The Pirate Party's "Postgender" Problems

As reported by Der Spiegel, critics have charged the German Pirate Party, in their internal party arrangement, of retaining the internet's overwhelmingly male dominated structure. Provided that the party has "computer-nerd" roots, it is unsurprising that the party is made up mostly of men- but this "demographic dilemma" may actually hinder the party's development and growth in the coming years.

The German Pirate Party captured 9 percent of the vote in Berlin's September statewide elections. This showing of support was enough, for the first time ever, to give the party seats in parliament- and to launch the party into the German psyche as a potent political force.

The Pirate Party's platform calls for an ultra-modern style of politics, made possible by the internet and recent technological innovations, and emphasizing the role of individual citizens, transparency, accountability, and a rejection of "gender warfare," among other things.

In spite of this, the Pirate Party suffers from a lack of female membership. Out of the party's 15 Parliamentary representatives, only one is a woman. And much of the party's conventions can be described as "men sitting in front of laptops."

And yet the Pirate Party sees no need to encourage female membership by establish affirmative-action programs or quotas- quite unlike what some other, more conservative parties (such as the Christian Social Union) have chosen to do. The Pirate Party claims to be "post gender" and thus rejects all forms of gender discrimination- positive or negative. Here, the central idea driving the party seems to be the idea that if all are treated equal, eventually, all will be equal and the party's skewed demographics will balance out. This, however, seems a hard pill to swallow.

It is undeniable that the internet scene is heavily male dominated- although this has become less the case in recent years, with the growth of social media. Because the Pirate is based off this structure, it should be no surprise that it is mostly men who comprise the party. However, the party risk turning off a potentially sizable chunk of the electorate- technologically savvy women, if it is not able to successfully address their unique needs. Ignoring the problem, as the Pirate Party is currently doing, in maintaining a "post gender" attitude solves nothing- although it is convenient.

Ignorance and a "boorish tone" have kept many women away from the Pirate Party. By maintaining a mostly male membership, the Pirate Party risks making itself unsuited to addressing the concerns of a large portion of the electorate. Their current "post gender" attitude of ignoring gender as a relevant factor is untenable because it is somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy.

The Party will claim that it does not discriminate on the basis of gender- that is, it will not give favorable treatment to women. Because a large portion of its platform is rooted in the internet- their supporters will necessarily reflect the demographics of those who use it- mostly men. The party is essentially hoping that as society progresses, more women will turn to the internet, balance out its skewed demographics, and then balance out the party's demographics.

This seems reasonable- but is highly unrealistic, at the same time. The sort of change the Pirate Party's policy will see, is one that will occur over several generations. The kind of change that it needs, one that will occur within a generation, is one which can only be obtained by an active policy of quotas and affirmative action. Anything less risks turning the Pirate Party experiment into a failed joke.

At present, the internet is unquestionable geared towards males. Because of this, women are less likely to support a party based on a system that is not relevant to them. The Pirate Party "maintains" the male bias of this system. Sometimes negative discrimination can occur, even when there is no active policy preventing a group of people from joining a social group. Negative discrimination can occur when systems are fundamentally geared towards one group of people and less relevant towards another group. In this case, it leads to men embracing the internet, and women who are significantly less likely to see its relevance.

The Pirate Party is at risk of promoting an agenda that is geared primarily to a male understand of the world. Without female support, without making itself relevant to women- the Pirate Party cannot hope to achieve true success.