"Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
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Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#2It absolutely blows my mind that people are still dumb enough to get up at tech conferences and do sexist (in this case sexual) presentations.
A backlash seems almost inevitable at this point. Maybe they figure any publicity is good publicity?
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#3It absolutely blows my mind that people are still dumb enough to get up at tech conferences and do sexist (in this case sexual) presentations. A backlash seems almost inevitable at this point. Maybe they figure any publicity is good publicity?
My money would be on something along the lines of, "Yeah, those guys got a lot of backlash, but my presentation is different, it's funny!"
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#4I didn't realize this was such a big problem. I don't think I've ever met a brogrammer outside of the Internet.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#5Sexting, rainbow parties, jenkem, and brogrammers. All of a piece.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#6It absolutely blows my mind that people are still dumb enough to get up at tech conferences and do sexist (in this case sexual) presentations. A backlash seems almost inevitable at this point. Maybe they figure any publicity is good publicity?
My money would be on something along the lines of, "Yeah, those guys got a lot of backlash, but my presentation is different , it's funny! "
That might very well be the case, in general.
Though not foreseeing a backlash about "gangbang interviews" at this point strains credulity - the network of tech conference presenters is small and well connected.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#7Good, I'm glad people walked out of Van Horn's talk. That's the appropriate response to this sort of immature bullshit. This may sound extreme, but if you're surrounded by douche bags who make misogynistic jokes and weave rude and immature anecdotes into a work-related presentation, then these "brogrammers" must believe that this behavior is acceptable. And if you witness this, and laugh along (or even just ignore it), you are tacitly agreeing that this culture is acceptable. Do you want to work in an environment that allows this?
I am man, and this sort of culture makes me very uncomfortable and angry. I imagine it's even more aggravating and discomforting to women in these situations.
Simply refraining from laughing at a distasteful joke or turning a blind eye to vulgarities is a cop-out. We are all apart of the culture; if you're not calling this shit out, you might as well be laughing along.
If you see these behaviors, make an example to call that person out. Make it very clear that this behavior is not accepted. Failure to do so is implicit approval.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#8I didn't realize this was such a big problem. I don't think I've ever met a brogrammer outside of the Internet.
> I don't think I've ever met a brogrammer outside of the Internet.
Precisely.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#9Only one minor point from me: the Dan Shapiro quote is a bit off.
> To literally handicap yourself by 50 percent is insanity.
From the figures I've seen, the handicap is in the 25-30 percent range based on the percentage of women in the industry.
But I like his line of thinking. It's an old libertarian argument too: racism and sexism will be rooted out the market by those smart enough to take advantage of the inconsistencies in the labor pool. It's a tremendous opportunity if it's as bad as it seems.
Re: "Gangbang Interviews" and "Bikini Shots": Silicon Valley’s Brogrammer Problem
#10It absolutely blows my mind that people are still dumb enough to get up at tech conferences and do sexist (in this case sexual) presentations. A backlash seems almost inevitable at this point. Maybe they figure any publicity is good publicity?
My feeling is that they probably don't even recognise that they're being offensive; if what's being said here is true, that they basically work out of a slightly more grown-up frat house, it makes sense that they'd believe that kind of talk is acceptable.