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Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

vanityfair.com

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Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#31

Post by drchap »

astura wrote: post #14
jenkstom wrote: post #10

I think there is a certain amount of denial about male sexuality. It's like trying to change the fundamental personality traits of a child: it won't work and will probably result in someone who is antisocial or otherwise crazy. I don't know why we can't have a discussion about this. Possibly feminism is caught up in a narrative that is overly female-centric, which isn't really unexpected (or entirely unreasonable). B…

There's no such thing as "the sixth Google result," everyones Google results are different depending on your location, language settings, search history, browsing habits, and probably a million different variables. I just scrolled through many, many pages of Google image search results both from my phone and my work computer and didn't come across anything negative, the only thing cringy I saw was "the future is fema…

I did the same search in an incognito window. Woman kneeing a man in the groin was the fourth result.

Maybe your results show more about your search history and browsing habits than anything about the feminist movement or the average person's feelings on the matter.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#32

Post by nickthemagicman »

There's a power asymmetry between white men in silicon valley and black/latin men.

But (most) black/latin men don't have the option to participate in a silicon valley orgy to better their career.

They have to schlep it out like the rest of us average schmoes.

So in my mind this is an article about women getting an unfair advantage over the rest of us.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#33

Post by astura »

drchap wrote: post #31
astura wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no such thing as "the sixth Google result," everyones Google results are different depending on your location, language settings, search history, browsing habits, and probably a million different variables. I just scrolled through many, many pages of Google image search results both from my phone and my work computer and didn't come across anything negative, the only thing cringy I saw was "the future is fema…

I did the same search in an incognito window. Woman kneeing a man in the groin was the fourth result. Maybe your results show more about your search history and browsing habits than anything about the feminist movement or the average person's feelings on the matter.

I never claimed a Google image search result had anything to do with anything about the feminist movement or the average person's feelings on the matter or anything at all, for that matter.

In fact, I literally said "a single unqualified Google image search results doesn't tell you anything of any value."

Says very little about my browsing history through: I very rarely browse anything non-work related from my work computer and I aggressively block third party scripts, tracking scripts, ads, and I never search Google while also logging into Google plus I have browser extension that deletes cookies after I close a tabs and all traffic coming from my company has a single IP address.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#34

Post by ImSkeptical »

This article makes me wonder, what, exactly, is wrong and what is supposed to be done about this. I get that it seems exploitative and probably does have consequences for social attitudes at work, but what I don't understand is what's to be done about this?

Surely there's nothing (drug use aside) that's legally actionable about this. The encounters seemed consensual in the sense that the women weren't threatened or forced and were told about what the drugs offered would do.

If there's not any legal wrong doing then is it social misconduct? Somehow it feels wrong for me to judge or condemn adults for their sexual conduct - even if it seems cheap, transactional, and gross to me. I understand different people have different values and preferences, so why should I apply mine to them? Furthermore, I can't imagine that finger wagging from the likes of Vanity Fair is going to make these rich young men give up on their drug fueled sex parties.

It's an interesting article, even though the author is decidedly biased and at times intentionally misleading (e.g. when she scorns the idea that there are some/many women interested in taking advantage of men, in the middle of an article about rich nerds finding themselves suddenly with a surfeit of women). I don't understand what is supposed to be done about this though or even if something should be aside from educating young women about the tradeoffs they may make in these environments.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#35

Post by tzs »

So...a Silicon Valley version of a Hellfire club [1]?

What's the deal with that hot tub party photo from 1996? In particular what is supporting the laptop? It appears to be right on the surface of the water, which would be a ridiculous way to try to use it, as any ripples or waves would get it wet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Club

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#37

Post by tathougies »

ImSkeptical wrote: post #34

This article makes me wonder, what, exactly, is wrong and what is supposed to be done about this. I get that it seems exploitative and probably does have consequences for social attitudes at work, but what I don't understand is what's to be done about this? Surely there's nothing (drug use aside) that's legally actionable about this. The encounters seemed consensual in the sense that the women weren't threatened or f…

The entire article was on how these interactions are facilitated by the intentional use of illegal, mind-altering drugs.

Aside from the obvious fact that the drugs are illegal, there is also the question of whether those who are under the influence of these drugs can consent to sex.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#38

Post by ImSkeptical »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #29
erroneousfunk wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sleeping with a guy is a built in option women have to better their lives, that men don't have." This is a complicated issue, and there's a lot to unpack here. That technique may be used for women (and, heck, men too -- I'm the female 'breadwinner' of my household, although I didn't meet my husband at a sex party...) to better their lives, but those gains may be sporadic, and they depend on the continued cooperation…

-""I was in a "trophy girlfriend" relationship when I was young and my entire life revolved around "keeping" this guy"" It's absolutely a job. Why wouldn't it be? My point is that it's always an option for an even marginally attractive women that average dudes don't have, (which may be the reason the homeless population of women is such a minority.) Not a lot of plump hairy average dudes wearing yoga pants with the w…

I think the part that is keeping women down is the expectation that women will exercise this option you're describing.

Re: Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Side

#39

Post by dang »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #32

There's a power asymmetry between white men in silicon valley and black/latin men. But (most) black/latin men don't have the option to participate in a silicon valley orgy to better their career. They have to schlep it out like the rest of us average schmoes. So in my mind this is an article about women getting an unfair advantage over the rest of us.

The gender-baiting you've indulged in in this thread is off the scale. And even race-baiting too. Please stop now.

Unfortunately, to judge by the number of moderation warnings we've had to give you in the past, you have a long history of breaking the HN guidelines. That's a problem and if you don't correct it you'll get banned sooner or later. Please read https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and correct it.

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