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by mtrimpe 4121 days ago
Involuntary sexualization is sexist though.

What if the picture on screen was a woman saying 'I want to be judged on my merits not my gender' and the guys were saying 'Nice tits' out loud and laughing? Would that be sexism?

I'd unequivocally say yes and, while inarguably less offensive, the dongle joke was still similarly sexist.
2 comments
josefresco 4121 days ago
What if the picture on the screen was a male, and they cracked a joke about his "package" - who should be offended then? The presumably straight women listening in the next row? Any gay men within earshot? Everyone?

The game of what is considered sexually "offensive" or sexist gets very complex when you start considering sexuality outside the "norms". Suddenly, traditional "sexism" and the assumption that everyone is a straight male and straight female seems laughably archaic in a discussion of modern ethics.

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mtrimpe 4121 days ago
As a bisexual gender dysphoric man and I can tell you that this strawman of alternative sexuality doesn't hold up at all.

What people who don't fall within the norm are mainly concerned with is ridicule, condemnation, threats, abuse and violence from those considered 'normal.' Whatever part of your identity is non normative doesn't significantly change that.

The main thing that changes is that the degree of disdain/disgust/superiority towards your group tends to determine how severe the abuse is; leading to statistics such as that 1 out of every 8 black transgender men end up being murdered.

Tragically enough nerds are also definitely on that spectrum yet somehow the abuse they suffer often doesn't translate into empathy for those even further down the food chain.

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bluehex 4121 days ago
> ... the dongle joke was still similarly sexist.

How so? As I understand it the joke wasn't directed at the picture on the screen or anybody in particular.

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mtrimpe 4121 days ago
If I understood correctly it was directed at a talk about diversity in tech and getting more women involved in technology.
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cantankerous 4121 days ago
Where in the article were they directing it at the talk? I didn't catch that happening anywhere? It seemed like the two guys giggling amongst themselves to me.
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