This petition was created with the hopes of encouraging Gearslutz to change their name to something that more appropriately represents the gear community. 

Gearslutz is widely regarded and refers to themselves as "The No.1 Website for Pro Audio." Every engineer I know has used/uses it, and most of the engineers I know feel uncomfortable with the name. I have been one of two women sitting in an engineering class and a professor has uncomfortably mentioned the website, apologizing for the name, but bringing it up because it has been an important resource to use when learning about gear. 

While there has been much progress in the gear community and audio world for women, we still exist in a time where every woman I know who works in audio has been asked which band member she's dating when she's loading in gear. Every woman I know has been called a slut in a derogatory manner. Every woman I know who works in a male dominated field has felt objectified and patronized. And not every woman is offended by this name, but enough people are that it's a frequent and recurring topic. 

It might not seem like a big deal, and people will likely say that we should focus our energies on bigger issues of equality, but we can do both. We can talk about the things in our community that make us uncomfortable, starting with this website created by men, who have never been called "slut" in a hateful and derogatory way. Who have never had to prove their merit in their field simply because of their gender. Who have never had someone assume that their level of success was due to the fact that they slept with the right person. 

Aside from making some people feel a bit upset, it's also just a very unprofessional name that makes people uncomfortable in an educational environment or workplace, as you can see from the comments of signees below. 

I'm looking forward to a brighter future where women and female presenting people feel comfortable in all spheres of work and passion, and this small change would be a great step. If you're angered or annoyed by this request, truly ask yourself why.