A message from Gearslutz.com
A message from Gearslutz.com Founder Jules Standen
Regarding the petition on change.org
As the founder of Gearslutz, I chose the name as an ironic way of describing those who, like me, had no control over their desires for acquiring recording equipment. The name was, and still is, not intended to send a derogatory message to women or to discourage them from participating in the forum. It was simply meant to poke fun at some people’s pro audio shopping habits.
I suppose it’s a question of not judging a book by its cover. If women who are put off by the name were to look at the forum itself, they would find it a very welcoming place. In fact, from the very outset, because male participants were in the majority, we have done our very best to make the forum a safe place for women in terms of site content and visitor behaviour.
Regarding the name, I appreciate it’s not for everyone, but that is how we are known to our 1.6 million monthly visitors from 218 countries. For those uncomfortable with our logo, we have always offered an alternative option. This is available in a drop-down menu on the bottom left - it will display the alternate “Gearsz” logo.
We appreciate feedback about the forums and I reiterate that everyone is welcome to join in the discussions any time.