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However, I've heard personal accounts from friends who have attended conferences of other circles (say, a linux-centered conf), and the account is quite different.
It really depends on the culture of the group.
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I don't think Tom's photo is sexist. It's inappropriate, perhaps (depending on the audience), but not an attack on equality.
Naming a project 'Pantyshot' and 'Upskirt' is.
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In the interest of fairness it should probably be pointed out that Dworkin rejected that interpretation of her work.
As much as I disagree (strongly, at points) with a lot of Dworkin's work, she really has become a sort of punching bag for anti-feminism. She isn't nearly the caricature that her detractors make her out to be.
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Very often, people push the hypothesis that women avoid the software industry because of sexist behavior. (This particular article did not, but many similar articles in this genre do.) If IT is no more sexist than any other field (as peterwwillis hypothesized), this would refute the hypothesis that women avoid IT due to sexism.
this would refute the hypothesis that women avoid IT due to sexism. No, it wouldn't refute anything. For instance, in the medical field, we've had a hundred years to correct the gender imbalance, and people have fought hard, both in education and in hiring practices, to get it where it is. So, while the medical field may have as many sexist jerks, there have been failsafes put into place to correct for their behavior…
As for "failsafes" and "procedures", could you tell me how these procedures prevent sexism in JP Morgan Prime Brokerage operation, but not in JP Morgan IT? Or if you want to push things back to the college level, how they prevent sexism in Biology 101 but not in CS 101?
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You're getting voted down for not going with the group-think. For some reason, some people think that if even 1 women is offended, then it's sexist. They couldn't be more wrong. Anyhow, if all humor that made fun of someone or something were banned, there wouldn't be much left. That's the basis of most of it, and they continue to find it funny to make fun of some things, but not others. Everyone should stop being off…
So, if I get offended because I see someone shout out at an Indian woman crossing the street "Fuck off back to pakiland you dirty paki", I've made the situation worse? Can you explain what I should do in such a situation, or even better, what would you do?
The woman in the photo obviously wasn't offended. Most other women apparently aren't, either. But for some reason, MEN feel the need to make a big deal out of this situation.
If a female blogger were writing to say she was offended by this situation, I'd be paying a lot more heed.
People talk about equality and all, but when it comes down to it, the people defending 'women' from this are actually worse than the people that supposedly caused an offense!
Wrap your head around this: Why are men getting up in arms about this? Because they think women need their protection. They are playing right into the sexism by thinking women can't handle this on their own.
If women can't handle this on their own, they're welcome to say so, and I'll jump on a white horse myself. They aren't saying that here. Or ANYWHERE that I've seen lately.
I'm apparently one of the few men out there that actually believe a woman can handle things. They aren't inferior; They don't -need- my help.
So everyone should heed their own advice and back off.
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Their views are usually pretty reasonable You make it sound as if feminists are some kind of weird cult ;) But your basic point is true: just because a woman is a feminist doesn't mean that she thinks all penetrative sex is rape, such as Dworkin believed.
In the interest of fairness it should probably be pointed out that Dworkin rejected that interpretation of her work.
Which is fair enough. At the same time, she did write things like:
Intercourse is the pure, sterile, formal expression of men's contempt for women
Or:
A human being has a body that is inviolate; and when it is violated, it is abused. A woman has a body that is penetrated in intercourse: permeable, its corporeal solidness a lie. The discourse of male truth--literature, science, philosophy, pornography--calls that penetration violation. This it does with some consistency and some confidence. Violation is a synonym for intercourse. At the same time, the penetration is taken to be a use, not an abuse; a normal use; it is appropriate to enter her, to push into ("violate") the boundaries of her body.
Personally I think she was backpeddling, but please have a read of what she wrote:
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> "Is that really what differentiates programming from fields with more social interaction (like sales) or fields with more of a human aspect (like health care and medicine)?" If you're implying that programming just isn't work that most women are interested in, you'll have to more-precisely indicate what it is about programming that puts them off, given that accounting has no such problems. Every accounting departme…
Job stability? Reasonable hours? Promotion prospects, without working like a maniac? Women tend to value those things, often more than men. Also, women in IT are often undervalued. A boss will assume they have no real talent, for some reason. While a guy who shows any ability will often be seen as a genius. People just don't assume that girls are hardcore hackers, while they assume that any guy who talks the talk (an…
There are plenty of corporate programming jobs with those attributes.
Fast-forward a little bit and you can hear guys snickering when the women went up.
I don't understand it but I fucking hate it. My sister is great at her job (IT project management) and my daughter loves programming. I can't wait for her to show some guy how to do the job.
Some of the women made the best presentations, maybe because they're women but probably because they're just smart.
I wish I could punch all of those insecure, sexist guys in the mouth.
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The conversation is getting posed like there's this tidal wave of sexism just barreling over the horizon with the word "COMPUTER GEEK" on it. Like in every company there's a huge conspiracy of evil sexist men plotting to objectify and terrorize the lone geek girl who happens to wander into their cube. I'm not saying there are no sexist people in the industry. However, I do think that the level at which the fingers ar…
The conversation is getting posed like there's this tidal wave of sexism A constant grind of sexism is more dangerous to the well-being of any social group than a tidal wave. That's the problem, nothing alienates more than the constant grind of bullshit. please consider the harm by association to those of us who are not sexist. If people don't want to be harmed by association, then they should take an actively anti-s…
You're saying I have to become an outspoken feminist for people to not call me sexist. Not only is that unfair (saying I have to become a part of your movement just so i'm not falsely accused myself, tantamount to blackmail) it's unrealistic. People don't generally win fighting for causes they do not represent. When people want rights or to be treated fairly they have to stand up and demand it because nobody is going to just hand it to them.
If there really is rampant sexism in the IT industry, women need to organize and force the system to change. Blog posts will not do anything.
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The conversation is getting posed like there's this tidal wave of sexism A constant grind of sexism is more dangerous to the well-being of any social group than a tidal wave. That's the problem, nothing alienates more than the constant grind of bullshit. please consider the harm by association to those of us who are not sexist. If people don't want to be harmed by association, then they should take an actively anti-s…
If people don't want to be harmed by association, then they should take an actively anti-sexist stance, and push for that within the industry. You're saying I have to become an outspoken feminist for people to not call me sexist. Not only is that unfair (saying I have to become a part of your movement just so i'm not falsely accused myself, tantamount to blackmail) it's unrealistic. People don't generally win fightin…