[clug] Open Source Software's Dirty Little Secret

[Francis James Whittle]

Curiously enough, I just launched my web browser to look at some stuff
(actually software-related stuff), and the first thing that caught my
eye on the site I was looking at what an advert.  An overtly sexist
advert.  It was for a fairly recently released online game.  You've
probably seen at least one of the advertisement's variations.  Lots of
cleavage (probably why it caught my eye, if I'm honest), words like
"Start your Kingdom now... My Lord."

So I thought, "That's a very sexist advert.  I'm not following that
link."

Then I thought second thoughts, and looked around at all the other
advertisements (the owner of this page would get a lot of money at this
point if there was some technology for discerning eyeball pressure on
advertisements and they got paid for it), and I wanted to reach for the
ad-blocker.  Not I was born in the '80s;  I grew up with commercial
television's increasing ad-time and decreasing show segments, I watched
the rise and... further rise...[1] of internet advertising (I remember
the days when you expect at most to see one advert on a given page
instead of the commercialfest with a little square of actual content in
the middle of it that you get these days, even) — in short, I've got
used to adverts being there and pay them no heed, sort of like adblock
in my head.  It wasn't the base annoyingness of the ads being there, no.
I wanted to be rig of them because they were all sexist.  Every last one
of them.  Including (especially, even) the 'Lose five thousand nine
hundred and eighty two stones in six and a half seconds seconds' one.
The adverts weren't even necessarily about anything to do with women,
and yet they would have scantily clad nymphs on them.  Same story on the
Dilbert strip that someone linked to in the (G)GGD  thread, what's
worse.  Thinking retrospectively, the mind's eye recalls it being like
this for an awfully long time.

The third thoughts were, "This is the medium upon which the Free
Software movement is delivered.  Not just a medium, THE medium."

Clearly there's a problem right there.  If women are treated so
offensively by the Internet, what hope do they have of even *hearing*
about F/OSS?  Except, of course, if they're in the newsagent trying to
find an interesting magazine and they stumble across the computing
section — where, by and large, the predominant theme on the covers is
effectively pornography.  Seriously, if you go into you local newsagent,
find the mags, look at the mens' club covers, look at the computing
covers, and decide which one, based on the cover pictures alone, you'd
expect to find the nekkid ladies in.  Cause and Effect?  What was Effect
yesterday is Cause today.
So we end up with the sausage fest that is F/OSS (I don't recall working
with a single woman on open source projects, as it happens.  I have very
limited amounts of involvement, but I have very limited RPG playing
experience too, and yet I've played with infinitely more women there
than I've worked with in F/OSS).  Because Effect is viral, it continues
to get worse.

I've said before (yesterday, I think), that retaining a segment of
populace the feels excluded will encourage more of those like them to
join.  Well, it works the other way too.  Encouraging more of a group
will help those from that group who are already present to feel wanted,
too, and then they're more likely to hang around.

Now, as for the point of all this?  Well see the first sentence of point
three quoted.  I know I'm guilty of seeing something that's offensive
and just trying to pretend it doesn't exist.  "Can't easily be
addressed" is stupid.  Nothing is easy.  Complain to the advertisers?
Well maybe we can.  Stinks of effort, but effort needs to be made.  We
know that sex sells, but really, does that make it okay?

And yes, this is only one facet of the problem.  But it's a fairly
obvious one.  Experience tells we working on the less obvious parts of a
problem first is a futile manner of address.

[1] That's probably innuendo and offensive.  I will make no apology for
this one, it's demonstrating a problematic trend.

On Fri, 2009-09-11 at 13:42 +1000, Jacinta Richardson wrote a wall of
text that finished with:
> To improve things, society will have to change.  There are lots of
> discouragements to women getting into IT that can't easily be addressed by those
> in IT.  However, there are things that can be done to make IT a nicer place for
> all new contributors.  Kirrily's talk gives a bunch of examples.  For example:
> 
> * Recruit diversity.  Invite more than just your buddies to be involved in your
> project.  Actively seek out the diversity you want to see.
> 
> * Say it.  Mean it.  Create a code of conduct or a diversity statement.  Use it
> to set expectations.  Stand by it and uphold it.
> 
> * Value all contributions.  Whether code or documentation or translations.
> Don't put coders above all other contributors.  Say thank you.  Don't flame
> contributions just because they haven't followed some unwritten guideline like
> code formatting.  Realise that different people need different amounts of
> appreciation and that it's better to actually say "good job" (even if you would
> never expect it) than to assume that applying the patch is sufficient.
> 
> * Call people on their crap.  If someone is being an asshole, call it.  Don't
> give people free passes just because they're good at <something>.  Don't
> tolerate sexist jokes just because they're funny.  Don't avoid getting involved
> because you don't think it's offensive.  If you want an inclusive, diverse
> community then you don't want the status quo; so you have to fight for change.
> 
> * Pay attention.  80% of men (reportedly) have not seen any sexism in the open
> source community.  80% of women have.   Men generally aren't used to noticing
> this stuff, because they are in a position of privilege.  Don't ignore it, pay
> attention and become aware of how some behaviours can affect others in your
> environment.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> 	Jacinta
>