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I follow the twitter-feed of Ian McKellar, a programmer I met back when we were both studying computer science and hanging out in Unisfa.
Normally I skim past the programming posts, but over the last few days he posted some stuff which paints a picture of the sort of sexist Fail I usually see being railed against in Feminist Blogs. Since I've been involved in feminism and programming I found it all rather... interesting.
For context: Ruby is a programming language. Ruby on Rails is a framework used for open source development in Ruby, often shortened to "Rails"(*).
Here is the story as I can make it out:
gender and sex at gogaruco: At a Ruby conference, Ruby in Rails developer Matt Aimonetti gives a powerpoint presentation called “CouchDB + Ruby: Perform Like a Pr0n Star.” Scroll down to see it. Basically it intersperses straightforward dull information with bad puns and images involving porn and porn stars.
People complained and there was discussion of the way that the Ruby on Rails community is particularly male dominated and prone to macho posturing.
Alpha male programmers aren't keeping women out: David Heinemeier Hansson, a core Ruby on Rails developer, dismisses these concerns, saying that "the average programmer ranks only just above mathematicians in being meek, tame, and introverted" (computational mathematician takes a moment to lol) and talks up edginess.
A Painful Decision: Mike Gunderloy, a Ruby on Rails spokesman, says a significant number of Rails core contributors "apparently feel that being unwelcoming and “edgy” is not just acceptable, but laudable." and resigns.
When your sexism is so bad it makes men resign, you are Doing Something Wrong.
Speaking to Cam, he says he has always seen Ruby on Rails devotees as a disconcertingly evangelical small group convinced of their own awesomeness.
What I find a bit surreal about the whole thing is that the main Ruby on Rails project I'm aware of is An Archive of Our Own, a fanfic archive run and almost entirely staffed by women. Of course I assume that using Rails doesn't mean you have any interaction with the people creating and promoting it.
Personally I have found the programming/computer geek community off-puttingly male and macho at times. Certainly UCC (the uni computer club) was often an unpleasant place with all the "LOL I RAPE U FAG" crap being shouted by gamers.
Various EDITS:
First off (since people who don't know me may read this), I just want to make it clear that while I have experienced sexism and a sometimes uncomfortable-to-women (or at least this woman) atmosphere in maths/CS/IT etc circles, most of the geeky guys I know are lovely. Although of course being overall lovely doesn't stop you being occasionally sexist by accident, even I'm guilty of it from time to time.
Also please note the comment policy.
Some more links:
(*)Real Programmers are welcome to suggest a better summary :)
Normally I skim past the programming posts, but over the last few days he posted some stuff which paints a picture of the sort of sexist Fail I usually see being railed against in Feminist Blogs. Since I've been involved in feminism and programming I found it all rather... interesting.
For context: Ruby is a programming language. Ruby on Rails is a framework used for open source development in Ruby, often shortened to "Rails"(*).
Here is the story as I can make it out:
gender and sex at gogaruco: At a Ruby conference, Ruby in Rails developer Matt Aimonetti gives a powerpoint presentation called “CouchDB + Ruby: Perform Like a Pr0n Star.” Scroll down to see it. Basically it intersperses straightforward dull information with bad puns and images involving porn and porn stars.
People complained and there was discussion of the way that the Ruby on Rails community is particularly male dominated and prone to macho posturing.
Alpha male programmers aren't keeping women out: David Heinemeier Hansson, a core Ruby on Rails developer, dismisses these concerns, saying that "the average programmer ranks only just above mathematicians in being meek, tame, and introverted" (computational mathematician takes a moment to lol) and talks up edginess.
A Painful Decision: Mike Gunderloy, a Ruby on Rails spokesman, says a significant number of Rails core contributors "apparently feel that being unwelcoming and “edgy” is not just acceptable, but laudable." and resigns.
When your sexism is so bad it makes men resign, you are Doing Something Wrong.
Speaking to Cam, he says he has always seen Ruby on Rails devotees as a disconcertingly evangelical small group convinced of their own awesomeness.
What I find a bit surreal about the whole thing is that the main Ruby on Rails project I'm aware of is An Archive of Our Own, a fanfic archive run and almost entirely staffed by women. Of course I assume that using Rails doesn't mean you have any interaction with the people creating and promoting it.
Personally I have found the programming/computer geek community off-puttingly male and macho at times. Certainly UCC (the uni computer club) was often an unpleasant place with all the "LOL I RAPE U FAG" crap being shouted by gamers.
Various EDITS:
First off (since people who don't know me may read this), I just want to make it clear that while I have experienced sexism and a sometimes uncomfortable-to-women (or at least this woman) atmosphere in maths/CS/IT etc circles, most of the geeky guys I know are lovely. Although of course being overall lovely doesn't stop you being occasionally sexist by accident, even I'm guilty of it from time to time.
Also please note the comment policy.
Some more links:
- Via Coda: An investigation of gender in the Open Source movement.
- From James: A Selection Of Thoughts From Actual Women and I am not a Pr0n Star: avoiding unavoidable associations.
(*)Real Programmers are welcome to suggest a better summary :)
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