I’ve been considering getting a tablet. But I’ve held off. Not because of the price. Not because I don’t really need one. But because I, as a woman, don’t feel comfortable using any of the tablets currently on the market. They’re so scary-looking and not-pink. If only some brave company out there would make a tablet specifically for women so I could finally join the mens in the modern age of computing!
What’s that? You say a company has created a tablet specifically for females? Oh, happy day!
Yes, it exists. And it’s called the ePad Femme. I wish I were joking.
The ePad Femme (oh God, I never want to type that again) comes in pink and is preloaded with cooking, yoga, and grocery shopping apps, because all women like those things, right? But wait, I can hear you thinking. What about babies? Worry not, my be-uterus’ed friends: It comes with a pregnancy app as well.
Mani Nair is the Associate Vice President of Marketing for the Eurostar Group, creator of this fine piece of tech. Says Nair:
“The Tablet comes preloaded with applications so you can just turn it on and log in to cooking recipes or yoga. It makes a perfect gadget for a woman who might find difficulties in terms of downloading these applications and it is a quick reference.”
Nair also believes there is “no sexist intent” in the choice of applications, which—really? Really?!
A piece in the Jerusalem Post has quotes from several women who have the tablet and like it—which is fine for them to do, because so is liking cooking and yoga and pink. And yet, shockingly, not all women are nagging their husbands into buying them one (because clearly that’s how all ladies are, amirite?). Says Saudi feminist blogger Eman Al Nafjan, “There have always been special books for women concerning sex, how to please your husband, and what to cook for him. This is just using technology for the same thing.”
For an added element of WTFery, the ePad Femme is sold in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where, explains Al Nafjan, women are generally pretty computer-literate and can probably figure out how to install their own darn apps, thank you very much:
She says that in Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive or travel without a male relative, women spend a lot of time on-line.
“There is a lot less to do here than in the West,” she said. “You only meet people who are your family or who you study or work with… Whoever made this Tablet doesn’t understand us very well. We are home all the time and we are extremely tech-savvy.”
There you have it. The company that made a tablet for women doesn’t understand women. Or human decency for that matter, because the notion of a gender-specific tablet is freaking ridiculous.
I would go cleanse my palate with some cute puppy videos, but unfortunately my laptop is unisex, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to figure out how to.
(via: Ars Technica)
