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Nobody I know in the SV founder/investor scene talks openly about their sex worker preferences, their porn habits or desperately tries to trick their coworkers

Nobody I know in the SV founder/investor scene talks openly about their sex worker preferences, their porn habits or desperately tries to trick their coworkers into surprise romantic weekends together. However, I'm clearly not exposed to the demographic that is all about that, and I'd love to know more about it. What is it about that group of people that makes them behave that way? Do they feel they're too powerful to be reported? Do they just not have the EQ to understand how they make others around them feel? Someone steel man that one for me.

khazhoux 9y ago
> What is it about that group of people that makes them behave that way? Your question overgeneralizes. You're attributing to the group, the qualities of a small number of individuals.
- BadassFractal 9y ago
  There have been several women coming out in the past few months reporting VC partners behaving in a similar manner, hence that being a trend vs being about "just that one group of people"
  - khazhoux 9y ago
    > What is it about that group of people that makes them behave that way? Ok, maybe I'm just parsing words here, but your statement can be read as: "that group of people [VCs and CEOs] behave that way [sexual harassment]" Which overgeneralizes, because this still appears to be a small number of offenders, despite the recent outings. That said, I'm willing to believe/accept that the same qualities that make someone think they should be CEO or a power-investor, and not a lowly peon worker, translates into a higher likelihood of douchebaggery.
- Powerofmene 9y ago
  In a word, power.
  - dredmorbius 9y ago
    "Wealth, as Mr Hobbes says, is Power." -- Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book 1, Chapter 5 https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations/Book_I/Chapter_5 https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations/Book_...
    - Powerofmene 9y ago
      Agreed. Wealth and held power over her job security, so she was in an untenable and precarious situation.
GoToRO 9y ago
I would say it's money. And a lifestyle that resembles too much with a non stop party than anything else. Just my guess.
grey-area 9y ago
You wouldn't necessarily be exposed to that if you're a man or not challenging your perceived place in the hierarchy. The talking about porn etc may just have been a clumsy attempt to put the woman in her place by making her feel uncomfortable, didn't work so he switched to talking about sex workers. It's just a tactic for asserting power and dominance. If she wasn't there taking a place he sees as for a man, it wouldn't have come up.
- js8 9y ago
  > It's just a tactic for asserting power and dominance. I think you're right. I haven't read through the article yet but my opinion is that for the most part, social hierarchy is a cultural mechanism to select alpha males. So women who think they should participate in that are seriously misguided, like a deer doe who wants to participate in deer dueling. In other words, they (rightfully) reject a biological urge for women (which is to be caring mother, more or less) and accept (wrongly) a biological urge for men, which is to take risk and climb the social hierarchy at any cost. But it doesn't make any sense, the world is actually not a dichotomy between males and females and much larger than that. I think women who want equality (or just want to exercise free will and thus disregard some of our original biology) should support democracy (as opposed to authoritarian hierarchy), first and foremost. Even in the workplace. In short - I cannot sympathize with her (and other female C*Os, who complain about sexism). She's decided to play a game of thrones, so she is on her own. If she really wants equality between people (not just "sexes"), then maybe we can talk, you can find me on the left.
  - pnutjam 9y ago
    I think that's a good synopsis. She wants equality because she's clearly one of the elites. She has a point, but it's hard to hear her complaining.

khazhoux 9y ago

> What is it about that group of people that makes them behave that way? Your question overgeneralizes. You're attributing to the group, the qualities of a small number of individuals.

BadassFractal 9y ago
There have been several women coming out in the past few months reporting VC partners behaving in a similar manner, hence that being a trend vs being about "just that one group of people"
- khazhoux 9y ago
  > What is it about that group of people that makes them behave that way? Ok, maybe I'm just parsing words here, but your statement can be read as: "that group of people [VCs and CEOs] behave that way [sexual harassment]" Which overgeneralizes, because this still appears to be a small number of offenders, despite the recent outings. That said, I'm willing to believe/accept that the same qualities that make someone think they should be CEO or a power-investor, and not a lowly peon worker, translates into a higher likelihood of douchebaggery.
Powerofmene 9y ago
In a word, power.
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  "Wealth, as Mr Hobbes says, is Power." -- Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Book 1, Chapter 5 https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations/Book_I/Chapter_5 https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Wealth_of_Nations/Book_...
  - Powerofmene 9y ago
    Agreed. Wealth and held power over her job security, so she was in an untenable and precarious situation.

GoToRO 9y ago

I would say it's money. And a lifestyle that resembles too much with a non stop party than anything else. Just my guess.

grey-area 9y ago

You wouldn't necessarily be exposed to that if you're a man or not challenging your perceived place in the hierarchy. The talking about porn etc may just have been a clumsy attempt to put the woman in her place by making her feel uncomfortable, didn't work so he switched to talking about sex workers. It's just a tactic for asserting power and dominance. If she wasn't there taking a place he sees as for a man, it wouldn't have come up.

js8 9y ago
> It's just a tactic for asserting power and dominance. I think you're right. I haven't read through the article yet but my opinion is that for the most part, social hierarchy is a cultural mechanism to select alpha males. So women who think they should participate in that are seriously misguided, like a deer doe who wants to participate in deer dueling. In other words, they (rightfully) reject a biological urge for women (which is to be caring mother, more or less) and accept (wrongly) a biological urge for men, which is to take risk and climb the social hierarchy at any cost. But it doesn't make any sense, the world is actually not a dichotomy between males and females and much larger than that. I think women who want equality (or just want to exercise free will and thus disregard some of our original biology) should support democracy (as opposed to authoritarian hierarchy), first and foremost. Even in the workplace. In short - I cannot sympathize with her (and other female C*Os, who complain about sexism). She's decided to play a game of thrones, so she is on her own. If she really wants equality between people (not just "sexes"), then maybe we can talk, you can find me on the left.
- pnutjam 9y ago
  I think that's a good synopsis. She wants equality because she's clearly one of the elites. She has a point, but it's hard to hear her complaining.