The idea that masculinity is akin to misogyny is as dangerous and harmful as misogyny itself. As is the idea that aggression is a purely masculine trait, or that any of the traits Larry listed are exclusively feminine.
Larry didn't say it should be feminine, nor did he imply it. He also didn't say masculinity is misogyny. At most he called for something androgynous. I think to interpret his statements otherwise is projecting.
> As is the idea that aggression is a purely masculine trait
I didn't say it was a purely masculine trait, but to ignore the clear association between masculinity and aggression in many cultures is to ignore reality. There are many social, economic and (possibly) evolutionary reasons why men are often more aggressive than women. Couple this with the relative involvement of women in CS and programming positions, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that aggression in our industry can be seen as overly masculine.
He literally says his vision for the logo is to discourage misogyny in the parent post:
> I also take it as a given that we want to discourage misogyny in our community.
All I want to know is what does the one have to do with the other? What does a butterfly logo have to do with the concept of sexism towards women? That's it. That's my question. I have no idea how to state it more simply.
Someone suggested that "discouraging misogyny" does not necessarily mean femininity, so I asked what "discouraging misogyny" does mean in this context, and you replied "not overtly masculine".
That response does not simply allude to the idea that masculinity is misogyny, it is literally saying that masculinity is misogyny. Hence my reply that the very idea is itself sexist and dangerous. It was my response to your saying masculinity is misogyny, and your interpretation of Larry's original statement about the logo to mean as such. That is not projecting, that is simple reading comprehension.
> All I want to know is what does the one have to do with the other? What does a butterfly logo have to do with the concept of sexism towards women? That's it. That's my question. I have no idea how to state it more simply.
By being gender neutral and inviting in an industry with is definitively male dominated, and arguably male-centric.
> It was my response to your saying masculinity is misogyny
I did not say masculinity is misogyny, please don't extend your argument to my statements providing and alternate interpretation. My interpretation is this: You can fight misogyny by being open and inviting to all sexes. Being overtly masculine can hamper that. Let's not be overtly masculine.
To be clear, I think the root difference in our points of view is that you seem to have attributed a very specific meaning to one particular statement of his. I think there is not enough context to make a definitive assertion as to his meaning, so out of the possible interpretations I chose one that is more positive.