I have a lot of thoughts about this. I'm not certain if I agree with xkcd's conclusion but hey, that's just me. i might not be a people.
However, the public perception that everything female including deepest fantasies revolves around housework is imho both true and deeply disturbing.
We are proud to announce the 2010 Women of Vision Award Winners:
Lila Ibrahim, Kathleen McKeown and Kristina Johnson
Connecting Women and Technology
We are women technologists. We use technology to connect our communities. We create technology because it is who we are — intelligent, creative and driven. We lead with compassion and a belief in inclusion. We develop competitive products and find solutions to problems that impact our lives, our nation, our world. Together, through the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI), we are inventing a better future. Working with men that believe in our mission, we are changing the world for women and technology.
The Anita Borg Institute has several initiatives to promote and celebrate women in technology. The 2010 Women of Vision awards celebrate women who have made significant achievements in 3 areas.
For Innovation: Kathleen McKeown, Henry and Gertrude Rothschild Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University
For Social Impact: Lila Ibrahim, General Manager, Emerging Markets Platform Group, Intel Corporation
For Leadership: Kristina Johnson, Ph.D., Under Secretary for Energy at the Department of Energy
This excerpt of a post from Katy Dickinson at SanJose.MetBlogs.com shows why this is important!
"I have referred dozens of young women to the 2008 WOV talk by Helen Greiner. Any girl geek who feels too alone in her love of technology will be encouraged by the amazing founder of iRobot saying that when she was young “not one person told me I should be an Engineer” and “we need diversity of perspectives … more women’s life experiences influencing our directions and designs”.
We are proud to announce the 2010 Women of Vision Award Winners:
Lila Ibrahim, Kathleen McKeown and Kristina Johnson
Connecting Women and Technology
We are women technologists. We use technology to connect our communities. We create technology because it is who we are — intelligent, creative and driven. We lead with compassion and a belief in inclusion. We develop competitive products and find solutions to problems that impact our lives, our nation, our world. Together, through the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI), we are inventing a better future. Working with men that believe in our mission, we are changing the world for women and technology.
The Anita Borg Institute has several initiatives to promote and celebrate women in technology. The 2010 Women of Vision awards celebrate women who have made significant achievements in 3 areas.
For Innovation: Kathleen McKeown, Henry and Gertrude Rothschild Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University
For Social Impact: Lila Ibrahim, General Manager, Emerging Markets Platform Group, Intel Corporation
For Leadership: Kristina Johnson, Ph.D., Under Secretary for Energy at the Department of Energy
This excerpt of a post from Katy Dickinson at SanJose.MetBlogs.com shows why this is important!
"I have referred dozens of young women to the 2008 WOV talk by Helen Greiner. Any girl geek who feels too alone in her love of technology will be encouraged by the amazing founder of iRobot saying that when she was young “not one person told me I should be an Engineer” and “we need diversity of perspectives … more women’s life experiences influencing our directions and designs”.
Thanks @cesar_albarr #ARIN6902 for finding this great Liquid Theory TV http://bit.ly/9wuJ09 on Deleuze & Control with the recent thinking on digital culture, web 2.0 and internet governance.
Thanks @cesar_albarr from #ARIN6902 for fwding this great video from Liquid Theory TV.
“EVERY MOUTHFUL HELPS”
The sexualized campaign against breast cancer (i.e., “save the tatas”) is fascinating. Why should we care about breast cancer? Because we think boobs are hot and we like to put them in our mouths.
I think it’s the ad companies that win. This bottled water advertisement (found here) gets to be simultaneously socially conscious and titillating:
Also in breast cancer awareness and advertising: if men had boobs, they’d care about breast cancer, gender symbolism in breast cancer ads, and objectification in the service of breast cancer awareness.
Also don’t miss boobsboobsboobsboobsboobsboobsboobsboobsboobs.
I was excited by the Facebook breastfeeding is not obscene campaign and decided to use it as one assignment topic for internet & governance, but the potential for exploring breastfeeding more thoroughly in Gender, Media and Consumption was so compelling that I went searching for advertising images of breasts in Australia.
I was pretty certain that there would be either sexualised images selling anything unrelated to breastfeeding... or indeed actual breasts vs public service info type advertorials with a few discreet helping women with their problems type niche ads for maternity wear, pads etc.
Then I found this image over at Sociological Images (along with vajazzling) and I can't stop laughing. That is one kick arse ad. I must write about THIS AD! Even better, the site authors, Lisa Wade, Ph.D. Occidental College and Gwen Sharp, Ph.D. Nevada State College, have done so much research and writing about the sexualisation of the breast and the changing consumption of the body that I'm just going to dive right in and read myself stupid!
Just the moment I finish off discussing Baudrillard's hyperreality in the context of internet governance. Well, how about the fact that the real breast pictures can't get published unless they're 'bredazzled'? Sigh.
Vajazzling Revealed
Dmitriy T.M., Christina W., Kelly V., and George asked us to comment on Vajazzling. Dmitriy, who sent in the video link, said he was too frightened to press play, but I am very brave and now I know what vajazzling really is! It’s hard to know because the term “vajayjay” is, um, who knows what that word means… and the term “vagina” (which actually refers to what is otherwise known as the birth canal) is now used to mean the vulva and, apparently, anything within 12 inches of it.
In any case, the video below, in which a woman documents the vajazzling of her “vagina,” reveals that the term refers to the placing of a field of tiny crystals where your public hair would be. So, you essentially replace your pubic hair with shiny objects.
So, brave souls who pressed play, sociologically analyze away.
I laughed so hard I wet myself when vajazzling burst onto the cultural consciousness c/o Jennifer Love Hewitt on Lopez Tonight. There's a whole feminist cyborg consumer trash thing going on as well as it's just enormously funny. Forget arguing with my 11yr old girl about earrings!
I just have to post this thanks to the spirit of inquiry at Sociological Images. I went looking for breasts but got more than I bargained for!
