The term lived experience is used to describe the first-hand accounts and impressions of living as a member of a minority or oppressed group. When women talk about what it's like to be female in a predominantly male geek community, they are describing their lived experiences. People often discount accounts of lived experience, saying: * "I never saw that happen." * "I know a person in that group and she says it didn't happen to her." * "Logically, that shouldn't happen (and so it doesn't)." * "Anecdotes are not data."