ai ai ai: more porn at a conference, this time hardcore
June 17th, 2009 by
jenlindner
Posting this NOT because I want to stir the pot, fan the flames, etc, but because it’s happening and it affects us. The quick version: guy gives presentation with hardcore porn images in Minneapolis. Guy is taken to task for it. Guy gives poor me, you prudes can’t handle sex, some of my best friends are women apology. Guy is taken to task for it. Discussion is very, very long. Some awesome things are said, like this, which I’d say pretty much sums it all up:
“We are in a comparatively irreverent industry. I remember seeing a couple of people swear onstage at the Webbies back in 2005, for example. We tend, as a whole, to lean toward more radical politics, more speaking your mind, and more irreverent humor — across all genders — as compared to other industries. The relative permissiveness in our industry partially accounts for why you might see something that pushes “the line” on stage at a web technologies conference than say, at a professional conference of another type. This needs to be kept in mind when the term “professionalism” is used rhetorically in these conversations.
So one thing that I think is true, is that we will continually be dancing toward “the line”, and not just on issues of gender, but also politics and other areas. And because of this, we do need to continually revisit what the boundaries of “offense” are or might be. Hopefully this will result not in fear-based non-expressive atmospheres, but in a civilized atmosphere where we are sensitive to our audiences, and they are sensitive to us as we express ourselves with whatever level of irreverence or forthrightness we choose. As a part of the inclusive atmosphere, it is critical that that inclusiveness works in all directions, and that all stakeholders keep a good faith attitude of questioning the content and context of their actions, and also the character and motives of their “offense”, or whatever reactions might be invoked.
The uber-goal, with this reflective consideration of expressers and reactors, is that we are able to openly discuss all factors at any time. That we have a safe environment for people to express and feedback. That includes allowing room for people to offend, allowing room for people to express their discomfort, and allowing room for people to apologize, be heard, and agree or disagree. Everything will work out for the best if that is the atmosphere of discourse that we support. We wont always agree, but we must put as much effort as possible into seeing the world from each other’s viewpoint.”
–Carlos Abler
Here’s a link to letters by conference organizer and offensive speaker in response, and discussion.
June 17th, 2009 at 10:29 am
A very thoughtful response. Last week I went to a quantitative finance workshop in NYC and the atmosphere was so far removed from the culture and setting often found in the software development sphere, especially when compared and contrasted to the “rock star” Ruby on Rails world.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
These incidents just prove how immature some developers in the Rails world are. But it’s nothing new. I remember guys in the 80s having pornographic ASCII art in their login scripts on the uni mainframes and wondering why it was I and other women used to get offended by that.
Most of them thought they were real cool hax0rs, but mostly they were lame arses who could barely code and knew nothing about hacker culture aside from the WarGames stereotype and having read a couple of Gibson novels. Hit them with phrack, 2600 or 411 and they’d have been lost. Ask them to be a Mondo 2000 cover model, and they’d have thought they’d died and gone to silicon heaven.
Porn isn’t cool. It’s just porn. It’s got nothing to do with creating technology, so sticking it in a tech presentation is just dumb. Am I offended as a woman? Yes. But nowhere near as much as I’m offended as a hacker and technologist. Porn imagery – soft or otherwise – isn’t just about objectifying my gender, it’s about dumbing down the entire presentation. It’s as if the presenter is not only denying the presence of women in tech, it’s as if they’re saying that the guys there are so clueless that they need that kind of imagery to keep them interested.
That’s an insult to all of us, regardless of gender.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Well this incident happened at a Flash conference, so the offenders in question aren’t Rails developers. But let’s face it, when the shoe fits it fits across technologies.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Unless you’re presenting on the topic of pornography, it’s not appropriate anywhere – unprofessional behaviour is the issue here.
I completely agree with Eleanor’s last statement.
This sort of incident drags us all back to the stereotype of the socially awkward IT people, that are left in the basement for a reason.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Skipping through the presentation I didn’t find anything pornographic. If you happen to live in europe you will find such pictures e.g. in museums labeled as art. I don’t know about the US though.
I guess in public presentations it’s acceptable as long as it relates to the subject and helps bringing the message across. I’ve seen much more explicit pictures/photos in lectures at my university (and this was never an issue or even noticed as something special).
The only thing that shocks me are the violent reactions of some people. Also I don’t see how this could possibly interpreted as irreverent (except for noted reactions.. theese are certainly partly criminal).
Danny