design, gender & equity

I wrote a long and meandering essay on my blog loosely based on a comment I read elsewhere about "feminine" design making people take you less seriously online.

I haven't reproduced it here, but I'd be interested in your comments if you have any.

On a related note, have you experienced gender inequity in your own blogging/LJ/whatever online communities? If so, what was the situation, and how did you respond?