as a quick joke because they Do in fact feel included and represented and Equal enough to do so.

10) I’m Pretty sure most readers get that big orgs like Care work with women, from what I can gather most posters work in dev in some form already. Just fyi.

So I can see Bill thought you “got it exactly” except to say, did you, or Bill, really ‘Get’ what all the criticisms were about?

Apologies again for insanely long post, but as a women I wanted to respond as I feel that those that genuinely feel women have been ‘left out of a process’ due to a juvenile name association are the ones setting back women’s equality. What hope do important issues for women outside the west have if western women are so easily reduced – by dev critics no less – to simple minded ‘voiceless’ victims?

I have a request if possible – How about a post on the issue of adoption/Haiti? (and indeed overseas adoption in general). ‘Good intentions are not enough’ made some good points, but as Aid Watch is so widely read, and seems to cover a variety of issues facing aid/development, it might be worth bringing it up in more depth to get a wider discussion going…

“Maybe women don’t have enough voice or power at newspapers either.” ? Or, sorry to be harsh, but maybe you spend too much time on twitter and not enough time reading articles by well regarded women writers/journalists? (this smacks a bit of an earlier post that implied because those working in development economics had not done rigorous work into the concept/issues etc of failed states no one had).

“But Twitter is a more democratic medium that allowed women (and their male friends) to voice bemusement, anger, and ridicule.” This is probably true to an extent, but I think the caveat must be to add that most of these women are likely to be young/relatively unencumbered (one to no kids etc)/tech savvy etc.

I think you will find those using Twitter (and facebook etc) are not necessarily the broad, all encompassing range of people that you imply it is. Of all the people/friends/colleagues I know that work in aid/dev etc – only very (!) few use twitter Most are either overseas with poor/limited reception or have too much work to do. Those that do use it I find are – either 1) male, 2) young with no dependents, or 3) if they are in academia/f-time work – have kids in childcare. There are exceptions to this of course, but I’ve yet to find other women working in development with more than one child, not in f-time childcare, that are able to find the time or inclination to post daily on Twitter. By assuming they are represented – “the democratizing power of Twitter” – you lessen Their voice even further.