4 ms·

Can you back this statement up please? I'm interested to hear where these comments originate.

by marquis 14y ago

sneak 14y ago
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/01/stigmatizing-censoring-talk-of-sexuality-in-technology/ http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/01/stigmatizin... ...is one good example of their concern-trolling. They dress up their own sex-negative bullshit in feminist clothing and use it to censor and attack people who do not engage in discrimination or sexism in any way whatsoever, based solely on their own personal agendas. It's repugnant to every single feminist (of any gender) that I've spoken to familiar with these events. As far as I can tell, it seems to me to be the outgrowth of various personality disorders possessed by Valerie Aurora, the founder of the Ada Initiative. It serves as a convenient venue for her to attack others under the guise of promoting equal rights. It appears that she only supports equal rights as long as you are presenting exclusively on topics that she approves of.
- marquis 14y ago
  Thanks for responding. Fortunately women don't have a single Leader so while Valerie may be doing good work through certain initiatives she should find that other women who disagree with censorship will not support these actions.
gamache 14y ago
You can get a flavor for the Ada Initiative ahead. This happened at last year's Defcon. http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/did-feminists-cancel-violet-blues-sex-talk http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/did-feminists-cancel-violet...
- marquis 14y ago
  Thanks for providing this information. I find censorship unethical and would have looked forward to Violet's talk. Also to assume that rape only happens to women is myopic.
- lawnchair_larry 14y ago
  Although I'm not very impressed with the Ada Initiative, that talk should have never been accepted because it had nothing to do with the focus of the conference. It was not about security. It was also at B-Sides, not Defcon.
selenamarie 14y ago
If you're interested in TAI's position on discussing sex in technical conferences and how that (in general) impacts women's participation: http://adainitiative.org/2012/09/when-sex-and-porn-are-on-topic-at-conferences-keeping-it-women-friendly/ http://adainitiative.org/2012/09/when-sex-and-porn-are-on-to... (This post predates the BSides incident by 5 months.) And, about BSides: http://adainitiative.org/2013/02/keeping-it-on-topic-the-problem-with-discussing-sex-at-technical-conferences/ http://adainitiative.org/2013/02/keeping-it-on-topic-the-pro... http://adainitiative.org/2013/03/clarification-on-the-ada-initiatives-role-in-the-cancellation-of-violet-blues-bsides-sf-talk/ http://adainitiative.org/2013/03/clarification-on-the-ada-in...
- sneak 14y ago
  The talk that they censored WAS TO BE GIVEN BY A WOMAN. That doesn't really hold up their argument of sexualized environments in tech being inherently hostile to women participating, does it? Anyone who examines this can see that this is simply a personal censorship crusade by Ms. Aurora, presumably as a result of her own sex-related trauma(s) and/or upbringing. (Google her and her father for her own account of it— it's not ad hominem.)[1] Just because her psyche has been damaged does not mean she has the right to attempt to censor others who are not participating in discriminatory behavior. The whole thing about "exploit" in the title being a synonym for rape (as in exploiting a system without the owner's consent) illustrates how ridiculous her flimsy argument against it was and is. This sort of concern-trolling makes women in tech appear to be hard to work with or require special handling/censorship considerations, and is actively harmful to the struggle for gender equality. It has absolutely no place whatsoever at a tech conference. [1] http://valerieaurora.org/keith.html http://valerieaurora.org/keith.html
  - selenamarie 14y ago
    I find the continued personal attacks on Val to be disgusting and an embarrassment to people in the hacker and security communities. I no longer consider myself to be part of those communities, but once was. My hope is that people see these statements for what they are: disgusting personal attacks.

Can you back this statement up please? I'm interested to hear where these comments originate.

by marquis 14y ago

Can you back this statement up please? I'm interested to hear where these comments originate.

sneak 14y ago

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/01/stigmatizing-censoring-talk-of-sexuality-in-technology/ http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/01/stigmatizin... ...is one good example of their concern-trolling. They dress up their own sex-negative bullshit in feminist clothing and use it to censor and attack people who do not engage in discrimination or sexism in any way whatsoever, based solely on their own personal agendas. It's repugnant to every single feminist (of any gender) that I've spoken to familiar with these events. As far as I can tell, it seems to me to be the outgrowth of various personality disorders possessed by Valerie Aurora, the founder of the Ada Initiative. It serves as a convenient venue for her to attack others under the guise of promoting equal rights. It appears that she only supports equal rights as long as you are presenting exclusively on topics that she approves of.

marquis 14y ago
Thanks for responding. Fortunately women don't have a single Leader so while Valerie may be doing good work through certain initiatives she should find that other women who disagree with censorship will not support these actions.

gamache 14y ago

You can get a flavor for the Ada Initiative ahead. This happened at last year's Defcon. http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/did-feminists-cancel-violet-blues-sex-talk http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/did-feminists-cancel-violet...

marquis 14y ago
Thanks for providing this information. I find censorship unethical and would have looked forward to Violet's talk. Also to assume that rape only happens to women is myopic.
lawnchair_larry 14y ago
Although I'm not very impressed with the Ada Initiative, that talk should have never been accepted because it had nothing to do with the focus of the conference. It was not about security. It was also at B-Sides, not Defcon.

selenamarie 14y ago

If you're interested in TAI's position on discussing sex in technical conferences and how that (in general) impacts women's participation: http://adainitiative.org/2012/09/when-sex-and-porn-are-on-topic-at-conferences-keeping-it-women-friendly/ http://adainitiative.org/2012/09/when-sex-and-porn-are-on-to... (This post predates the BSides incident by 5 months.) And, about BSides: http://adainitiative.org/2013/02/keeping-it-on-topic-the-problem-with-discussing-sex-at-technical-conferences/ http://adainitiative.org/2013/02/keeping-it-on-topic-the-pro... http://adainitiative.org/2013/03/clarification-on-the-ada-initiatives-role-in-the-cancellation-of-violet-blues-bsides-sf-talk/ http://adainitiative.org/2013/03/clarification-on-the-ada-in...

sneak 14y ago
The talk that they censored WAS TO BE GIVEN BY A WOMAN. That doesn't really hold up their argument of sexualized environments in tech being inherently hostile to women participating, does it? Anyone who examines this can see that this is simply a personal censorship crusade by Ms. Aurora, presumably as a result of her own sex-related trauma(s) and/or upbringing. (Google her and her father for her own account of it— it's not ad hominem.)[1] Just because her psyche has been damaged does not mean she has the right to attempt to censor others who are not participating in discriminatory behavior. The whole thing about "exploit" in the title being a synonym for rape (as in exploiting a system without the owner's consent) illustrates how ridiculous her flimsy argument against it was and is. This sort of concern-trolling makes women in tech appear to be hard to work with or require special handling/censorship considerations, and is actively harmful to the struggle for gender equality. It has absolutely no place whatsoever at a tech conference. [1] http://valerieaurora.org/keith.html http://valerieaurora.org/keith.html
- selenamarie 14y ago
  I find the continued personal attacks on Val to be disgusting and an embarrassment to people in the hacker and security communities. I no longer consider myself to be part of those communities, but once was. My hope is that people see these statements for what they are: disgusting personal attacks.