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The problem is that having conference speakers who happen to be disproportionate in race does not immediately translate to racism. To say that the composition

The problem is that having conference speakers who happen to be disproportionate in race does not immediately translate to racism. To say that the composition of a group of speakers is "designed to maintain & reinforce the institutionalised power structure among races" simply based off of the proportion of races of people in the panel is a logical leap that is not necessarily warranted.

rmc 14y ago
If you're in a under-represented group seeing that "all people who do Ruby/Tech/IT/knitting/nursing/$ACTIVITY are members of $OTHER_GROUP" can be just another reminder that your group shouldn't be here, that you'll stick out, that you'll be the different one here. We have numerous expressions in the English language saying that lots of little things can build up: The straw that broke the camel's back, death by a thousand cuts. Let's try to get rid of as many straws as we can, and get rid of as many cuts as we can.
- aes256 14y ago
  I can't fathom why racial minorities would not feel welcome at such a conference. Do they think people are going to be surprised that they are in attendance, disapprove of them being there, or look down on them? It's a programming conference, not a meeting of the KKK.
  - rmc 14y ago
    Do they think people are going to … look down on them? Yes that's what happens now. Dell conference: comeidan brought on by Dell "The IT business is one of the last frontiers that manages to keep women out." http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2174903/dell-issues-apology-women http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2174903/dell-issues... CouchDB "Perform like a porn star" http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/CouchDB_talk http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/CouchDB_talk Tech company organises a code jam. "Perks: Women" http://readwrite.com/2012/03/20/how-casual-sexism-put-sqoot-in http://readwrite.com/2012/03/20/how-casual-sexism-put-sqoot-... More here: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Incidents http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Incidents
    - aes256 14y ago
      If you try hard enough you can be offended by anything. Dell comedian? Comedians thrive on controversial material. Sounds to me like a tongue-in-cheek observational joke that is just as offensive to men as it is to women. "Congratulations, the IT industry is a sausage-fest, just the way you want it to be, right?" CouchDB? Can't find a copy of the original presentation, but what's wrong with allusions to pornography? There are plenty of male porn stars, and plenty of pornography that degrades men? Perks: Women? Again, an observation on the male dominance of the industry. Similar to the Dell comedian, this is much a joke aimed at men as it is at women; male geeks need to attend a code jam to come into contact with women, etc.

rmc 14y ago

If you're in a under-represented group seeing that "all people who do Ruby/Tech/IT/knitting/nursing/$ACTIVITY are members of $OTHER_GROUP" can be just another reminder that your group shouldn't be here, that you'll stick out, that you'll be the different one here. We have numerous expressions in the English language saying that lots of little things can build up: The straw that broke the camel's back, death by a thousand cuts. Let's try to get rid of as many straws as we can, and get rid of as many cuts as we can.

aes256 14y ago
I can't fathom why racial minorities would not feel welcome at such a conference. Do they think people are going to be surprised that they are in attendance, disapprove of them being there, or look down on them? It's a programming conference, not a meeting of the KKK.
- rmc 14y ago
  Do they think people are going to … look down on them? Yes that's what happens now. Dell conference: comeidan brought on by Dell "The IT business is one of the last frontiers that manages to keep women out." http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2174903/dell-issues-apology-women http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2174903/dell-issues... CouchDB "Perform like a porn star" http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/CouchDB_talk http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/CouchDB_talk Tech company organises a code jam. "Perks: Women" http://readwrite.com/2012/03/20/how-casual-sexism-put-sqoot-in http://readwrite.com/2012/03/20/how-casual-sexism-put-sqoot-... More here: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Incidents http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Incidents
  - aes256 14y ago
    If you try hard enough you can be offended by anything. Dell comedian? Comedians thrive on controversial material. Sounds to me like a tongue-in-cheek observational joke that is just as offensive to men as it is to women. "Congratulations, the IT industry is a sausage-fest, just the way you want it to be, right?" CouchDB? Can't find a copy of the original presentation, but what's wrong with allusions to pornography? There are plenty of male porn stars, and plenty of pornography that degrades men? Perks: Women? Again, an observation on the male dominance of the industry. Similar to the Dell comedian, this is much a joke aimed at men as it is at women; male geeks need to attend a code jam to come into contact with women, etc.