#ShockHorror! Women Scientists Who Have Been Screwed by The #Phallocentric System [#geekgirl]

Rosalind Franklin

“In April, National Geographic News published a story about the letter in which scientist Francis Crick described DNA to his 12-year-old son. In 1962, Crick was awarded a Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA, along with fellow scientists James Watson and Maurice Wilkins.

Several people posted comments about our story that noted one name was missing from the Nobel roster: Rosalind Franklin, a British biophysicist who also studied DNA. Her data were critical to Crick and Watson’s work, but as several commenters noted, Franklin was robbed of recognition. (See her section below for details.)

She was not the first woman to have endured indignities in the male-dominated world of science, but Franklin’s case is especially egregious, said Ruth Lewin Sime, a retired chemistry professor at Sacramento City College who has written on women in science.” – From 6 Women Scientists Who Were Snubbed Due to Sexism

Sexist “WTF-ness” Brought to You By Wikipedia [#geekgirl]

Sexist “WTF-ness” Brought to You By Wikipedia

 ”Many female novelists, like Harper Lee, Anne Rice, Amy Tan, Donna Tartt and some 300 others, had been relegated to the ranks of “American Women Novelists” only, and no longer appeared in the category “American Novelists.”

Male novelists on Wikipedia, however — no matter how obscure — all got to be in the category “American Novelists.” In an Op-Ed article I wrote, published on The New York Times’s Web site on Wednesday, I suggested it was too bad that there wasn’t a subcategory for “American Men Novelists.” And what do you know; shortly after, a new subcategory called exactly that appeared.

But there was more. Much more. As soon as the Op-Ed article appeared, unhappy Wikipedia editors pounced on my Wikipedia page and started making alterations to it, erasing as much as they possibly could without (I assume) technically breaking the rules. They removed the links to outside sources, like interviews of me and reviews of my novels. Not surprisingly, they also removed the link to the Op-Ed article. At the same time, they put up a banner at the top of my page saying the page needed “additional citations for verifications.” Too bad they’d just taken out the useful sources.

In 24 hours, there were 22 changes to my page. Before that, there had been 22 changes in four years. Thursday night, a kind soul went in there and put back the deleted sources. The Wiki editors instantly took them out again.

I knew my page might take a beating. But at least I’m back in the “American Novelists” category, along with many other women.

For the moment anyway.”

- “Wikipedia’s Sexism” By Amanda Filipacchi

Save the Rat! [#NSFW] [#geekgirl]

SAVE THE RAT from Red Rattler Theatre.

Help this independent, not-for-profit, performance space buy 40% of the building it lives in.

Watch the evolution of the Rat from empty warehouse to creative playground as one of the 5 founders, Teresa Avila, shares the story of the Red Rattler and why it needs your help at pozible.com/savetherat.

The Red Rattler Theatre is a community-based venue and artists’ studios. The Theatre operates on a not-for-profit basis.

The Red Rattler Theatre is a creative playground for performers, musicians, artists, designers, multi-media makers, experimentalists, film-makers, theorists, activists, collective organisers, and local punters. It is fitted with a full PA, stage, LED lighting rig, projector and screen, licensed bar, three non-residential artist studios, and a rooftop garden.

Save the Rat!

Patti Smith Advises the #Young [#geekgirl]

Patti Smith: Advice to the young from Louisiana Channel on Vimeo.

“Build a good name”, rock poet Patti Smith advises the young. “Life is like a roller coaster, it is going to have beautiful moments but it is going to be real fucked up, too”, she says.

The American singer, poet and photographer Patti Smith (b. 1946) is a living punk rock legend. In this video she gives advice to the young:

“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work. Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency. Life is like a roller coaster ride, it is never going to be perfect. It is going to have perfect moments and rough spots, but it’s all worth it”, Patti Smith says.

Interview by Christian Lund, the Louisiana Literature festival August 24, 2012, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Produced by Honey Biba Beckerlee and Kamilla Bruus.

Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Meet more artists at channel.louisiana.dk

Louisiana Channel is a non-profit video channel for the Internet launched by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in November 2012. Each week Louisiana Channel will publish videos about and with artists in visual art, literature, architecture, design etc.

Read more: channel.louisiana.dk/about

Supported by Nordea-fonden.

Kathrine Switzer: First Woman to Enter the #BostonMarathon [#geekgirl]

[On this day of lingering sadness regarding the Boston Marathon Bombings (and not forgetting the devastation that's currently unfolding in Waco, Texas), take in the positives of the above video of ballsy Kathrine Switzer: the first ever woman to complete the Boston-based race.]

“All She Did Was Join Twitter…” [#geekgirl]

Careful, She Might Just Be a Witch Science-Lover

…when Elise Andrew, the brain behind the popular Facebook page I F**king Love Science, posted her Twitter profile picture there last week, some of the page’s 4.3 million fans were shocked to learn her gender—even though Andrew’s identity as a woman was no secret.

Questions, Not Answers, Regarding the Post-#PyCon 2013 Fallout [#geekgirl]

Buy The “Fork My Dongle” T and Support Girls Who Code

I’m always curious – as any decent news-hound should be – regarding certain aspects of controversial tech-related dramas. I’m especially curious about those dramas that play out very publicly and create substantial character/brand damage.

So this morning I’ve been intent on writing a long-form post regarding the firing of a PlayHaven employee for making alleged offensive comments at the Python Developer Conference (PyCon 2013) while in earshot of Adria Richards, a SendGrid Employee. Richards tweeted about the incident and complained to PyCon organisers, resulting in Alex Reid and “mr-hank” (the fired PlayHaven employee) being knuckle-rapped over the incident. Subsequently, Richards herself has been fired and although initially there was ample conjecture that this “news” may have been the output of some elaborate DDoS hack, it now seems more likely to be accurate.

Fortunately, my intentions have now jumped up and poked me firmly in my common-sense gland, and in lieu of finishing and posting that traditionally crafted article complete with the oily title of “If it doesn’t add value to the conversation, then it gets deleted” (a direct quote from Richards herself regarding why she’s currently deleting blog comments), I’ve instead started crafting the following list of questions as ponder-fodder. The list isn’t especially comprehensive and, in the effort of full disclosure, it’s undoubtedly laced with my own complicated bias.

Then why do it? Because I’d rather offer readers something that may just break those horrible and vitrolic “win-lose” mentality loops that plague certain social media/blog commentators regarding such controversial issues. I’d also prefer to present an alternative to the multitude of closed-ended and exclusionary “facts” and “answers” such as those being offered by all and sundry regarding the fallout post-PyCon 2013:

1. Were the comments observed by Richards at PyCon 2013 actively (or even latently) sexist, or simply incidences of thoughtless comedic material that peppers (and may even attempt to parody) aspects of sexist geek culture? Could they also conceivably have been a mixture of both?
2. Were these comments misinterpreted – deliberately or unconsciously – in order to create an incident that would create ongoing controversy and accelerated pageviews?
3. If the comments under question had been voiced by two women developers mentioning “big dongles” or “forking” (or shoving socks down their pants), would Richards have complained?
4. If the actions Richards undertook regarding the alleged sexist comments were performed by a man instead of a woman, might the outcome, and corresponding furore, be different?
5. Is the male gaze in constant operation during events like PyCon, and if yes, how do we create a workable solution for its removal? Should we also acknowledge and discuss other types of “gazes” (or other power loaded stereotypical behaviours embedded within unconscious neurotypical agendas) that might be present at such institutionalised events, with associated bias and layered prejudice (involving privilege and status) also in play?
6. When faced with what they think is offensive or hate-based commentary that makes an individual “feel uncomfortable”, how should they react? In today’s constantly “on” world where reports of any action may be instantaneously broadcast, should an individual’s ability to magnify an incident (to the extent where no reasonable or concluding course of action can result) be considered prior to any action taken?
7. Is the right to refuse to openly engage – or directly communicate with – an individual who you think is displaying offensive behaviour acceptable, especially when this refusal is based on entrenched bias or inequality?
8. If you choose to expose those you think are “in the wrong”, should you be prepared for a certain level of backlash from those who do not view the behaviours as you do?  If this level of backlash becomes threatening or vitriolic, how should you respond? How should society at large respond?
9. How do we ensure that well-meaning discourse isn’t hijacked for the sake of attention grabbing “netbytes”?
10. Would decent journalistic input regarding all of these questions actually help?

#Women Fighters In Reasonable Armor [#geekgirl]

“Masha Scream” [via WFiRA]

Nothin’ wrong with sexy!

Cheesecake has its place.

But I like pictures of women who look like they are legitimately bad-ass. Women that don’t fight in high heels. Women that clearly give a shit about the practicalities of getting in a lethal situation. Women who could most definitely kick my ass.

Women fighters in reasonable armor.”

Halla Tomasdottir: Embracing the #Beauty of Balance [#geekgirl]

Via TEDWomen, Halla Tomasdottir shares her thoughts regarding her approach to surviving Iceland’s financial crisis:

“…we felt a bit overwhelmed with testosterone. And I’m not here to say that men are to blame for the crisis and what happened in my country. But I can surely tell you that in my country – like on Wall St and the city of London and elsewhere – men were at the helm of the game of the financial sector, and that kind of lack of diversity and sameness leads to disastrous problems…Doing emotional due diligence is just as important as doing financial due diligence. It is actually people that make money and lose money, not Excel spreadsheets…I am fed up with this tyranny of either/or choices in life – either it’s men, or it’s women. We need to start embracing the beauty of balance. So let’s move away from thinking about business here and philanthropy there, and lets start thinking about doing good business. That’s how we change the world. That’s the only sustainable future.”

[Watch Halla's entire talk below or go here.]

Happy International #Women’s Day! [#geekgirl]

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” – Gloria Steinem

From “About International Women’s Day”:

When:  Friday 8 March 2013
Where: Everywhere
What:   International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.
Why:   Suffragettes campaigned for women’s right to vote. The word ‘Suffragette’ is derived from the word “suffrage” meaning the right to vote. International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed.

For lots of Aus-based IWD 2013 Events, go here.