3 ms·

I'm replying to myself to keep the above short and sweet. I'm inclined to think it is. I'm worried that someone could see that title, not understand her positi

I'm replying to myself to keep the above short and sweet. I'm inclined to think it is. I'm worried that someone could see that title, not understand her position or its importance, and disregard her. Or assume Google has disregarded her. Or assume that you have to have adhere to "Princess-like" gender norms. All of which bother me. If I didn't read the article, I might think: * Google doesn't take security seriously. (A topic for another topic, but I digress.) * Google doesn't take women in senior positions seriously. * If I'm a woman, I can expect to have a title like that at Google. Etc. Is it sexist? Knowing more facts makes it less-so, but can we rely on the general public knowing all the facts? Edit: I encourage readers to read my reply to jamesaguilar, here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723, to elucidate why we still ask the question, "Is it sexist?", and not just to be funny.

saraid216 12y ago
You're confusing sexist interpretation with sexist action. If Person A chooses to wear a pink t-shirt, this is not sexist. If Person B chooses to interpret such a t-shirt as feminine, that is sexist. I'm deliberately avoiding giving Person A a gender, you'll notice.
- AaronFriel 12y ago
  I think you're confusing your interpratation of the question "Is it sexist?" with its actual effect :) Google, and even the employee herself, are sending signals, just like startups send signals to investors and people signal their gender with what they wear. Is it sexist to interpret pink t-shirts as feminine? (I think that's more a question of gender construction, but I digress again.) I think there's a big problem with the way that tech giants send signals towards women who want to approach technology. Having a senior-level highly technical role in your company with the title "Security Princess" sends a lot of signals, and I don't think most of them are good for fighting sexism. Does that make sense?
shmerl 12y ago
> I'm worried that someone could see that title, not understand her position or its importance, and disregard her. How does it make the title sexist? It makes it confusing or non descriptive if you like. And what if the title was "security prince"? Would it make any difference regarding the above? I don't think so. It would be as much confusing as a "security princess". So it's not sexist really.

saraid216 12y ago

You're confusing sexist interpretation with sexist action. If Person A chooses to wear a pink t-shirt, this is not sexist. If Person B chooses to interpret such a t-shirt as feminine, that is sexist. I'm deliberately avoiding giving Person A a gender, you'll notice.

AaronFriel 12y ago
I think you're confusing your interpratation of the question "Is it sexist?" with its actual effect :) Google, and even the employee herself, are sending signals, just like startups send signals to investors and people signal their gender with what they wear. Is it sexist to interpret pink t-shirts as feminine? (I think that's more a question of gender construction, but I digress again.) I think there's a big problem with the way that tech giants send signals towards women who want to approach technology. Having a senior-level highly technical role in your company with the title "Security Princess" sends a lot of signals, and I don't think most of them are good for fighting sexism. Does that make sense?

shmerl 12y ago

> I'm worried that someone could see that title, not understand her position or its importance, and disregard her. How does it make the title sexist? It makes it confusing or non descriptive if you like. And what if the title was "security prince"? Would it make any difference regarding the above? I don't think so. It would be as much confusing as a "security princess". So it's not sexist really.