Re: [Debconf-team] DebConf anti-harassment policy
Hi Richard,
On Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 07:19, Richard Darst <rkd@zgib.net> wrote:
> You may have seen that recently, a loose geek feminism group has
> produced a draft anti-harassment policy for conferences (technical
> conferences in particular). Based on their experience and
> consultations, they have produced something which can be taken and,
> with minimal effort, adapted to us:
> http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_anti-harassment_policy
It seems to me that the text is mixing up harassment, which is defined
by the Oxford dictionary as "aggressive pressure or intimidation",
with sexism. For example: it implies that hiring somebody to be a
booth babe (sic) is harassment, which is clearly not. I'm not saying I
find them OK, but that's just diluting what harassment means.
Also, what I read there would forbid stuff that happens in other kinds
of conferences: cosplay (as it could be interpreted as "sexualised"
clothing), which is not really relevant here, but to me shows that the
text is not good. What about kilts (I think some people found them
sexy :)) or cleavage? And in the end, what makes clothing sexualised?
That can change drastically; for example, some people think that women
should hide their hair for similar reasons (at least orthodox Jews and
Muslims)
It also forbids the appearance of "sexual images in public spaces",
which would forbid most mainstream publicity that you could find in
the bus stop, cafeteria, etc. Or it could mean also that you cannot
have a wallpaper in your laptop with some cute boy/girl scantly clad
when you sit in the hacklab. I have been suggested by a friend to
change my wallpaper in DC7 because she found it objectifying, and I
complied with the request on the grounds of not making anyone feel
bad; but forbidding is quite a different thing. Also note that this
has nothing to do with harassment.
So, to conclude, I don't think it is a good idea to adopt this text.
--
Martín Ferrari
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