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People who have spent even a fraction of an hour with me at a conference know—if there’s anything I despise more than crappy products, it’s talking about “women in technology.”

I don’t like standing out because of my gender. I don’t like standing out because I’m a minority. I like standing out because I’ve done something spectacular and people should pay attention to it.

But, because we are the minority, shit happens. And as a result of this shit, there are posts and talks and support groups. There are folks in the majority who roll their eyes and call it over-reacting. There are those who wish we’d all just shut up about it already.

Last week at MacTech, Andy Lee gave a presentation on Cocoa commands. Not having seen the presentation, I can’t vouch for its educational value, but from the slides (which are available online), it looks like an amusing talk.

Unfortunately, the presentation’s “hook” relies on sexual innuendo and dirty humor. Which, as sexual innuendo in a work environment is oft to do, offended someone, who blogged about the experience. This person also happened to be female. As a result, the discussion about her letter has revolved around alienating women with this kind of behavior. Around “professionality” vs “a relaxed atmosphere.” People are condemning Andy, or the conference, for having the talk.

Folks, we’re missing the point.

Andy’s talk sounds hilarious. I’m sure I’d enjoy watching it, because I’m a fan of showmanship and topics twisted in amusing ways. But, were I running a conference, there’s no way I’d put it on the schedule—nor, when I write for Macworld, would I compare an idiot tech analyst to a piece of male genitalia. (Much as I’d sometimes like to.)

Sure, the software industry is mostly full of white males right now. But, like most other aspects of my life, I’m too busy to focus on the present. I’m looking to the future. I’m looking toward the industry I want to be a part of.

And that’s already starting to take shape. We have more women, more elderly folk, more young kids tinkering around with XCode. We have singles, couples, fathers, mothers. We want the best and the brightest developing for us, making software that we love to use. And the last thing I or anyone else should want right now is to alienate those people because of a dick joke or two.

I’m not saying we strip out all humor. The talks at the Çingleton Symposium, which I had the pleasure of being at last month, were all hilarious, and they didn’t need to dip into the realm of the profane to do so. Or WWDC, for that matter—some of the subject matter may be over my head, but the jokes were never below the belt.

Play to the audience you want to attract, book the people you hope will inspire, attend the conferences that strive for more. And if someone’s offended, hear them out. Rational conversation and debate are what push the industry forward.

If someone decides they want a “no-holds-barred” developer conference, great! I’m sure there are plenty of people who’ll want to go. (For the opposite side of the coin, see GeekGirlCon.) There’s nothing wrong with targeting a certain sub-section of the community. It’s just not a section I’m interested in being a part of.

In short: It’s about tact, and what’s right for what situation. I’m more than happy to kick back with friends at the Chieftan after a day of sessions and trade dirty jokes. But when it comes to how our industry’s represented, I’d rather we keep it friendly and open to all.

  1. manyhats posted this