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That was absolutely hilarious. I encourage stuff like this. Have a little fun people, nothing to apologize for. Who actually got offended?

by rfnslyr 13y ago

Shank 13y ago
I hope you're joking. Besides the flurry of tech presenters and writers in the audience that were offended, a nine year old girl was at TechCrunch Disrupt demonstrating a product. Seeing as TCDisrupt isn't marketed as an 18+ event, it should be held to the same standards as any other public, professional gathering of individuals. Judging by TechCrunch's reaction, they wholeheartedly agree.
- kintamanimatt 13y ago
  IMHO both apps are tacky, however, I feel the whole thing is clearly a joke that some people found funny and some didn't. In any event, I feel the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I watched the videos and, while the Circle Shake presentation was cringeworthy, it was very mildly sexual at a conference that's aimed at adults, not children. There will have been people in the audience swearing in casual conversation too, possibly within earshot of the kid. I don't think anybody's equally upset about that though. Regarding TitStare, I feel as though tackiness has been conflated with sexism. I just cannot see how such an app is sexist, especially given the fact there are plenty of bisexual and lesbian women. Conversely, if there were an app called ManButtStare, I'm really just not sure there would be the same response. The reason I'm not offended by either of these apps is not because I'm a man (I'm not in the demographic for TitStare anyway given the fact I'm gay), but because the developers' intent didn't appear to be malicious or bad. It just seemed to be a joke that some people got offended over, but then again, I'm not sure why people think the world has to be so sterile so as to prevent people from getting offended. I'm open to being wrong.
  - chrischen 13y ago
    The straight women will still be alienated. It's not as if as long as you're not alienating some women (bi and gay) that it's fine. It also objectifies women. They're propagating the belief that women are only interesting as objects of men's sexual desires. They don't have to explicitly do something sexist or racist to have a negative effect. Sometimes negative effect can simply be achieved by inaction or mis-action (action that isn't explicitly wrong, but has overarching negative effects). The reason why you probably won't be offended by "ManButtStare" is because such a thing rarely if ever happens. You are in a male-dominated tech industry already so you don't feel alienation from that trivial instance of female-centric thinking. The problem with Titstare is it adds (in the wrong direction) to compounding attitudes of male-centric thinking and a male-centric industry, with negative consequences of alienation of straight female participants. This is a negative because there will be suboptimal appropriation of female talent into this sector due to alienation. More and more females will just end up going into fashion or art or English literature so they can join their gay, metrosexual, and non-sexist bffs. See how I stereotyped fashion as dominated by gay men? Perhaps it is, but by promoting that attitude, I probably just added a little bit there to discourage a straight guy from going into fashion even though he may be good at it. That is bad.
    - tallio 13y ago
      >They're propagating the belief that women are only interesting as objects of men's sexual desires. Nope. That's just your interpretation of it and says more about you and your biases than it does about the makers of that app. >The reason why you probably won't be offended by "ManButtStare" is because such a thing rarely if ever happens. Yep, because women definitely never stare at men's butts. Basically, women lusting after men is okay because... women just don't lust after men? Men, on the other hand, are to be shamed for expressing their sexual preferences. This is sexism at work.
- yogo 13y ago
  If there were kids there then this was certainly done in poor taste, but clearly this was a prank. As for not screening, I can see how they would trust the good in people but just like anything tech related, you never trust anything user submitted.
- rfnslyr 13y ago
  Sorry but I really think everyone should collectively loosen up.
  - estel 13y ago
    Or, just maybe, you should care about the sort of atmosphere and culture that this app contributes to just that bit more.
  - jessedhillon 13y ago
    Hear hear. For example, I always drop the n-word when I'm walking around. People should be more like me, I don't get offended by that kind of language, why should anyone else? Sometimes people do, and I'm like, "What? Why're you getting so offended? I'm not offended, why are you?" I'm kidding. I don't ask "why are you?" -- that doesn't matter LOL 8-) For some reason, black people get especially offended at this kind of stuff. No clue why. I mean, I don't get offended and that's literally the only thing that matters when considering whether something should or shouldn't be said. Not the audience, the venue or the event. Literally, only my own sensibilities matter. Everyone else should loosen up. Like me.
    - rfnslyr 13y ago
      Yes because tit is exactly like saying "nigger".
      - jessedhillon 13y ago
        I'd love to hear what you think are the salient differences between getting up and presenting Titstare, and showing something fictitious like "N-watcher" Evidently your reaction if someone got up to present the latter would not be "LOL guys loosen up!" -- even though you are not someone at whom the humor/offense is targeted. Why the difference in attitude?
        clarkm 13y ago
        The problem with that comparison is that I can easily imagine some spoof "Racial Profiler!" app being showcased as a joke. Perhaps an app that allows Atherton residents to report "suspicious" behavior. But I guess the larger lesson here is: do not try these things unless you're The Onion, SNL, or Key and Peele.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- radiusq 13y ago
  >Judging by TechCrunch's reaction, they wholeheartedly agree. Don't be so sure about that. Could have sworn I saw a few hosts on stage laughing when the presenters were finished. TC just wants the aura of being politically correct about it while they bath in the increased viewership/hits to the site.
objclxt 13y ago
You may not have been personally offended, but if you're not able to understand why somebody might have been offended then that really does sum up why lots of people think tech has a problem with misogyny. The fact 'it was a joke' really isn't an excuse...I'd argue it actually makes it worse.
- adamnemecek 13y ago
  Could you please provide an extensive list of things that are ok to be offended by and that others have to accommodate?
  - estel 13y ago
    No, because we have judgement. (And any given conference has its own rules regarding inclusivity and anti-discrimination).
    - adamnemecek 13y ago
      >> No, because we have judgement. Oh right, I forgot that we all have a one, shared judgement and that material that is offensive to one person is equally offensive to everyone else. >> any given conference has its own rules regarding inclusivity and anti-discrimination It appears that in this case they did not have these rules, the article says that they failed to "establish clear guidelines for these submissions". P.S. I find your comment extremely offensive, could you please remove it? Thanks.
    - __--__ 13y ago
      Except we don't. There are no clearly defined rules of what exactly defines sexism outside of "referring to women in a a way that makes anyone anywhere feel uncomfortable." It's entirely subjective and based on community, culture and societal standards. It's a landmine with wheels. Even if you stand perfectly still, it could bump into your leg at any moment and, I don't know, annoy you to death with shrill platitudes about patriarchy.
- ng12 13y ago
memset 13y ago
Perhaps the fact a young woman, aged 9, presented her hack at the same event.
aroberge 13y ago
Hilarious if you're a male teenager. Not so hilarious if you're a woman, or the parent of a girl interested in tech, or generally someone who is well aware of the detrimental effect of sexism.
USNetizen 13y ago
Really hope you're joking. If you encourage stuff like this, you should prepare for a long, lonely unsuccessful career riddled with lawsuits.
polemic 13y ago
Please read and understand this: http://therealkatie.net/blog/2012/mar/21/lighten-up/ http://therealkatie.net/blog/2012/mar/21/lighten-up/
- graue 13y ago
  Thanks for posting this! Was looking for it but couldn't find the link. Josh Rehman's comment there is also pretty good: > This is a great example of what I call "petty injustice". The sheer volume of petty injustice causes far more net harm than "great injustice" but because it happens incrementally it is incredibly hard to combat for precisely the reasons you anecdotally state. > When someone tells you to lighten up, have a script ready. Something like, "What you just said was one small example in a long-standing pattern of subtle discrimination that I've had to endure for years. In that context, it is not okay for you to tell me to lighten up."
mcantelon 13y ago
Offended? No. More like annoyed by the inappropriate (for the setting), lame humor.
DanBC 13y ago
How do you explain a man on stage simulating masturbation to your 7 year old child who's asking what's going on?

That was absolutely hilarious. I encourage stuff like this. Have a little fun people, nothing to apologize for. Who actually got offended?

by rfnslyr 13y ago

That was absolutely hilarious. I encourage stuff like this. Have a little fun people, nothing to apologize for. Who actually got offended?

Shank 13y ago

I hope you're joking. Besides the flurry of tech presenters and writers in the audience that were offended, a nine year old girl was at TechCrunch Disrupt demonstrating a product. Seeing as TCDisrupt isn't marketed as an 18+ event, it should be held to the same standards as any other public, professional gathering of individuals. Judging by TechCrunch's reaction, they wholeheartedly agree.

kintamanimatt 13y ago
IMHO both apps are tacky, however, I feel the whole thing is clearly a joke that some people found funny and some didn't. In any event, I feel the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I watched the videos and, while the Circle Shake presentation was cringeworthy, it was very mildly sexual at a conference that's aimed at adults, not children. There will have been people in the audience swearing in casual conversation too, possibly within earshot of the kid. I don't think anybody's equally upset about that though. Regarding TitStare, I feel as though tackiness has been conflated with sexism. I just cannot see how such an app is sexist, especially given the fact there are plenty of bisexual and lesbian women. Conversely, if there were an app called ManButtStare, I'm really just not sure there would be the same response. The reason I'm not offended by either of these apps is not because I'm a man (I'm not in the demographic for TitStare anyway given the fact I'm gay), but because the developers' intent didn't appear to be malicious or bad. It just seemed to be a joke that some people got offended over, but then again, I'm not sure why people think the world has to be so sterile so as to prevent people from getting offended. I'm open to being wrong.
- chrischen 13y ago
  The straight women will still be alienated. It's not as if as long as you're not alienating some women (bi and gay) that it's fine. It also objectifies women. They're propagating the belief that women are only interesting as objects of men's sexual desires. They don't have to explicitly do something sexist or racist to have a negative effect. Sometimes negative effect can simply be achieved by inaction or mis-action (action that isn't explicitly wrong, but has overarching negative effects). The reason why you probably won't be offended by "ManButtStare" is because such a thing rarely if ever happens. You are in a male-dominated tech industry already so you don't feel alienation from that trivial instance of female-centric thinking. The problem with Titstare is it adds (in the wrong direction) to compounding attitudes of male-centric thinking and a male-centric industry, with negative consequences of alienation of straight female participants. This is a negative because there will be suboptimal appropriation of female talent into this sector due to alienation. More and more females will just end up going into fashion or art or English literature so they can join their gay, metrosexual, and non-sexist bffs. See how I stereotyped fashion as dominated by gay men? Perhaps it is, but by promoting that attitude, I probably just added a little bit there to discourage a straight guy from going into fashion even though he may be good at it. That is bad.
  - tallio 13y ago
    >They're propagating the belief that women are only interesting as objects of men's sexual desires. Nope. That's just your interpretation of it and says more about you and your biases than it does about the makers of that app. >The reason why you probably won't be offended by "ManButtStare" is because such a thing rarely if ever happens. Yep, because women definitely never stare at men's butts. Basically, women lusting after men is okay because... women just don't lust after men? Men, on the other hand, are to be shamed for expressing their sexual preferences. This is sexism at work.
yogo 13y ago
If there were kids there then this was certainly done in poor taste, but clearly this was a prank. As for not screening, I can see how they would trust the good in people but just like anything tech related, you never trust anything user submitted.
rfnslyr 13y ago
Sorry but I really think everyone should collectively loosen up.
- estel 13y ago
  Or, just maybe, you should care about the sort of atmosphere and culture that this app contributes to just that bit more.
- jessedhillon 13y ago
  Hear hear. For example, I always drop the n-word when I'm walking around. People should be more like me, I don't get offended by that kind of language, why should anyone else? Sometimes people do, and I'm like, "What? Why're you getting so offended? I'm not offended, why are you?" I'm kidding. I don't ask "why are you?" -- that doesn't matter LOL 8-) For some reason, black people get especially offended at this kind of stuff. No clue why. I mean, I don't get offended and that's literally the only thing that matters when considering whether something should or shouldn't be said. Not the audience, the venue or the event. Literally, only my own sensibilities matter. Everyone else should loosen up. Like me.
  - rfnslyr 13y ago
    Yes because tit is exactly like saying "nigger".
    - jessedhillon 13y ago
      I'd love to hear what you think are the salient differences between getting up and presenting Titstare, and showing something fictitious like "N-watcher" Evidently your reaction if someone got up to present the latter would not be "LOL guys loosen up!" -- even though you are not someone at whom the humor/offense is targeted. Why the difference in attitude?
      - clarkm 13y ago
        The problem with that comparison is that I can easily imagine some spoof "Racial Profiler!" app being showcased as a joke. Perhaps an app that allows Atherton residents to report "suspicious" behavior. But I guess the larger lesson here is: do not try these things unless you're The Onion, SNL, or Key and Peele.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
radiusq 13y ago
>Judging by TechCrunch's reaction, they wholeheartedly agree. Don't be so sure about that. Could have sworn I saw a few hosts on stage laughing when the presenters were finished. TC just wants the aura of being politically correct about it while they bath in the increased viewership/hits to the site.

objclxt 13y ago

You may not have been personally offended, but if you're not able to understand why somebody might have been offended then that really does sum up why lots of people think tech has a problem with misogyny. The fact 'it was a joke' really isn't an excuse...I'd argue it actually makes it worse.

adamnemecek 13y ago
Could you please provide an extensive list of things that are ok to be offended by and that others have to accommodate?
- estel 13y ago
  No, because we have judgement. (And any given conference has its own rules regarding inclusivity and anti-discrimination).
  - adamnemecek 13y ago
    >> No, because we have judgement. Oh right, I forgot that we all have a one, shared judgement and that material that is offensive to one person is equally offensive to everyone else. >> any given conference has its own rules regarding inclusivity and anti-discrimination It appears that in this case they did not have these rules, the article says that they failed to "establish clear guidelines for these submissions". P.S. I find your comment extremely offensive, could you please remove it? Thanks.
  - __--__ 13y ago
    Except we don't. There are no clearly defined rules of what exactly defines sexism outside of "referring to women in a a way that makes anyone anywhere feel uncomfortable." It's entirely subjective and based on community, culture and societal standards. It's a landmine with wheels. Even if you stand perfectly still, it could bump into your leg at any moment and, I don't know, annoy you to death with shrill platitudes about patriarchy.
ng12 13y ago

memset 13y ago

Perhaps the fact a young woman, aged 9, presented her hack at the same event.

aroberge 13y ago

Hilarious if you're a male teenager. Not so hilarious if you're a woman, or the parent of a girl interested in tech, or generally someone who is well aware of the detrimental effect of sexism.

USNetizen 13y ago

Really hope you're joking. If you encourage stuff like this, you should prepare for a long, lonely unsuccessful career riddled with lawsuits.

polemic 13y ago

Please read and understand this: http://therealkatie.net/blog/2012/mar/21/lighten-up/ http://therealkatie.net/blog/2012/mar/21/lighten-up/

graue 13y ago
Thanks for posting this! Was looking for it but couldn't find the link. Josh Rehman's comment there is also pretty good: > This is a great example of what I call "petty injustice". The sheer volume of petty injustice causes far more net harm than "great injustice" but because it happens incrementally it is incredibly hard to combat for precisely the reasons you anecdotally state. > When someone tells you to lighten up, have a script ready. Something like, "What you just said was one small example in a long-standing pattern of subtle discrimination that I've had to endure for years. In that context, it is not okay for you to tell me to lighten up."

mcantelon 13y ago

Offended? No. More like annoyed by the inappropriate (for the setting), lame humor.

DanBC 13y ago

How do you explain a man on stage simulating masturbation to your 7 year old child who's asking what's going on?