Am I guilty of blatant sexual discrimination?

March 2, 2006

At the risc of exposing myself to forum mockerage, I have been known to engage in a bit of roleplaying every now and then. So I walk into this roleplaying store, and of course want to ask the clerk the incredibly geeky question of whether the 3rd edition GURPS book I am looking at is compatible with the 4th edition rules I use.

There are two people behind the desk, your classic nerdy guy and some plain woman tending a baby. I assume she is just there so she gets to spend time with her husband or whatever whilst taking care of their babyboy (who btw was being spoonfed nerdiness even at such a tender age when the guy imitated a dragon and held up a miniature as well to scare the poor thing), so I just ignore her and walk straight past her to ask the guy about the book. He admits to knowing nothing about that system and points to his partner who tells me it is indeed incompatible with the new system and I shouldn't bother.

Now, on one hand, I am thinking I was guilty of blatant sexual discrimination, by automatically labelling her as the dumb blonde who wouldn't know the first thing about roleplaying.

On the other hand, it could also be that I naturally assumed women would be above engaging in such nerdy behaviour and so my behaviour actually reflect my high esteem of women in general.

Strangers of the internet, please help me solve this dilemma: Am I a sexist pig or not?

Edited March 2, 2006 by Anders Honoré

Tosh · March 2, 2006

This post is not viewable to guests.