Is the iPhone Sexist?

1. Alan Spach
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:11 pm

   "why does Apple persist in this misogyny?"

   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

   Dear sweet lord that's funny.

2. firithlotiel
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

   Thats like saying ATMs are misogynistic too.

3. Orjan Morjan
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:14 pm

   Thank you Apple for making life harder for people with horrible nails like those.

4. BarryS
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

   Apparently, the iPhone also discriminates against the terminally stupid.

5. Rosi
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

   This is ridiculous! Not EVERYTHING can be blamed on misogyny you know... cut your fingernails to a NORMAL length!
   She might as well argue that contact lense makers are being sexist, because you have to have short nails if you want to avoid scratching your eyes out... or that glove makers need to put in extra length to accomodate her nails!
   I think only about 20% of the women I know have long nails like this... so it's not particularly aimed at women in general, just a small group.
   If she's that bothered, why doesn't she just go out and buy some cheap nail scissors and cut her damn nails!!!

6. ryanp
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

   @BarryS

   Well said.

7. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm

   I don't think she's going to get much sympathy. Now, if you have really big fingers, I can see that you might have a problem. But her problem is so easily fixable that her complaint is just stupid.

   Cut your nails, twit!

8. anon
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

   I don't know...
   Why didn't Apple make it so that the nails could register as touches as well?

   Then they could make the surface like a chalkboard and send us all to the hell that these past-their-prime fashionistas live in.

9. X-Shark
   June 24th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

   UHH. . . Go buy a different phone you stupid person! If that phone doesn't work for you, find one that will.

10. Evilbeagle
    June 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    I don't think that having long nails (to a tasteful degree), is necessarily stupid, tacky, or belong to past their prime fashionistas. That's harsh, inaccurate, and mean spirited in the extreme. What is stupid is claiming that the iPhone is misogynistic because people with longer nails can't use it. Women that want to claim discrimination in everything they see make us all look bad.

    The world doesn't have to accomodate your nails, your chubby fingers, or any other of your sensitive issues.

11. Roberto
    June 24th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    why they dont use their knuckles?

12. Shprocket
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Actually, this woman is not as outrageously wrong as she appears to be at first glance. The iPhone should cater in particular to the diverse needs of women, since only a total woman would want an iPhone in the first place.

13. Skipweasel
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    Dunno about iPhones, but I can't get those touch-sensitive hand driers in the loo to work when my hands are wet. Perhaps I have a naturally low electrical field or capacitance or whatever. A dry elbow sometimes does it, but the rest of the time I just have to do without.

14. sam
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    "The fingers you've used to dial are too fat, to order a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad now."

15. sam
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    This just in - also discriminating against women with long stupid fingernails: pianos, guitars, shoelaces, and pretty much everything else in the world.

    Discriminating against the short nail crowd is back scratches and the ability to remove caked on debris from dishes.

16. Greg
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    Apple's made a lot of lofty claims about the capabilities of the iPhone.

    I don't remember "It pleases all of the people, all of the time" being among Jobs' bullet points.

17. Tara
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Seriously? It's women like that that make the rest of us look bad.

18. Jason E.
    June 24th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    First of all:

    The iPhone itself cannot have an emotion as it is an inanimate object.

    Secondly:

    Finger nails that are of a length such as to prevent you from performing any task are an elected nuisance by the yielder of said nails.

    Translated:

    If you want your iPhone to work for you, cut your fu#!ing finger nails.

    This is the ugly side of human rights over-activism.

19. K!P
    June 24th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    "I don’t know…
    Why didn’t Apple make it so that the nails could register as touches as well?"

    because thats not how the underlying MULTI touch electronict work. there is no fisical layer you push down, as was with older touchscreens. it need coductifity to work.

20. sparge
    June 24th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    So sexism is an emotion now? As in, "Gee, I'm feeling sexist today"?

    Anyway, near the bottom of the article came this quote (referring to why she doesn't just trim her nails): "It's the machine's job to accommodate its users, not the other way around,"

    Um, no. Not even close. You have to learn how to program your TiVo, you have to practice with your speech-to-text software, and if your deodorant give you a rash, then dammit, you might have to try a different brand.

21. Zecc
    June 24th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Is she implying that only women can have long nails?

    Who's being misogynist, hmm?

22. Ashley
    June 24th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Okay guys, 1/8" is not very long. Even 1/4" isn't that bad. The draconian nails you are imagining when you refer to aging fashionistas and other tawdry women are at least 3/4" or longer.

    Now I'm not agreeing that it's misogynistic, and I don't like how women think everything is sexist, and minorities think everything is racist, etc etc.

    But why shouldn't a stylus work? If I paid $500 for some stupid phone, I should think it would accommodate styluses. Or is that styli?

23. Bee
    June 24th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Then buy a CrackBerry and STFU already!

24. "A.J."
    June 24th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    Way to waste my time scrolling past this stupid article on the main page. I got so annoyed I had to comment on my annoyance.

25. Ursula
    June 24th, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    Honestly, I can't see how the iPhone works for anybody BUT women (and tiny men.) I'm over six feet tall, and I go nuts trying to use my friend's iPhone... I sit there stabbing at that damn screen, hitting three keys at once. It's like a children's toy or something. The iPhone isn't just anti-male, it's anti-big girls!

    (Didn't SNL do some fake commercial about how men could get "Ladyfingers" to use the iPhone? I know I saw something like that, somewhere.)

26. donna
    June 24th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

    Well, nature discriminated against me, since it's physically impossible for me to get my nails that long before they break or split, and I refuse to pay for those damned uncomfortable fake ones. So I'm sick of seeing them promoted as something women "must" have, and the idea that not catering to them is misogynist somehow.

    One fashion style I really really could do without, this idea that we're supposed to have long nails....

    cut 'em, already!

27. Devin
    June 24th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    So how the heck do they use Blackberrys? People will find anything to complain about!

28. the man
    June 24th, 2008 at 6:42 pm

    You know.......?

    I don't shit just to denigrate those born without assholes.

    If you have long nails you have a problem using ALL 21st century tech.

    The city of San Francisco isn't designed to allow you to walk around in a corset either, and it isn't because it was made to not allow corsets. It is because it is a modern city.

    Should I be able to complain that the Iphone doesn't work well on horseback?

    Ladies, grow up and join the 21st century.
    If you put style before life functions then you are no differnt than women who perform cliteradectomy or feet binding on their daughters.

    PS-Men can have long nails too. But women call them slobs.

29. Noelegy
    June 24th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

    Donna, I'm with you; the first thing I thought while reading this was "Not all women have or want long nails."

30. CheeseDuck
    June 24th, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    Just ban fingernails! Thats the obvious problem here!

31. il professor
    June 24th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

    Women may be of no use to science but at least they can make a macchiato.

32. dangerman
    June 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

    Everyone is a victim aren't they? Ridiculous.
    You know, there is someone out there starving to death.

33. Ominous Red
    June 25th, 2008 at 12:23 am

    A woman with an iPhone. That's the problem. Get in the kitchen and make my sandwich. Oooooooooohhh nooooo I didn't!

34. RM
    June 25th, 2008 at 1:15 am

    Don´t buy it then.

35. heather
    June 25th, 2008 at 2:14 am

    Oh for fu-
    Trim your nails, woman! It's that easy!

36. issacsullivan
    June 25th, 2008 at 2:33 am

    When is the hot pink iPhone coming out?

37. Evilbeagle
    June 25th, 2008 at 2:57 am

    Wow. Such a stupid little story about a stupid woman who feels entitled, and everyone pops out of the woodwork to put down women with long nails. I myself don't keep my nails long (though they are carefully manicured), and I have small fingers, but just because you can't grow yours longer, or are too feminist to want to have feminine hands doesn't mean that every woman out there that has longer nails is some sort of crazy cougar or to girlie to be taken seriously. You would think that this story was about a baby killer and not a stupid woman who feels the iPhone has to cater to her needs the way that people have generalized anyone with longer nails.

38. BikerRay
    June 25th, 2008 at 4:53 am

    This lady was complaining as well...
    http://www.ripleys.com/assets/img/upload/bions/long%20nails.jpg
    (hoping the hotlink works)

39. Will
    June 25th, 2008 at 5:27 am

    cant you click it with only your nails?

40. ted
    June 25th, 2008 at 6:04 am

    No unreasonable. They should have a phone that you can swipe your fingernails through, so that the buttons can automatically adjust to the length of your nails. It would cost a little more, but that's the price of progress.
    I'm sure we're all willing to shoulder that burden to remain non-gender-biased.

41. S-r-ex
    June 25th, 2008 at 7:19 am

    Seriously, I can't even see what's so cool about the iPhone in the first place. Sure, Apple made it and Steve Jobs held it up when it was revealed, but seriously. When it came, it lacked almost every common function, costed 600 bucks, locked to AT&T, and had zero third party support. Sure, it's cheaper now and Apple did allow third party support, but still.

    I kinda feel I'm happy with my SE P1i. The touchscreen it has reacts both to my fingers, nails, stylus and whatnot. And the special keypad makes SMS writing a dream on clouds! Tactile interface FTW!!! Nothing can replace that!

42. MisterTrilby
    June 25th, 2008 at 7:23 am

    Silly cow. You're not being discriminated against; it's just that this phone is not the one for you if you choose (and it is your choice) to have long nails. To avoid the problem and keep your nails, just choose a different phone that does come with a stylus. There are lots of them available, and no doubt there are one or two that are better than the iPhone.

    You could only really claim unfair disrimination if long fingernals were an involuntary disability. Stupid stupid stupid.

43. cuimhne
    June 25th, 2008 at 9:33 am

    As stupid as this woman is I'm more annoyed with certain people here generalising. Stop implying that all women are as stupid and/or vain as this stupid woman!

44. serotonin
    June 25th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    Does anyone even know what "misogyny" means anymore?

45. Jason E.
    June 25th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    To "sparge"

    Yes... sexism is an emotion... just as hatred, disapproval, and elitism are all emotions. You can't be prejudice toward anything without emotion. Irrationality is a byproduct of emotional interference.

46. ray
    June 25th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    Why do these women persist in this misandry?

47. neko
    June 25th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    oh, come on. i'm a woman with long nails and i have no problem whatsoever with iphones. tap with the pads of your fingers instead of the tips.

    or maybe it's because i'm under 30, so i get how computerized things work.

48. tripleX
    June 25th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    You only have to cut one of your fingernails a bit shorter then the others to work the iPhone. Could be the new trend, because it shows you own a iPhone.
    Or maybe Apple can make an iNail, a nail you can slide back or something, or maybe even conduct electricity?
    They should not forget their voluntary disabled clients.

49. your_mum_goes_to_college
    June 25th, 2008 at 8:43 pm

    B*TCH PLEASE! Long nails make lots of things difficult to do with your hands. Here's a solution - CUT THEM!

50. Rose
    June 25th, 2008 at 9:35 pm

    Society's expectation that you have long fingernails is sexist.

    LAME

51. Nubcake
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:14 am

    To RM: Agreed. Just don't f'in buy the phone.

    People want the tiny, fit in your clutch/pant pocket/shirt pocket, slim sized phones; with allll the funky features, and that's exactly what Apple gave to us. They did their best, now ladies/'chunky' fingers stop complaining. If you need a damn phone to be accommodated to you, then find one that is.

    As for the stylus, the Chinese have an iPhone knockoff that has to be used with a stylus. It's called the M8 HiPhone or something along those lines.

52. Nic
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:22 am

    By the way....any woman who has long nails (fake or real) should know that you are NEVER supposed to use the tip of your nail to do anything as it damages those precious nails. I have had acrylic nails for about a decade now and have never had an issue using any technology including the iphone seeing as I seem to know how to use my fingertip or side and not the nail.

    And if the phone doesn't suit your needs, no one is forcing you to buy it!

53. Evilbeagle
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:30 am

    I didn't realize that society expected me to have long nails. When I had them, it was a conscious choice and I liked them. I'll have them long again when I so choose.

    What's lame is that people wish to take every little thing that makes a woman look feminine and call it oppressive, or put the women down for it. It may not be your thing. It may be something you wanted and couldn't have, but putting a feminist spin on everything you don't like cheapens the concept.

54. Azazello
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:32 am

    For God's sake we forgot about the drive-in ATMs with Brail keyboards!
    What about paraplegics and the blind... this world is a cruel place of ever spreading discriminations

55. Roonie
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:35 am

    So all vehicle manufacturers are discriminating against ppl with 1 or no legs????? Wats going on???? If u dont like it dont buy it. It is wat it is!!!
    Like god was discriminating against ppl who cant eat spicy food by inventing the chili pepper???
    Im sure there are better ways to attract attention to yourself.

56. jonny boombatz
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:48 am

    get the LG votager. it's nicer and it has a touchscreen as well as a large keypad.

57. tee
    June 26th, 2008 at 8:11 am

    "This just in - also discriminating against women with long stupid fingernails: pianos, guitars, shoelaces, and pretty much everything else in the world."

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! WELL SAID

    I thought the whole point of long nails was to show that you were so well off you dont need to do anything with your hands. In that case why the F do you need an I phone. Puuhleeese

58. tee
    June 26th, 2008 at 8:23 am

    heck though if you want the nails as a fashion statement . . who am I to say otherwise. . But damn leave apple alone and get a different phone.

    Sexist . . My god!

    Are Treadmills sexist because they dont work with High Heels?

59. Evilbeagle
    June 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am

    "I thought the whole point of long nails was to show that you were so well off you dont need to do anything with your hands. "

    Funny, I only had long nails when I was a corporate rodent. Now that I am a lady of leisure, I keep them short so that I can do fun stuff like racing cars and digging around in the garden.

    I agree that the claim that the iPhone is sexist is stupid, but really, folks, how judgemental.

60. Lea
    June 26th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    Sexist?? Seriously??

    Get a life.

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