back to article Calm down, dear: Woman claims sexism in tech journalism

In yet another baseless attack on tech journalism, a woman has complained about supposed sexism in the field. Holly Brockwell – editor of Gadgette, a virulently pro-woman and so therefore anti-man tech website – has written a blog post claiming to give insights into "what it's really like to be a female tech journalist." She …

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  1. SkippyBing

    I really just keep coming back here to look for outraged comments from people who don't get satire, do get it but don't think this was it, think this was it but done poorly, generally enjoy jumping on the outrage bus etc. etc.

    I think I mean satire. I might mean something else but it's Friday...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Wow, I forgot it was Friday! I love the Easter weekend. Played games all day with Friends, had a leg of lamb delivered for the weekend feast, gonna be a lot of Lamb eaten next week I think.

      1. Randolf McKinley
        Thumb Up

        Lamb. MMMMmmmmmmmm. You might be able to beat some meat but you can't beat meat that once went "Baaaaaaa".

    2. Mark 85
      Pint

      @SkippyBing

      Have one for being spot on. I got it and I'm American which I guess means I'm not supposed to get it...

      Anyway... happy Friday.

    3. Alan J. Wylie

      Poe's Law

      I think I mean satire

      No-one has yet mentioned this:

      Poe's Law

      Poe's law is an Internet adage which states that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, parodies of extreme views will be mistaken by some readers or viewers for sincere expressions of the parodied views

      1. yoganmahew

        Re: Poe's Law

        Ah, thanks, I thought it was another AI chatbot...

      2. macjules

        Re: Poe's Law

        Damn, I thought it was something along the lines of 'ensure bunny is back in the box'

    4. MyffyW Silver badge

      I get this is satire. But it's neither entertaining, nor enlightening, and it doesn't have enough double entendre for my taste.

      compulsive liars for a Corbyn victory. Or are we?

      1. msknight

        I'm with MyffyW. Satire, but only just. And for my money, it didn't really go anywhere, make a point or entertain.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @msknight

          "I'm with MyffyW. Satire, but only just. And for my money, it didn't really go anywhere, make a point or entertain."

          Ditto. For my money it was pretty clear from the start that it wasn't meant straight (#), but that's because it came across as an intentional troll article (##)- to the point I was planning on suggesting they should replace the headline/thumbnail image with the ubiquitous trollface.

          Reading on, it started to get fuzzier. It made me think, but mainly about what level the article was supposed to be taken on and- what (if any) point was being made. In other words, more about the author than any issues that might have been raised by the story itself.

          Sorry, but if this was satire, then it didn't quite come off.

          (#) Though that was partly because I read it here. Whatever you think of The Register and its contributors' views, I still couldn't see them printing an article like this "straight", whereas- as the aforementioned Poe's law implies- there are places out there you could see people posting stuff like this in all sincerity.

          (##) In the original sense, obviously, not the mass media's dumbed-down misuse of the term as a synonym for "online bullying".

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

    5. Purple-Stater

      The article is an excellent example of how sarcasm/satire doesn't translate well into print.

      1. Colin Millar

        @Purple-Stater

        Yeah - that Jonathan Swift - what did he know?

  2. Someone Else Silver badge
    WTF?

    One thing leads to another...or not

    Kieran opines:

    Holly Brockwell – editor of Gadgette, a virulently pro-woman and so therefore anti-man tech website – [...]

    Please explain, Mr. Male Tech Journalist, how being a pro-woman ... or even a virulently pro-woman ... anything immediately and automatically implies that that same anything must therefore be anti-man.

    I'll hang up and wait for my answer....

    Did Rush write your copy for this?

    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: One thing leads to another...or not

      See the first comment.

      C.

    2. kierenmccarthy

      Call back

      I think maybe should you read the whole thing, wipe the spittle from your cheeks, have a cup of tea and wait for a dawning realization. Then we'll talk.

      1. Roq D. Kasba

        Re: Call back

        Kieren is a girl's name.

        1. bri

          Re: Call back (@ Roq D. Kasba)

          No, he's a bloke.

          Anyway, it's written perfectly in order for people to actually read it through without implied 'agenda filters' and think about the issue. Well done.

        2. Shane McCarrick

          Re: Call back

          Its a traditional Irish guys name- though the way its spelt here is a new one by me.

          1. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: Call back

            Eeek! Please everyone, make sure that Someone Else doesn't see this 'news' story:

            http://www.theonion.com/article/no-one-in-womens-shelter-able-to-cook-decent-meal-5799

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Call back

            Could be an Ellis Island special :P

    3. Marshalltown

      Re: One thing leads to another...or not

      Well, but obviously, Kieren assumed that being virulently "pro" something will be accompanied by an equal and opposite "anti" attitude which makes perfect sense, because without that balancing force, she would walking with a list. Of course she COULD just be generally negative about everything else, but a focal negative is probably easier to manage. Personally I've always regarded it as an antimale bias when you can't get secret inside information because there's nothing you can flash them that wouldn't get you punched out. Of course from a geek the punch would not be very impressive, but still that's pretty negative.

    4. Sixtysix

      Re: One thing leads to another...or not

      Obvious troll is....

      1. Roq D. Kasba

        Re: One thing leads to another...or not

        Yes, of course Keiren is a bloke's name. You people are so fucking literal at times.

  3. lnLog
    WTF?

    eh?

    Is this an attempt at special humour? or have you been taking the trump pills? What is your point, and why make it here?

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: eh?

      It's a mischievous use of a phallus to poke a hornets nest.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: eh?

        You misspelt 'masochistic' as 'mischievous'. Has your auto-correct got its undergarments in a twist?

        1. Preston Munchensonton
          Pint

          Re: eh?

          You misspelt 'masochistic' as 'mischievous'. Has your auto-correct got its undergarments in a twist?

          About as much as you gotten sand in your vagina. Geez. Lighten up, mate.

        2. PNGuinn
          Mushroom

          Re: eh?

          Hmmmm ... I think MY spelling might have gone a little awry if I'd tried that ..... undergarments or not ......

          This might feel less painful >>

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: eh?

        Phallucy?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I do believe....

    ....that it is a bit late for Holy Brockwell. The cutting edge of indignant moral outrage appears to be garlanded around Peter Tatchell's neck, as the self-obsessed LGBT movement fights itself to death over the issue of precisely which flavour of LGBT minority is the most discriminated against.

    Complaining that you're a hard done by woman doesn't even come close to cutting it, particularly when PT finds himself insufficiently discriminated against for being white and gay. A cynic might conclude that bot Ms Brockwell and Mr Tatchell should stop whingeing and adopt a new interest. What about a BDSM fetish? Would that cut it, or is there some homo-erotic element that is essential?

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

      Re: I do believe....

      @AC

      as the self-obsessed LGBT movement fights itself to death over the issue of precisely which flavour of LGBT minority is the most discriminated against.

      May have got it right first time with the order of the letters "LGBT".

    2. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: I do believe....

      The problem here is that the "T" community faces a lot more discrimination and transphobia from the LBG community than from the general population. The "L" and "G" communities also hate the "B" community and the "L" and "G" communities don't like each other very much either.

      1. Hollerithevo

        Re: I do believe....

        I am guessing you are speaking from the outside of all these communities.

        This is only a 'community' because the 'deviant' sexualities have been lumped together under one heading and generally find common cause, just as all those with mental and physical disabilities get lumped into the 'disabled' group, and so on. All these 'diversity' groups mean 'them wot is not male, white and straight', so we have Black and Asian, Women, Disabled, Gay' etc. But being not white, male and straight does not make you a group with equal concerns and needs.

        For example, being an L in LGBT, I see the others are mostly about men, while I am in the group that is totally not about men. So why, aside from fellow-feeling and a dislike of discrimination everywhere, would I take on gay male or Trans issues?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    glass half FULL

    it could be a compliment?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I liked this one

    A wonderful mashup of the stuff you see on some of the comments boards, and resisted the temptation to go for the easiest targets like Gamergate. But the people most in need of understanding it won't get it.

    The funny thing is, there is a definite overlap of these people with fundamentalist evangelicals, Islamists and Hassidic Jews. I once had one of them tell me, in all seriousness, that it was my job to be the "Biblical head of the household". Kirche, Kinde, Kuche. But all four groups hate the other three.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I liked this one

      > Kirche, Kinde, Kuche. But all four groups hate the other three.

      The other four. Remember, there is more than one faction of any given group.

      Sincerely yours,

      The Judean People's Front

      1. billse10

        Re: I liked this one

        "Sincerely yours,

        The Judean People's Front"

        Splitter ....

      2. MyffyW Silver badge

        Uxbridge English Dictionary Malapropisms

        Kirche - well who doesn't like cherry brandy?

        Kinder - Not so fond of the chocolate, but a plastic toy is always well received.

        Kuche - No dear, it's an Aga.

        I do think you missed the fourth one - Karcher - a now forgotten High German word for pressure washer.

        Got to rush, need to get the Children and the Cakes to Evensong.

  7. Herby

    You know "gullible" isn't in the dictionary

    Or so I'm told.

    Do we need to hold up a sign "sarcasm" to tell people that it is? (as was done on _The Big Bang Theory_). Some people can find fault in anything.

  8. BugabooSue
    Happy

    I get it. Really I do,

    But dude, calm down. ;)

    As a woman in what is still a predominantly male field of work (IT), I get all sorts of crap dealt out to me by my more masculine counterparts on occasion. I could argue the toss about whether that was right or wrong until hell freezes over, but when the situation is reversed - males working in a predominantly female-staffed field of employment, similar shit happens. I wish it didn't sometimes, but it is a fact of life. As a species, I doubt if we will ever completely solve the tribalism and misogyny that blights us, but by keeping a lid on some of the more outspoken bipartisan craziness with respect to these issues, we might be able to eventually reduce it to a less emotional level of conflict.

    In that light, I will probably attract downvotes from some folk on here for saying that Holly should stop using such emotionally-charged language in order to further 'her cause'. Same goes for you Kieran. Pack it in!

    It's this constant sniping back and forth that does no good, whether it is between the 'sexes,' or religion, or whatever - it's a waste of human effort. We need to *talk* to each other, rationally. We must stop in-fighting if we are ever going to get off this miserable ball of mud.

    People! Learn to talk, not bleat and throw tantrums! Compromise!

    On another note, after numerous years in the military dealing with assholes of all sexes and genders, I could not give a flying fudge what others say about me, "As a woman." I do my job. I do it bloody well. Say what you like about me, but if I find out you are paying me less than the man in the same office for doing the same job - I'll feed you your nuts - after I've lightly sautéed them in front of you of course. :)

    Seriously, I just wish this shit would stop. Enough already!!

    Susi xx

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I get it. Really I do,

      Yes, yes, yes !

      Glad I am not the only one who has had enough of the whining.

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Facepalm

        Re: I get it. Really I do,

        The problem here is that you can be very well paid for whining. It's called "compensation" and it's the root cause of most of what's wrong with the world....

        When searching for why something's fucked up, look for where the lawyers got involved. The problem will be there.

        1. LionelB Silver badge

          Re: I get it. Really I do,

          The problem here is that you can be very well paid for whining. It's called "compensation" and it's the root cause of most of what's wrong with the world....

          cf. First World Problems

    2. Notas Badoff
      IT Angle

      Re: I get it. Really I do,

      There's this word - 'respect'. All the CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md files popping up on Github won't fix anything unless people require respect from each other.

      And that was always possible. 20 years ago the company almost fired a guy because he was altering interview test questions ad-hoc and mostly after seeing women interviewees. He had a problem with women, so the company had a problem with him!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I get it. Really I do,

        > There's this word - 'respect'. All the CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md files popping up on Github won't fix anything

        On the contrary, they ones I've seen (and they're all copypasta) make things worse...

        > unless people require respect from each other.

        ...for exactly this reason. They just fail to acknowledge that other points of view may exist and be just as respectable, and that it is actions not words that matter.

        Case in point, some sad idiot (I do not use that word lightly) on the Node.js IRC channels who runs a bot that intercepts any references to God, guys and the like so she can come and scold people. Things go like:

        someone: "Thank you for your help, God bless you!"

        otherperson: "Cheers!" (whether I believe in God or not, I figure a blessing can't hurt)

        bigot: "Hey someone, please do not bring up religion here, not everyone is a believer" (so fucking what? Some people are. Live and let live)

        someone: "Hello guys!"

        bigot: "We're not all guys here, you know?" Guess what, the dictionary defines 'guys' as "people of either sex". It might have been childish but I started mocking her by greeting the chatroom with "Hello guys and the YY-chromosomed amongst you!" (for the ones who slept through biology class, in humans the YY chromosome pair is not viable).

        1. Natasha Live

          Re: I get it. Really I do,

          I use 'guys' to mean gender non-specific at work. My line is that unless for some reason I'm trying to get you into bed (not likely after 21 years with the same women... they are pickled in a jar dontyeahknow), then gender is not a factor. It's just a phrase to apply to many.

          Kind of like when I are on the phone to a call centre and I say "you have made a mistake" and they respond "I did not" and I have to explain the "You" in question is plural and is the company not the person and as the represent the company they represent that "You".

    3. kierenmccarthy

      Sort of my point

      The raging, angry, non-sensical style is sort of the point.

      It takes the aggressive over-reaction to articles that highlight a serious issue of sexism and tries to flip it on its head.

      I agree with you in part about people just getting on with their lives and jobs. But in this case the reporter wrote an excellent piece in which she outlined several things that were genuinely shocking - certainly beyond what should be accepted as just people being people.

      So, while I agree with your sentiment - the constant raging that occurs in place of real conversations - in this case, I decided mockery, rather than outrage or earnest hand-wringing, was the way to go. Plus, you know, it's Friday.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I get it. Really I do,

      Is is an example of 'girlsplaining'?

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I get it. Really I do,

      > We need to *talk* to each other, rationally.

      In relation to this, there are so many examples I can offer.

      Once I worked with this Indonesian bloke who turned out to be virulently anti-semitic. I asked him if he'd ever met a Jewish person before and he said "no", so I replied "Well, now you have" (in fact there was two of us at the workplace, a Muslim country btw). He really liked me and he really liked his boss, a Swedish guy who, like me, could speak Hebrew. To this day we stay in touch and consider each other good friends.

      Once I was with a Polish friend of mine who was utterly shocked at seeing two men kiss each other outside a bar in Poland. I explained to him that they're probably a couple and that was a display of affection, as people do (although public displays of affection are not very common in Poland, generally speaking). It took him a few days but now this lad is perfectly comfortable mingling with male homosexuals. He also used to have a bit of a problem with immigrants, until I pointed out that I, one of his best mates and living there at the time, wasn't exactly Polish myself.

      I used to avoid ultra-conservative religious types like the plague, until I had to start talking to them while accompanying a friend of mine doing his PhD research. I came to realise that they can actually be just as tolerant, if not more, than many of us, as long as they don't feel threatened or seriously disrespected (just like the rest of us, what a surprise.) I found they even have a sense of humour and can take and dash out quite a bit of banter, sometimes quite off-colour for a supposedly fundamentalist type.

      There are probably a hundred more examples I could think of but the gist is there. If you find yourself in a dispute, talking to / acting towards the other person in a non-confrontational manner tends to be the most productive approach for everyone involved.

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