Hey Kat,

Thanks for the post. As a woman in Bitcoin who is everywhere, yet nowhere, in Bitcoin for 4 years now, I commend you. It's really hard to navigate a world of men so incredibly confused about women. I have been doing it for 25 years as the only women in male teams in engineering.

The best business advice I ever got was to stop shooting for 'break even'. Nobody ever succeeds by trying to break even and be completely equitable especially in a world filled with competitive corner cutters favored by the mediocracy. It kind of explains how feminism and women representation in all spaces including technology has a really hard time breaking 25%, and that's on a good day.

Yet, everywhere you look, there is evidence that balanced teams create better products and do much better financially in the long run.

Yet, we will always trip over boys staging a sit in against feminism when trying to go about our day of being kick-ass women part of a team that will remain 80-90% guys. Men tend to discuss feminism, femininity and women basing their critique on misconception, playing devil's advocate with zero skin in the game. It's completely useless, yet creates every day the exact same cascade of incredibly predictable comments.

There are much more men in technology that seek to shut down women who display independence, new ideas or opinions in our spaces than there are women in our spaces who advocate for other women. It a weird lopsided phenomenon.

I stopped being a visible 'woman in technology' advocate over 15 years ago because it seemed odd to convince women to enter tech where they would be abused by a system that is confused about non-men, doesn't want their opinion or contribution. Of course the toxicity of the space has only grown five fold and now it is simply very loud and vocal. Alter Eggos fill the well of hate and vitriol overflowing over our lives on a daily basis.

I am currently conducting a social experiment of boyhood. I am trying out the "bad guy hat" and seeing where that leads creatively. The "bad guy hat" is a mainstay of all medias aimed at boys. I don't like FPS games so i am doing this within a non traditional game. Women in society are never allowed to try on the "Bad guy hat" without massive push back. As an example, comments on your attire, looks, mannerism, RBF or 'smiling'! It's the same song over and over again. Be decorative. Support the male lead. Don't make waves. And, most of all, never make men feel uncomfortable for one moment, or it could lead to your demise.

Of course, on a personal basis, one-on-one, I have excellent relationship with key players in Bitcoin since the very beginning and I can be supportive in a more discreet manner. This will not always be the case so I retain personal physical protection and train bodyguards on the management of online-based hate and harassment. So call on me if you wish for help on this side of things.

I wish you good luck in your projects,
Eva