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Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

johannakoll.posterous.com

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Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#71

Post by coldtea »

dasil003 wrote: post #41
flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

Or because it makes them uncomfortable. But in any case, yes, it's true you can make a joke about anything. George Carlin famously proved this with a rape joke. George Carlin was also one of the most brilliant comedians ever to live so he could pull it off. The simple fact is that "jokes" which reinforce current power structure are not good jokes. As a man you don't get to decide how women should feel about scantily…

>George Carlin famously proved this with a rape joke.

Famously? People have been making jokes about farse worse matters than rape for millenia. From war, to incurable illness, to genocide, to torture, to the plague, everything has been made into the subject of a joke.

It might be a novel concept for a prudish, politically correct section society, but it's historically true.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#72

Post by Jabbles »

coldtea wrote: post #56
rmc wrote: post #4

For those who think it doesn't matter, and that there is no sexism and that women aren't be discriminated against due to the pure fact of their gender, be aware that there have been double blinded scientific studies that show that if you change the name of a CV/resume to a female name when applying for science jobs, they don't get as much/as good offers. If this was question about whether a new drug worked or not, th…

> For those who think it doesn't matter, and that there is no sexism and that women aren't be discriminated against due to the pure fact of their gender, be aware that there have been double blinded scientific studies that show that if you change the name of a CV/resume to a female name when applying for science jobs, they don't get as much/as good offers. Then maybe try to fix that instead of complaining about bikin…

We should fix both. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#73

Post by JPKab »

flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

The political correctness should stop at any event that is A) not public, B)not filled with attendees who have paid to be there, and C) not geared for business.

Tech events do not satisfy any of these criteria. If you are presenting, there are numerous ways to inject humor without demeaning anyone. What's funny is that, as a guy raised in the rural south, the thought of presenting ANYTHING with pictures of scantily clad women strikes me as immediately something not to do in public, ever. It also smacks of someone lacking intellect and creativty, and is in the same realm as bathroom humor. If you have to sink to that level, you aren't clever or funny, so don't try to be.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#75

Post by ZoFreX »

coldtea wrote: post #56
rmc wrote: post #4

For those who think it doesn't matter, and that there is no sexism and that women aren't be discriminated against due to the pure fact of their gender, be aware that there have been double blinded scientific studies that show that if you change the name of a CV/resume to a female name when applying for science jobs, they don't get as much/as good offers. If this was question about whether a new drug worked or not, th…

> For those who think it doesn't matter, and that there is no sexism and that women aren't be discriminated against due to the pure fact of their gender, be aware that there have been double blinded scientific studies that show that if you change the name of a CV/resume to a female name when applying for science jobs, they don't get as much/as good offers. Then maybe try to fix that instead of complaining about bikin…

> Then maybe try to fix that instead of complaining about bikinis in powerpoint presentations?

Why can't we do both? Maybe the problems are related? It's wrong (although a common argument) to insist everyone be working on the single most important problem all of the time.

What are you working on right now? Grails app? Game? It's less important than curing malaria, so you should drop what you're working on and go do that.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#78

Post by alan_cx »

ZoFreX wrote: post #13
flexie wrote: post #7

People laugh when they hear a "sexist" joke because it's funny. Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places - I am not sure - but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? I mean, where does this political correctness stop?

> but there should be room for jokes about genders somewhere, right? Why?

Because.

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#79

Post by 9392732 »

mistercow wrote: post #52
9392732 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am still waiting for the out cry from "dumb things white people do" posts that pop up

what about teh whitez? Prejudice against privileged groups isn't met with as much outrage as prejudice against unprivileged groups, and this is as it should be. Both are harmful, but the harm of the former is tiny in comparison to the harm of the latter.

So you are allowed to consider race when you are choosing your level of outrage?

Re: Sexism is not funny, let's stop laughing

#80

Post by ZoFreX »

coldtea wrote: post #59
DanBC wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe gender related jokes don't have a place at conferences and work places > I mean, where does this political correctness stop It seems really obvious to me. At work, at a conference, you don't tell racist, sexist, ableist etc jokes. What you do outside work is up to you. (But, if you do it outside work and in public it may complicate things if you have a work related discrimination problem.) > political correct…

> "Political correctness" is often a buzzword used to dismiss people who want to discuss this. Other, better, words exist. "Politeness" is one. "Freedom of expression" is another, though.

"Freedom of expression" (or freedom of speech) is not "Freedom from criticism or consequences", though.
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