[thaumaturgy]

I'm a bit torn by this particular post. On the one hand, I think there's enough evidence of sexism and racism in the technology sector to treat it curiously -- as in, it's worth examining further and figuring out if there's an actual problem (I think there is, but that's just opinion) and where that problem is and how it can be addressed. I'm also interested in why so many self-described "hackers" seem so quick to dismiss it, especially since if they share any one trait, it should be curiosity.

So if this were a post about how they couldn't make a business deal or get funding or were at a disadvantage because they had a woman on their team, it would be as compelling to me as some of the other stuff I've read recently.

But: it's primarily about jackasses with no social skills, and there are tons of those in technology circles. People who interact with electronics more than other people are more likely to have all the social graces of a meadow muffin, and I don't think that's a solvable problem in society this year or next.

It sucks that she had to deal with those people. It sucks that they focused on her gender or attractiveness and said stupid things instead of having a conversation about one of her interests. Still, this is mostly a case of nerds behaving badly more than anything else.

I'm also pretty lukewarm on her feelings about “the sexiest women in social media”. Taken seriously, she's right on all her points. Taken in good humor, I find it about as offensive as sexy firemen calendars (i.e., not at all offensive, just all in good fun).

[mcherm]

The problem here is not the inappropriate behavior of one individual at a conference -- there will always be someone behaving badly. The problem is that when made statements like "all women who come to conferences should be available", that every other person at that table did not immediately speak up and say "Hey, shut up! You're behaving like an asshole and I won't have it!".

[bsenftner]

That is exactly what we need. Stupid casual statements made in the presence of other men are "tests" to gauge the acceptability of the behavior. That is the critical point in time when this behavior can be stopped, and the socially dangerous individual conditioned to live acceptably in our society.

[gldalmaso]

>> I think there's enough evidence of sexism and racism in the technology sector to treat it curiously -- as in, it's worth examining further and figuring out if there's an actual problem

Doesn't enough evidence of sexism and racism constitute a problem already?

>> I'm also pretty lukewarm on her feelings about “the sexiest women in social media”. Taken seriously, she's right on all her points. Taken in good humor, I find it about as offensive as sexy firemen calendars (i.e., not at all offensive, just all in good fun).

The difference being that firemen calendars are advertised to be in good fun, whereas "sexiest women in social media" is advertised as sexy women in social media.

[chalst]

This is not just about absence of social skills, but something much more aggressive, and she's not primarily talking about tech in general, but SEO and social media in particular, which sounds like a cesspit that marries the sexism of tech with the narcissism of sales conferences.

[nknight]

Even something as asinine as, say, "Wow, you've got huge boobs!", might be a one-off extreme lack of social skills -- the first and only time it happens. But the kind of things she's talking about are the symptoms of much more fundamental dysfunction. These are adult men treating women as though they are objects for the pleasure and amusement of men, and doing so openly and habitually.

These people should be pariahs in their industry, but somehow they're not. That does not reflect well on the culture, and says there is a serious problem.

(Edit: By the way, I have asperger's syndrome and seriously deficient social skills, and I've said stupid things a few times to women when my mouth got ahead of my brain, but nothing even remotely like the creepy "It's not fair!" guy or the threatening "hook up" guy.)