I ran several of my posts through; here are my results:
- Microcredit and Women Empowerment - Female Score: 692, Male Score: 993. The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Humanitarian War in Afghanistan? Female Score: 581, Male Score: 857 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- The Fraser Institute and Drowning Public Education in a Bathtub Female Score: 888, Male Score: 854 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!
- Class and The Pursuit of Happyness - Female Score: 434, Male Score: 817 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Pseudo-Scientific Hate Propaganda and "Women Drivers" - Female Score: 363, Male Score: 1039 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- International Women's DayFemale Score: 424, Male Score: 985 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
- Blame the Victims Female Score: 594, Male Score: 2068 -
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
So, despite the fact that almost all of these were wrong, apparently the algorithm is pretty accurate.
Interestingly, I took a nice long post from Daddy Dialectic: peein like a boy, or the follies of fathering in which the author talks about being a father. The results: "Female Score: 2014, Male Score: 1903 - The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: female!"
Which leads me to wonder if my voice would be more "female" if I wrote more about personal relationships and less about politics and social issues? If so, that means the "out of the home" topics are still largely the purvey of men, while "in the home" topics are womens' topics. Or is "serious" writing considered to be male? Or do I feel the need to take on a "male" writing style when discussing serious topics? Is there really such a thing as a female or male voice, or are we simply so programmed to communicate differently? Are these different linguistic styles simply a clear demonstration of patriarchy? Are women relational communicators due to our subordinate position in the hierarchy? In which case, does my "male" voice indicate I'm not writing submissively? Or is it because women are still the primary caregivers - then of course we'd communicate more relationally?
Or is this tool just bunk?
Try it out yourself. Choose posts that are longer than 500 words, and that quote the least from other sources, so as to ensure your own style comes through. Let me know if it is accurate.
