tl;dr:
The meetup is open for all women*, non-binary*, inter* and trans* people, who are interested in talking to others about Linux and related topic. „Non-binary“ in this case does mean, that you neither identify as a woman, nor as a man. We don’t mean by it, that you only code with fuzzy logic and don’t use binary numbers. Admittedly, it would be fantastically terrifically queer to do so, but believe us, our computers also work with binary code most of the time 😉

With the * we mark certain words to point to the fact, that all these categories are socially constructed. That means, they don’t exist as is „in nature“, but we humans interpret nature in this and that way. Therefore it is legitimate for people to choose these categories for themselves in the way they best fit to them. If all of that feels a bit unsettling to you, or if you just want to know more about it, take a look at the more detailed explanation below.

(*) the details of our invitation policy

A place of encouragement

We want to create a space, that encourages and supports people in engageing/useing/dissecting/reconstructing/* (with) Linux. At the same time it should also be a space for people, who don’t know yet if they really want to engage with Linux. A little curiosity should therefore be just enough, to come to our meetups. Generally our spaces should support all participants to learn, have fun, and above all not be intimidated to do so.

Sex & gender are (just) one aspect

All of that does not necessarily relate to sex and gender. Because we want that to be applied to all people. Only, until we get there, there is still a lot to do. Currently most of the spaces dealing with Linux and computer technology in general are shaped by a culture that is not inviting or sometimes even intimidating for many people. At the same time these spaces that are frequented almost by people who identify as men. And most of the people intimidated by those spaces are people who do not identify as men. But of course, also some cis men are intimidated by those spaces. So while we don’t assume that this culture and the accompanying behaviours are necessarily attributes of sex or gender, we currently still perceive a strong correlation of male-dominated spaces and exclusive cultural practices.

While we are convinced that we are never just born as women*, but that we are made women* through culture and interaction (something that Simone de Beauvoir already told us in 1951, at the heyday of computer systems), and we accordingly also think that men* don’t have to conform to male stereotypes, we also believe that we need encouraging spaces in which different kinds of femininity and other non-stereotypically-male gender expressions can be expressed, without constantly being perceived as deviating from a (male) norm, that allegedly has a monopoly over technical skills.

Pragmatically we solve this problem by creating temporary technical spaces without cis men. And we believe that these spaces are necessary as long as there is a male norm and a statistical over-representation of cis men in technical spaces.

So who is invited now?

Therefore we want to invite all women*, femininities*, non-binary*, trans*, and inter* folks, who can’t or do not want to identify (any more) as cis men. And we explicitly use an asterisk (*) with these labels, to point to the social and cultural construction of these identities and manifestations. Of course, we could argue that for nearly all other categories too, that in the end they are only constructed through human interpretation in social exchanges. But we believe that language is powerful, and therefore it is important to us to use the asterisk in order to reflect our own preconceptions how people are or should be. In the end we are all born not in the way we are today, but we become who we are now.

So let us all become sparkly (or lux-y?), cunning, and witty Linux witches (and other wonderful Linux creatures).