I wonder if part of it is that hackers look down on female-dominated lines of work. We imagine that being like us is the best thing in the world. It is a decent line of work, mind you, but it has its downsides and not everybody is cut out for it.
Hackers tend to look down on some male-dominated lines of work, too. It's not like you see a surplus of respect for construction workers or prison guards, for example.
I think it's more of a class thing than a sex thing.
All of the disdain that some people show for activities and occupations that are more associated with participation from women does have some very ironic implications, given the stated intentions of those people.
