4 ms·

Showing a nice ass on a slide is not a sign of male privilege. I strongly disagree. Seeing that image immediately tells any straight women or gay mean in the r

Showing a nice ass on a slide is not a sign of male privilege. I strongly disagree. Seeing that image immediately tells any straight women or gay mean in the room that she or he is not the expected audience for the talk. The ideal audience for a Ruby talk is "people who are interested in Ruby," not "people who enjoy looking at pictures of near-naked women." The former is mostly, but not completely, made up of the latter. I'm not the only one who disagrees with you. Here's an entry from the first hit on Google for "male privilege": 41. Assuming I am heterosexual, magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are rarer. http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/ http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/

spatulon 16y ago
BTW, if anyone's interested in the whole topic of privilege, I strongly recommend taking a look at the "Helpful Resources" section over at the Border House: http://borderhouseblog.com/?page_id=54 http://borderhouseblog.com/?page_id=54 I tick pretty much every privilege box there is (I'm a white, straight, middle-class male from western Europe), but I like to think I'm pro-equality. Reading some of the articles there challenged a lot of my assumptions and behaviours.
aneth 16y ago
Ughh. A gay man with a presentation throwing up a sculpted chest to make a point would not tell me that I'm not the expected audience. Again, the impediment is in your head, not the presenter. Does a Python programmer using a slide of Python at a Ruby conference insult the audience? Give me a break. Just because there are lots of people who love to be offended, blog about it, organize around it, and generally make a life of it, doesn't mean it's right.
- spatulon 16y ago
  A gay man with a presentation throwing up a sculpted chest to make a point would not tell me that I'm not the expected audience. What if you were the only straight person in the room? Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable attending a Ruby talk full of homosexual innuendo in such a situation?
  - msbarnett 16y ago
    No, not really. Why would I?
  - fleitz 16y ago
    No, homosexual innuendo is hilarious. It gives license to participate via another role or character. If you feel uncomfortable when surrounded by homosexuals that's your prerogative.
  - aneth 16y ago
    No. I wouldn't. I've been dancing in gay bars quite a few times, which is a much more challenging situation for a straight guy (brought there by girl friends, or gay friends.) I only feel uncomfortable when I get hit on heavily or fondled, all of which has happened many times, but even then, it's not a big deal.
  - gloob 16y ago
    I'm straight and I enjoy homosexual innuendo. Like all innuendo, I find it amusing more than I find it titillating.
SkyMarshal 16y ago
"I strongly disagree. Seeing that image immediately tells any straight women or gay mean in the room that she or he is not the expected audience for the talk." It does something else as well, especially in a male-dominated conference or profession - it makes women or gay men in the audience feel like the Other, rather than a like-minded colleague/member of the group/just another conference attendee. Their attention shifts from the topic of the conference to, in women's case, preparing to fend off diverting, unwanted advances, and in gay guys' case... well that I'm not sure. It changes the entire group dynamic for the rest of the conference for them, but the straight guys doing it are usually totally oblivious to it. The 'Others' leave the conference with their perception of that community as a group to which they will always be an outsider. It does another thing too that you allude to in #41 - it offends straight men who know there's a time and a place for such stuff, that a programming conference is neither (at least not during the sessions or as part of a presentation), and that see cheap 'sex sells' strategies of manipulation for what they are - lazy, boorish, non-intellectually stimulating excuses for a lack of a truly good presentation.
Psyonic 16y ago
Some of those are really lame. 11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I’ll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I’m even marginally competent. I don't know where the author came from, but I don't think thats true. Maybe in the black community (oh look, now I'm a racist as well...), but definitely not where I grew up. Any father who wasn't involved in the raising of their children was seen as a bit of a deadbeat.
- jonhendry 16y ago
  Yeah, that is a pretty damned racist thing to suggest.

spatulon 16y ago

BTW, if anyone's interested in the whole topic of privilege, I strongly recommend taking a look at the "Helpful Resources" section over at the Border House: http://borderhouseblog.com/?page_id=54 http://borderhouseblog.com/?page_id=54 I tick pretty much every privilege box there is (I'm a white, straight, middle-class male from western Europe), but I like to think I'm pro-equality. Reading some of the articles there challenged a lot of my assumptions and behaviours.

aneth 16y ago

Ughh. A gay man with a presentation throwing up a sculpted chest to make a point would not tell me that I'm not the expected audience. Again, the impediment is in your head, not the presenter. Does a Python programmer using a slide of Python at a Ruby conference insult the audience? Give me a break. Just because there are lots of people who love to be offended, blog about it, organize around it, and generally make a life of it, doesn't mean it's right.

spatulon 16y ago
A gay man with a presentation throwing up a sculpted chest to make a point would not tell me that I'm not the expected audience. What if you were the only straight person in the room? Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable attending a Ruby talk full of homosexual innuendo in such a situation?
- msbarnett 16y ago
  No, not really. Why would I?
- fleitz 16y ago
  No, homosexual innuendo is hilarious. It gives license to participate via another role or character. If you feel uncomfortable when surrounded by homosexuals that's your prerogative.
- aneth 16y ago
  No. I wouldn't. I've been dancing in gay bars quite a few times, which is a much more challenging situation for a straight guy (brought there by girl friends, or gay friends.) I only feel uncomfortable when I get hit on heavily or fondled, all of which has happened many times, but even then, it's not a big deal.
- gloob 16y ago
  I'm straight and I enjoy homosexual innuendo. Like all innuendo, I find it amusing more than I find it titillating.

SkyMarshal 16y ago

"I strongly disagree. Seeing that image immediately tells any straight women or gay mean in the room that she or he is not the expected audience for the talk." It does something else as well, especially in a male-dominated conference or profession - it makes women or gay men in the audience feel like the Other, rather than a like-minded colleague/member of the group/just another conference attendee. Their attention shifts from the topic of the conference to, in women's case, preparing to fend off diverting, unwanted advances, and in gay guys' case... well that I'm not sure. It changes the entire group dynamic for the rest of the conference for them, but the straight guys doing it are usually totally oblivious to it. The 'Others' leave the conference with their perception of that community as a group to which they will always be an outsider. It does another thing too that you allude to in #41 - it offends straight men who know there's a time and a place for such stuff, that a programming conference is neither (at least not during the sessions or as part of a presentation), and that see cheap 'sex sells' strategies of manipulation for what they are - lazy, boorish, non-intellectually stimulating excuses for a lack of a truly good presentation.

Psyonic 16y ago

Some of those are really lame. 11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I’ll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I’m even marginally competent. I don't know where the author came from, but I don't think thats true. Maybe in the black community (oh look, now I'm a racist as well...), but definitely not where I grew up. Any father who wasn't involved in the raising of their children was seen as a bit of a deadbeat.

jonhendry 16y ago
Yeah, that is a pretty damned racist thing to suggest.