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Women in web3, more specifically those on crypto twitter, are confusing. I say that as someone who is one, and still often feels like I’m watching a bizarre performance unfold in real time. One week, we’re all about protecting women at conferences and speaking up about misogyny. The next, it’s subtweeting the same girl for existing too confidently. Pick a damn lane!!!
There’s a kind of feminism in this space that’s 90% slogan, 10% substance. “Girls support girls!” until it’s time to actually do that. It’s the kind of feminism that posts well, gets good engagement, and does absolutely nothing beyond that. Meanwhile, these same women will boost founders and apps that actively undermine women, vote against community proposals that would benefit marginalized builders, and brush off racism or harassment as “not my business.”
If you’re going to talk about protecting women in web3, do it when it’s inconvenient too. Otherwise, it’s just brand maintenance, no?
There’s this unspoken aesthetic some of you are chasing in the Web3 girlie world "I'm not like other girls!" It’s confusing. The aesthetic is feminist-lite, but the actions are giving Twitter groupthink and deeply internalized misogyny. I’ve seen women with platforms rally for better conditions, and then in the same breath, make fun of another woman’s startup pitch or outfit choice at a conference
I love internet humour. I love irony. I love tongue in cheek! But I need to say this with love:
You’re just loud and slightly too comfortable with being online 24/7. There’s a difference between humour and detached irony that’s been fried from years of pretending internet culture = personality. Some of you are dangerously close to tech bro with a ring light.
A friend recently told me about a conference interaction. She met a girl who was nice and well connected online, until the topic turned to funding & navigating the web3 space. She turned demeaning, condescending, and proceeded to talk down on their economic situation. A lot of the women I've come across seem to only be pro-woman when they're resourced, polished, and non-threatening. You support safety and inclusion but only for women who look and move like you? That’s not feminism. That’s branding.
And then there’s the man who wouldn’t stop asking me to buy my nudes. When I told a friend, their response was: “Yeah but he’s well-liked and well-connected in the space.”
Okay? So are a lot of people who shouldn’t be.
Why are we still defending unprofessional, gross behaviour because someone has “connections”? And why is it always the women cleaning it up, quietly messaging each other, taking screenshots just in case?
Side note - the same women who publicly advocate to protect women, are the ones dating, and mingling with the same men from above. Again, the selective feminism is palpable.
Recently, an investor I follow tweeted something about wanting to see more “girly tech” in the space. The replies? Chaos.
The girls were mad. The energy I got from most replies were “I’m building something and I’m a girl! You didn’t invest in me!”
Listen. Just because you’re a woman building a company does not make it “girly tech.” Just because your UI has rounded corners and a serif logo doesn’t mean it’s culturally relevant. And no one is obligated to invest in you to prove they support women.
The truth is, most of the “girly tech” I’ve seen in Web3 feels like a recycled version of the same 3 products, passed around with different names and slightly tweaked branding. It’s copy-paste with a splash of pastel & pink.
When I think “girly tech,” I think of 2010s Tumblr: messy, hyper-personal, full of subcultures, humour, darkness, brilliance. It wasn’t sanitized or safe. It wasn’t trying to be perfect. It had soul.
What’s being built now often feels like the aesthetic of culture without any culture actually inside it.
This isn’t a callout. It’s a mirror. If you see yourself in any of this, that’s fine. Me too, sometimes. That’s the point.
But let’s be honest: we could be building something better. More interesting. More real. Instead, we’re stuck performing feminism, recycling the same ideas, and pretending mediocrity is empowering because it comes with a pink logo.
I’m not asking for perfection. I’m asking for culture. For care. For actual vision. For tech that doesn’t just include women, but is shaped by them in meaningful, messy, genre-defying ways.
Chloe
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You're asking for feminism in a hypercapitalist space. Change the hypercapitalism, and the feminism will be easier.
historically, this is an oxymoron hahah
Thank you for putting this out. It rings so true (me, also a woman in crypto for many years now but never tapped into the "just a girl" thing), also doesn't help that feminism these days is often paraded by companies in order to sell you stuff. Being a feminist is now as easy as buying a bag that says "the future is female" or whatever.
tooootally! it's just so washed these days. I'm sorry you've had a not so great experience with it <3
Actually as a man,im not into femenism stuff,and as a context of a career of being a physician can’t even judge the space.but if something works, usually no need to change it.
100000%, sometimes the pinkwashing is coming from inside the house
Spot on. Too many people put business culture and capital idealism into the ego when it comes to Web3, and it’s never been meant to be that. Great article and unique perspective; thank you for sharing.
thank you so much for reading <3!
Is it simply correlational or causational that NYC primaried a socialist at the same time I’m seeing complaints about the ascendance of the Midwest 10
All around, I think we might all do well w/ a little ego checking. Regardless of where we grew up or migrated to.
The world if
I am an eternal optimist. If we can predict how irrationally we humans react, then we ought to be able to hijack those tendencies and divert them to better behaviors.
There shouldn’t be this much cope on the timeline on a Friday
😂 😂 The girls are fighting everywhere did you see the women in crypto essay In an abundance mentality where everyone is having their needs met and there is enough for all ….. there is no need to do this …… in this essay I shall……
lol. Ok I’ll bite what’s the essay
Damn they really are https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/1938601768067219670
> It’s the kind of feminism that posts well, gets good engagement, and does absolutely nothing beyond that. To be fair, this is an accurate characterization of *everything* in brypto (all hype, no substance) https://paragraph.com/@intrusivethots/women-in-web3-are-some-of-the-most-confusing-people-ive-ever-met
reposting my thoughts on chloe’s piece because i think it’s important for the girls, especially the ones newer to the space. i’ve worked in crypto since 2017 and i’ve experienced more than my share of bullshit and trauma. some of it public, most of it quiet. what i’ve learned: protection doesn’t come from formal structures, it comes from each other. -- i appreciate the honesty here, and i agree with some points.. performative feminism and internalized misogyny are real issues, especially in hypervisible spaces like CT. but I think this piece collapses a lot of nuance into a single, sweeping narrative yes, contradictions exist. but so does context. sometimes what looks like "subtweeting" is actually people processing harm. sometimes women with platforms are learning in public, imperfectly, while also trying to survive an ecosystem not built for them. there's no universal playbook for how to show up, and expecting perfect solidarity under constant scrutiny feels like a setup i also think it’s dangerous to frame complex behavior as “selective feminism” without acknowledging how power operates. in a space where connections = survival, some people are navigatinng real fear (of exclusion, of retaliation, of reputational loss). that doesn't excuse harmful behavior, but it does explain some of the silence! feminism in crypto isn’t failing because women are messy or contradictory. It’s evolving under pressure inside an ecosystem that often rewards compliance over speaking out speaking from personal experience: whisper networks exist for a reason. formal structures rarely protect you and the cost of naming harm publicly can be brutal (socially, professionally, emotionally). you lose access. you get labeled “difficult.” you become the problem for pointing out the problem. that’s why many women leverage their networks quietly, to stay safe, to warn each other, to survive. sometimes it’s choosing not to speak up because you know how this ends. so yes, there are contradictions. yes, people falter. but that’s not a failure of feminism, it’s a feature of navigating power while trying to build something better. if you’ve never had to choose between your safety and your credibility, you’re lucky. if you have, you know that survival often looks like silence. andd that doesn’t make you complicit. it makes you real!! let’s push for more care but let’s also have grace for people who are still figuring it out while trying to build something better in public https://paragraph.com/@intrusivethots/women-in-web3-are-some-of-the-most-confusing-people-ive-ever-met
@elvi idk if this is what you were looking for but it was right next to your cast in my feed lol
perfect Syed pls send more
It’s rare but if it happens I’ll be sure to tag you lol
a lot of us are also raised to think there’s a limited amount of seats at the table for women (usually just one) so we tend to interpret actions from other women as competitive or demeaning even when they’re not. simply because we were raised to be skeptical and critical of successful women "what did they do to get there?" "they’re acting that way because they’re jealous of me" "they only got there bc of XYZ"
Which feels old fashioned right? Like aren't we all just comfortable with rejection yet, so looking out for each other just feels better than not?
super old fashioned! but i've observed that behaviour/mindset in younger generations too still /: i think it will always exist as long as we still live within a patriarchal structure and exist within institutions (financial, bureaucratic, etc) that were built primarily by men
real this is so real
Damn Thank you for writing and sharing this. Was a very insightful read and well written post. 🫶🙏🏻
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This is a really perceptive take. I like that you acknowledge how fear is a factor in how people respond. I very much agree that we should extend more grace and generosity, and less judgment.
Totally agree…we need to protect each other. Community care is essential. But it can get tricky with queen bee dynamics. Sometimes, in the name of survival, women end up attacking other women just to maintain proximity to power. It’s exhausting and ultimately reinforces the very patriarchy we’re trying to dismantle. Coming from a tech background where I spent most of my career surrounded by men, I’ve always been genuinely excited to see other women especially in spaces like Web3. Even seeing non-engineering women felt refreshing. But then I was hit with queen bee energy from other women, and it was quite shocking.
"learning in public, imperfectly, while also trying to survive" This explains the plight of us all. Well said.
It’s interesting to see these types of conversations being had. I’m new to the web3 space but obviously live in the world as a black american woman so ive experienced racism and discrimination. It’s just unfortunate that a space that is meant to decentralize and change systems has many of the same problems.
systems replicate the hands that build them. it sucks, and it’s real. i see you and i’m with you 🩷
one of the realest things i’ve read in a hot minute 💀 I wish I read something like this when first entering crypto spaces. author: @chloee https://paragraph.com/@intrusivethots/women-in-web3-are-some-of-the-most-confusing-people-ive-ever-met
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