Cracked: Wikipedia Hates Women
Wikipedia started as a noble idea: a free, encyclopedic reference site for everything with a neutral, evenhanded tone. The problem with Wikipedia is the same problem as the rest of the internet, the human element. And it’s not just the random contributors who are to blame. Editors, sometimes with admin powers, have poisoned the well.
Is there anything out there that sexist trolls won’t ruin?
Wikipedia, for those not familiar, is the largest online encyclopedia. Think Cracked but with slightly fewer fart jokes. Some people want that. Go figure. Despite being such an influential site, Wikipedia has fewer than 10 percent female editors. That leads to some strange problems. For example: The entries on porn stars and Pokemon are both more extensively detailed than the entries on prominent women. This page on American novelists is divided into “Female American Novelists” (for the women-folk) and “American Novelists” (for the men). They once removed all the female movie directors from their list of horror directors.
Basically, it seems like Wikipedia has some weird problems with regard to gender — so what’s up? Well, I was an editor from shortly after it was founded until just a couple of years ago. I am also a trans woman, and I can tell you exactly what’s up.