Hi, I'm a female and I am in the throes of going through what it takes to learn Perl. My reply here is to serve as a look from a female perspective. I am new to Perl Monks and it will show. I was turned on to Perl through my fiance about a year ago. He uses it to do various functions for his website. Over time, I started to see the vast functionality of Perl and thought to myself, "If he can do it, why not me?" So here I am today, eager to learn it and ready to use it. But first, some background ... I agree that whether or not a female is fond of a computer is closely related to her upbringing. My father raised me in them. I can recall being very young and watching over his shoulder and being in complete awe of what my father did for a living (programmer). At the time, PC's seemed to be gaining high recognition and understanding this, my father immersed me in them. By age 9, my typing skills were the fastest in my class and my knowledge of DOS astounded the Monitors in my school's computer lab. I attribute this mostly to my father. I cannot give him all the credit, however. I loved computers even from the first moment I ever sat down in front of one. I just don't understand how programming cannot be thought of as creative. It is. How is it not? You are creating something to serve a purpose. Sure, it's not hot gluing silk flowers on a straw hat or making some other ridiculous craft. But it is creative, and (IMHO) far more enjoyable. I don't believe the hype that a woman or a man could be a better programmer. What I do believe is that a woman is just as suited to be a successful programmer as any man. Bottom line? I think that the societal boundaries that suggest women should seek other career choices such as accounting, secretarial duties, or otherwise should be obliterated. In fact, I'm extremely excited about this prospect of learning Perl and I don't think I'm such a rare thing. I think it just needs to be encouraged a lot more.