In 2013, Elissa Shevinsky wrote an article titled "That's it, I'm finished defending sexism in tech." The article was based on her concerns that a major tech expo would open with a presentation with an app called "Titstare," which, as the name implied, allowed users to take photos of themselves staring at women's breasts.

Shevinsky had been in the tech industry for a decade at that point, and said she had put up with sexism all the time. She concluded her article by writing that one of the solutions to the problem was to get more women in tech.

Her article received 40,000 views and was shared around the web, helping to spark a debate about the lack of women in the tech industry, a debate with the notable accomplishment of making a grown man — a comet scientist — cry on live TV because the shirt he was wearing offended some.

Because of the movement she helped create, Shevinsky has been described as a "social justice warrior" — a usually derogatory term applied to those who engage in hostile arguments in the name of righting a perceived social injustice.

Shevinsky is now sorry for whatever role she played in creating all of this outrage and silliness. She's sorry, she writes in her new book, Lean Out, and she adds that her initial position was "flawed."

"I'm glad to come out in 'Lean Out' and say that my original essay — the one that has been the foundation for people assuming that I am [a social justice warrior] — was deeply flawed," Shevinsky told the Washington Examiner. "I do see sexism and gender issues, a culture war, in Silicon Valley, but the knee-jerk responses (recruit more women! attack the men!) are not the answer."

Shevinsky now thinks there is a more positive solution to the issue of sexism in tech.

"I think the more important meaning is to actively choose a path that's yours — for women to create their own companies and their own infrastructures, to actively seek out people and create places that are a fit for them," Shevinsky said. "Women are martyring themselves trying to change the existing culture, and it's miserable for everyone."

When asked what she would say to those who would accuse her of telling women to go elsewhere, Shevinsky explained that she wanted a free-market approach to reforming the tech industry.

"I'm not saying that men and women should be separate, but rather that we should control our own destinies," Shevinsky said. "Complaining can be effective but also authoritarian, and often unpleasant for everyone involved. Building something new can be even more impactful, and I believe it's a healthier approach."

She gave the example of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who were 20-somethings when they pitched investors. Even though Jobs had dealt with ageism long before Zuckerberg, by the time the Facebook co-founder was looking for investors, Jobs and Gates were the industry leaders and much, much older. With Zuckerberg's success, the tech industry has changed from being run by older geniuses like Gates and Jobs to being run by kids barely out of college.

Instead of young people complaining that the industry was run by elders, they went out and created something that people wanted to use and buy. Shevinsky believes women can do the same.

"So let's go build companies that don't require gatekeepers to say 'yes,'" Shevinsky said. "The SJW movement is essentially asking for permission. True entrepreneurship blazes through and does not require buy-in from the existing authorities. (Just look at airbnb and Uber.)"

Shevinsky used Elizabeth & Clarke as an example of a woman-run company that is doing things right. Founder Melanie Moore just created the " unstainable white shirt," and used Kickstarter to raise the money to produce it. Moore built her own company using her own money and staffed it with people she wanted to work with creating products for the people she wants.

Doing that, Shevinksy said, seems like a better idea than complaining and "focusing on what isn't working."