Women Panelists Absent at ROFLcon. Again.

by Art Fag City on January 26, 2009 · 86 comments Events

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At the same time as web memes and cewebrities receive a nod from the academic and professional community coalescing around ROFLcon, a conference celebrating the like, other well known time sucks, most notably, content authored by women, were deemed a waste of energy.   Inspired by the conference itself which continued its tradition of hosting panels with a 0% female to male speaker ratio, artist Steve Lambert unveiled a fake new Firefox add-on removing all pesky internet material made by women [footage above].  Lambert, an activist known for such projects as Add-art, and The New York Times Special Edition made a compelling argument for eradicating women from the web — as evidenced by the awkwardness in the room as he presented —  his words ultimately re-enforcing a case built by the feedback I received from two college aged conference organizers on the subject.  Accounting for the lack of women speakers, the girls explained the issues to me as such:

1) We didn’t have the budget to fly the girl we wanted to have on the panel in from San Francisco. [No female web celebrities live in New York!]
2) Featured attendee Obama Girl didn’t show up. [Women are flaky and unreliable!]
3) We made a list of memes we liked and none of them were made by women. [Women don’t make memes!]
4) I’m 21. As a woman I don’t want to be famous for one thing. [Memes limit a woman’s web career!]
5) We thought it was a bad idea to include women who were exploiting their body for attention. [We shouldn’t have invited Obama girl!]
6) You didn’t alert us to this problem early enough. [Women aren’t proactive and neither are we!]

To be fair, my impression from talking to the organizers was not that the conference doesn’t believe the number of invited women speakers at ROFLthing a legitimate problem, they simply haven’t been compelled to address it in any meaningful way.   As such, I have posted Lambert’s presentation on youtube as a means of continuing an online conversation the artist began on Saturday.  I’m also encouraging readers to make contributions to a hand picked list of women working on the East Coast who should be invited to speak at tech conferences.  These names will be added to Jen Bekman’s list of Women Speakers for Your Conference, if they aren’t there already.
Coincidentally, Bekman is looking for someone to help turn her list into searchable database.  Those interested in volunteering their expertise should let themselves be known either in the comments section of this blog or on her site.
Peggy Wang – Senior editor of Buzzfeed.
Andrea Rosen – Comedian, Variety Shac, contributor of Listicles
Chelsea Peretti – Comedian, Variety Shac, co-author of blackpeopleloveus.com and the rejection hotline
Rachel Sklar – Writer and media consultant.  Former Senior Contributing Editor for the Huffington Post and was the founding editor of the site’s Eat The Press page.
Lauren Cornell – Director of the new media arm of the New Museum, Rhizome.org.
Laura Holder – Design Director of Wall Street Journal
Liz Danzico – Chair of the new MFA program in interaction design @ the School of Visual Arts.
Carolina Miranda – Editor/Journalist, maintains the well known art blog c-monster.
Marisa Olson – net/performance artist
Ceci MossRhizome editor, New Media scholar
Lauren Cerand – book publicist, with an emphasis in online PR/marketing
Karen Sandler – legal counsel at the Free Software Foundation also a program, uber-smart and technical and great.
Shelley Bernstein – Director of Technology at the Brooklyn Museum. Thanks to her direction the Museum is well known for using social media software in innovative ways.
Farai Chideya – journalist, long time blogger/interactive person, founder of popandpolitics.com, npr commentator, frequent guest on Bill Maher show.
Kari Altmann – East Coast New Media artist.
Jen BekmanGallery owner, founder of 20×200, and Hey Hot Shot, blogger.
Mary Madden – Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet (DC)
Catarina Fake – co-founder of Flickr
Joanne Colan – Rocketboom
Kristin Schaal, actress in flight of the conchords, horrible people (web series), and correspondent on the daily show
Sarah Silverman (her “great schlep” web campaign for obama was amazing. she was also in the middle of that “fucking matt damon” series of videos this year)
Zadi Diaz, host of epic-fu
Xeni Jardin, host of boing boing tv
Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette
Helen AS Popkin, Technotica columnist and teck editor at msnbc
Kathleen Grace – The Burg.tv
Sally McKay and Lorna Mills – net artists and bloggers

{ 81 comments }

Leah Sandals January 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm

What a frustrating situation. I hate stuff like this. That ratio of panellists is often off in print publishing and general artworld stuff too, but this seems especially bad. Thanks for bringing the shame!

Leah Sandals January 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm

What a frustrating situation. I hate stuff like this. That ratio of panellists is often off in print publishing and general artworld stuff too, but this seems especially bad. Thanks for bringing the shame!

Leah Sandals January 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm

What a frustrating situation. I hate stuff like this. That ratio of panellists is often off in print publishing and general artworld stuff too, but this seems especially bad. Thanks for bringing the shame!

Leah Sandals January 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm

What a frustrating situation. I hate stuff like this. That ratio of panellists is often off in print publishing and general artworld stuff too, but this seems especially bad. Thanks for bringing the shame!

Leah Sandals January 26, 2009 at 4:00 pm

What a frustrating situation. I hate stuff like this. That ratio of panellists is often off in print publishing and general artworld stuff too, but this seems especially bad. Thanks for bringing the shame!

Fred January 26, 2009 at 10:06 pm

I can’t speak for the ROFLcon panel committee (if there even was one), but the original ROFLcon featured a keynote by notable female Alice Marwick:

http://roflcon.org/2008/03/27/alice-marwick-to-give-keynote-roflcon/

Fred January 26, 2009 at 10:06 pm

I can’t speak for the ROFLcon panel committee (if there even was one), but the original ROFLcon featured a keynote by notable female Alice Marwick:

http://roflcon.org/2008/03/27/alice-marwick-to-give-keynote-roflcon/

Fred January 26, 2009 at 5:06 pm

I can’t speak for the ROFLcon panel committee (if there even was one), but the original ROFLcon featured a keynote by notable female Alice Marwick:

http://roflcon.org/2008/03/27/alice-marwick-to-give-keynote-roflcon/

Art Fag City January 26, 2009 at 10:21 pm

Not all conferences had zero women speakers, though more than one did. I believe the highest number they achieved was 6%

Art Fag City January 26, 2009 at 10:21 pm

Not all conferences had zero women speakers, though more than one did. I believe the highest number they achieved was 6%

Art Fag City January 26, 2009 at 5:21 pm

Not all conferences had zero women speakers, though more than one did. I believe the highest number they achieved was 6%

mary c. January 26, 2009 at 10:28 pm

Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet (DC)

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/a/108/about_staffer.asp

mary c. January 26, 2009 at 5:28 pm

Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet (DC)

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/a/108/about_staffer.asp

Steve Lambert January 26, 2009 at 10:57 pm

Some of these were suggested to me in the past week:

Catarina Fake – co-founder of Flickr

Joanne Colan – Rocketboom

Jean from NotCot

Suggestions from Liz Filardi:

Kristin Schaal, actress in flight of the conchords, horrible people (web series), and correspondent on the daily show

Sarah Silverman (her “great schlep” web campaign for obama was amazing. she was also in the middle of that “fucking matt damon” series of videos this year)

Zadi Diaz, host of epic-fu

Xeni Jardin, host of boing boing tv

Steve Lambert January 26, 2009 at 10:57 pm

Some of these were suggested to me in the past week:

Catarina Fake – co-founder of Flickr

Joanne Colan – Rocketboom

Jean from NotCot

Suggestions from Liz Filardi:

Kristin Schaal, actress in flight of the conchords, horrible people (web series), and correspondent on the daily show

Sarah Silverman (her “great schlep” web campaign for obama was amazing. she was also in the middle of that “fucking matt damon” series of videos this year)

Zadi Diaz, host of epic-fu

Xeni Jardin, host of boing boing tv

Steve Lambert January 26, 2009 at 5:57 pm

Some of these were suggested to me in the past week:

Catarina Fake – co-founder of Flickr

Joanne Colan – Rocketboom

Jean from NotCot

Suggestions from Liz Filardi:

Kristin Schaal, actress in flight of the conchords, horrible people (web series), and correspondent on the daily show

Sarah Silverman (her “great schlep” web campaign for obama was amazing. she was also in the middle of that “fucking matt damon” series of videos this year)

Zadi Diaz, host of epic-fu

Xeni Jardin, host of boing boing tv

Ian Aleksander Adams January 26, 2009 at 11:09 pm

You should include Felicia Day on the list – The Guild may be a bit of a niche show, but the 11.5 million world of warcraft players make it a potentially huge niche. It’s funny without even knowing the game, and was all youtube release for a while.

Ian Aleksander Adams January 26, 2009 at 6:09 pm

You should include Felicia Day on the list – The Guild may be a bit of a niche show, but the 11.5 million world of warcraft players make it a potentially huge niche. It’s funny without even knowing the game, and was all youtube release for a while.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Mia January 26, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Why not use Freebase as a searchable database? I’ve used it for another project and it’s quite handy – it pulls in data from Wikipedia, but it’s also more structured so you can do more with it, and it doesn’t have the same notability requirements so anyone can be added.

Shelley January 27, 2009 at 12:45 am

…or possibly Dabble DB? here

Shelley January 26, 2009 at 7:45 pm

…or possibly Dabble DB? here

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 8:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Suw Charman-Anderson January 27, 2009 at 3:21 am

Appalling to see such disregard for women’s skill and work, but all kudos to Steve Lambert for pointing out the elephant in the room.

Couple of things that might be relevant – firstly, http://www.geekspeakr.com/ is a database of geeky women speakers so perhaps there might be a way for Jen Bekman to work with them to add her list of artists (they tend to focus more on the geek side than the art side).

Also, I’m organising Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to promote women in tech (where “tech” is interpreted as loosely as you like!). More details on our pledge:

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

If anyone’s interested in joining us in our blogging, you’ll be very welcome!

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Obama Girl is not funny.

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Obama Girl is not funny.

Brian January 27, 2009 at 9:49 am

Obama Girl is not funny.

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette

Brian January 27, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette

Brian January 27, 2009 at 9:51 am

Sara K. Smith, associate editor of Wonkette

m.river January 27, 2009 at 6:33 pm

Helen AS Popkin, Technotica columnist and teck editor at msnbc – she makes me lol and rofl

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18558917

m.river January 27, 2009 at 6:33 pm

Helen AS Popkin, Technotica columnist and teck editor at msnbc – she makes me lol and rofl

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18558917

m.river January 27, 2009 at 6:33 pm

Helen AS Popkin, Technotica columnist and teck editor at msnbc – she makes me lol and rofl

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18558917

m.river January 27, 2009 at 1:33 pm

Helen AS Popkin, Technotica columnist and teck editor at msnbc – she makes me lol and rofl

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18558917

Seth January 27, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Uhhh, have any of you been to ROFLcon/thing? Very very few of the people that any of you have mentioned would have been right for ROFLthing.

Xeni Jardin wouldn’t have been a *bad* speaker. LadyAda wouldn’t have been bad, but not exactly the right field.

Seth January 27, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Uhhh, have any of you been to ROFLcon/thing? Very very few of the people that any of you have mentioned would have been right for ROFLthing.

Xeni Jardin wouldn’t have been a *bad* speaker. LadyAda wouldn’t have been bad, but not exactly the right field.

Seth January 27, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Uhhh, have any of you been to ROFLcon/thing? Very very few of the people that any of you have mentioned would have been right for ROFLthing.

Xeni Jardin wouldn’t have been a *bad* speaker. LadyAda wouldn’t have been bad, but not exactly the right field.

Seth January 27, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Uhhh, have any of you been to ROFLcon/thing? Very very few of the people that any of you have mentioned would have been right for ROFLthing.

Xeni Jardin wouldn’t have been a *bad* speaker. LadyAda wouldn’t have been bad, but not exactly the right field.

Seth January 27, 2009 at 3:47 pm

Uhhh, have any of you been to ROFLcon/thing? Very very few of the people that any of you have mentioned would have been right for ROFLthing.

Xeni Jardin wouldn’t have been a *bad* speaker. LadyAda wouldn’t have been bad, but not exactly the right field.

Art Fag City January 27, 2009 at 8:52 pm

Seth: The list here asks people to think more broadly than ROFLcon, and list women who would be appropriate for tech conferences in general. If you’re unhappy with the names specific for ROFLcon, I suggest you add some.

Art Fag City January 27, 2009 at 3:52 pm

Seth: The list here asks people to think more broadly than ROFLcon, and list women who would be appropriate for tech conferences in general. If you’re unhappy with the names specific for ROFLcon, I suggest you add some.

barret January 28, 2009 at 1:43 pm

As long as we’re on this topic, it’s worth mentioning that the crowd and presenters were also *overwhelmingly* white.

barret January 28, 2009 at 1:43 pm

As long as we’re on this topic, it’s worth mentioning that the crowd and presenters were also *overwhelmingly* white.

barret January 28, 2009 at 1:43 pm

As long as we’re on this topic, it’s worth mentioning that the crowd and presenters were also *overwhelmingly* white.

barret January 28, 2009 at 8:43 am

As long as we’re on this topic, it’s worth mentioning that the crowd and presenters were also *overwhelmingly* white.

Heidi January 28, 2009 at 7:16 pm

The internet does not seek to identify its users by gender; you do. Gender need not exist in this medium; we are anonymous by default. This may come as a shock to you, Ms. Johnson, but much of your writing is perceived as sexist. It sounds like you’re asking for something like affirmative action, which tends to manifest as an inherently discriminatory process, even though it may seek to benefit an oppressed or underprivileged minority.

I could be wrong. If you truly seek equality, open your eyes: we’ve got it on the internet. You were looking in the wrong place.

ROFLcon is visible, but insignificant. It’s not a “tech conference,” but rather an entertaining live event that’s traditionally been geared toward the young white heterosexual male: the 4chan demographic. I hope we can agree that’s a place of little interest to most women on the internet. There is, indeed, a grave shortage of women in the sciences — that’s an entirely separate topic, so let’s not inject it here.

Let’s try to be a bit more mindful of what equality is really about.

Heidi January 28, 2009 at 2:16 pm

The internet does not seek to identify its users by gender; you do. Gender need not exist in this medium; we are anonymous by default. This may come as a shock to you, Ms. Johnson, but much of your writing is perceived as sexist. It sounds like you’re asking for something like affirmative action, which tends to manifest as an inherently discriminatory process, even though it may seek to benefit an oppressed or underprivileged minority.

I could be wrong. If you truly seek equality, open your eyes: we’ve got it on the internet. You were looking in the wrong place.

ROFLcon is visible, but insignificant. It’s not a “tech conference,” but rather an entertaining live event that’s traditionally been geared toward the young white heterosexual male: the 4chan demographic. I hope we can agree that’s a place of little interest to most women on the internet. There is, indeed, a grave shortage of women in the sciences — that’s an entirely separate topic, so let’s not inject it here.

Let’s try to be a bit more mindful of what equality is really about.

Steve Lambert January 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm

@Heidi

I looked again and ROFLcon describes itself as “internet culture conference devoted to discussing what makes memes work, why they work, and where its all going” and an “internet culture event/conference.”

Would you say you are satisfied with zero women on the panels at ROLFcon? That this is representative of internet culture?

ROFLcon describes themselves as an internet culture event. I’m confused because you’re saying there is equality on the internet (which I agree with) and that ROFLcon (which is supposed to be an internet culture event) is not geared toward women. But I shouldn’t worry because ROFLcon is insignificant?

Is your point that we are taking ROFLcon too seriously? That the internet has solved this problem already?

I’m taking ROFLcon at their word. I know of plenty of women who are making interesting things that fit at ROFLcon. I think the reasons the ROFL organizers gave for not having women are fairly weak. I like the spirit of the ROFL events. I want them to be better. All I’m saying is, let’s have more than zero women panelists at these events. Most everyone in the audience agreed.

(and barret, you are right.)

Steve Lambert January 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm

@Heidi

I looked again and ROFLcon describes itself as “internet culture conference devoted to discussing what makes memes work, why they work, and where its all going” and an “internet culture event/conference.”

Would you say you are satisfied with zero women on the panels at ROLFcon? That this is representative of internet culture?

ROFLcon describes themselves as an internet culture event. I’m confused because you’re saying there is equality on the internet (which I agree with) and that ROFLcon (which is supposed to be an internet culture event) is not geared toward women. But I shouldn’t worry because ROFLcon is insignificant?

Is your point that we are taking ROFLcon too seriously? That the internet has solved this problem already?

I’m taking ROFLcon at their word. I know of plenty of women who are making interesting things that fit at ROFLcon. I think the reasons the ROFL organizers gave for not having women are fairly weak. I like the spirit of the ROFL events. I want them to be better. All I’m saying is, let’s have more than zero women panelists at these events. Most everyone in the audience agreed.

(and barret, you are right.)

Steve Lambert January 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm

@Heidi

I looked again and ROFLcon describes itself as “internet culture conference devoted to discussing what makes memes work, why they work, and where its all going” and an “internet culture event/conference.”

Would you say you are satisfied with zero women on the panels at ROLFcon? That this is representative of internet culture?

ROFLcon describes themselves as an internet culture event. I’m confused because you’re saying there is equality on the internet (which I agree with) and that ROFLcon (which is supposed to be an internet culture event) is not geared toward women. But I shouldn’t worry because ROFLcon is insignificant?

Is your point that we are taking ROFLcon too seriously? That the internet has solved this problem already?

I’m taking ROFLcon at their word. I know of plenty of women who are making interesting things that fit at ROFLcon. I think the reasons the ROFL organizers gave for not having women are fairly weak. I like the spirit of the ROFL events. I want them to be better. All I’m saying is, let’s have more than zero women panelists at these events. Most everyone in the audience agreed.

(and barret, you are right.)

Steve Lambert January 28, 2009 at 6:02 pm

@Heidi

I looked again and ROFLcon describes itself as “internet culture conference devoted to discussing what makes memes work, why they work, and where its all going” and an “internet culture event/conference.”

Would you say you are satisfied with zero women on the panels at ROLFcon? That this is representative of internet culture?

ROFLcon describes themselves as an internet culture event. I’m confused because you’re saying there is equality on the internet (which I agree with) and that ROFLcon (which is supposed to be an internet culture event) is not geared toward women. But I shouldn’t worry because ROFLcon is insignificant?

Is your point that we are taking ROFLcon too seriously? That the internet has solved this problem already?

I’m taking ROFLcon at their word. I know of plenty of women who are making interesting things that fit at ROFLcon. I think the reasons the ROFL organizers gave for not having women are fairly weak. I like the spirit of the ROFL events. I want them to be better. All I’m saying is, let’s have more than zero women panelists at these events. Most everyone in the audience agreed.

(and barret, you are right.)

molly January 29, 2009 at 3:10 am

for god’s sake, how hard is it? there have always been vibrant, excellent women in technology and tech culture. in net culture, even — as few as 15 years ago.

i’m of the opinion that at this point, you must be trying NOT to include women if they’re so absent. and let’s not even begin to talk of people of color.

molly January 29, 2009 at 3:10 am

for god’s sake, how hard is it? there have always been vibrant, excellent women in technology and tech culture. in net culture, even — as few as 15 years ago.

i’m of the opinion that at this point, you must be trying NOT to include women if they’re so absent. and let’s not even begin to talk of people of color.

molly January 28, 2009 at 10:10 pm

for god’s sake, how hard is it? there have always been vibrant, excellent women in technology and tech culture. in net culture, even — as few as 15 years ago.

i’m of the opinion that at this point, you must be trying NOT to include women if they’re so absent. and let’s not even begin to talk of people of color.

sally January 29, 2009 at 4:13 am

Lorna Mills

sally January 29, 2009 at 4:13 am

Lorna Mills

sally January 29, 2009 at 4:13 am

Lorna Mills

sally January 29, 2009 at 4:13 am

Lorna Mills

sally January 29, 2009 at 4:13 am

Lorna Mills

sally January 28, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Lorna Mills

liz filardi January 30, 2009 at 4:43 pm

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Kathleen Grace, producer of the Burg and the All-for-Nots, not to mention any of the hilarious female cast members of both of those shows. ROFLthing would totally have benefited from a panel like that.

liz filardi January 30, 2009 at 11:43 am

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Kathleen Grace, producer of the Burg and the All-for-Nots, not to mention any of the hilarious female cast members of both of those shows. ROFLthing would totally have benefited from a panel like that.

L.M. January 30, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Sally is right, if they were smart they’d invite me. I could be the Ayn Rand of ROFL and I would continue keep all the other women out. (in exchange for nothing but oodles of flattery)

L.M. January 30, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Sally is right, if they were smart they’d invite me. I could be the Ayn Rand of ROFL and I would continue keep all the other women out. (in exchange for nothing but oodles of flattery)

Phoenix February 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm

I’m sorry. As a both a female member of the internet community and a female scientist, one thing that I have noticed and that this article so eloquently conveys, women are really good at being passive and then being pissed off that nobody noticed them.

You want to speak at ROFLcon? Why didn’t you CONTACT the organizers and request that they let you speak or suggest that they include a female speaker that you find interesting? No, instead you sit there doing nothing proactive to get more women included, then bitch that no women spoke at the event. No offense, but that is the exact reason that many women toil away unnoticed.

Frankly, as a woman I am disgusted and embarrassed by this attitude it just makes shit for all of us harder. If you want to advance out in the real world, you have to demand it, regardless of your external genitailia. I notice this sort of suffering martyr attitude in many women and it pisses me the hell off. Your lack of action and subsequent bitching about the results piss me off and are a walking stereotype about women.

This is pathetic. Thank you for making my life and the lives of women trying to get ahead everywhere more difficult.

Phoenix February 1, 2009 at 6:41 pm

I’m sorry. As a both a female member of the internet community and a female scientist, one thing that I have noticed and that this article so eloquently conveys, women are really good at being passive and then being pissed off that nobody noticed them.

You want to speak at ROFLcon? Why didn’t you CONTACT the organizers and request that they let you speak or suggest that they include a female speaker that you find interesting? No, instead you sit there doing nothing proactive to get more women included, then bitch that no women spoke at the event. No offense, but that is the exact reason that many women toil away unnoticed.

Frankly, as a woman I am disgusted and embarrassed by this attitude it just makes shit for all of us harder. If you want to advance out in the real world, you have to demand it, regardless of your external genitailia. I notice this sort of suffering martyr attitude in many women and it pisses me the hell off. Your lack of action and subsequent bitching about the results piss me off and are a walking stereotype about women.

This is pathetic. Thank you for making my life and the lives of women trying to get ahead everywhere more difficult.

Art Fag City February 1, 2009 at 11:56 pm

Why are you assuming I didn’t contact ROFLcon? In fact, I contacted the organization three weeks prior to the conference alerting them to the issue, and asked if they were planning on addressing it. They responded, and asked for suggestions. I sent them A List of Women for Your Conference, as well as specific suggestions of who might participate. They made no changes to the panels and offered me and one other woman a “featured attendee” slot. Given that plenty of women attend conferences and far fewer speak at them, both of us declined, not wanting to participate in a conference that perpetuated these problems.

I then approached Steve Lambert with the problem, he came up with the presentation, and I covered it.

Art Fag City February 1, 2009 at 6:56 pm

Why are you assuming I didn’t contact ROFLcon? In fact, I contacted the organization three weeks prior to the conference alerting them to the issue, and asked if they were planning on addressing it. They responded, and asked for suggestions. I sent them A List of Women for Your Conference, as well as specific suggestions of who might participate. They made no changes to the panels and offered me and one other woman a “featured attendee” slot. Given that plenty of women attend conferences and far fewer speak at them, both of us declined, not wanting to participate in a conference that perpetuated these problems.

I then approached Steve Lambert with the problem, he came up with the presentation, and I covered it.

Steve Lambert February 2, 2009 at 2:52 am

@Paddy – I’d also add that other people (outspoken women, in fact!) had pointed out the problem to ROFLcon at previous events months before (see this piece from NPR).

@Phoenix, granted you didn’t know about the effort Paddy had made to get women on the panel, but is it fair to blame women for not bringing it up, or not suggesting women panelists? Or is it ok now to place responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the organizers for not including them at 2 straight events after it was brought up as an issue in April?

Steve Lambert February 1, 2009 at 9:52 pm

@Paddy – I’d also add that other people (outspoken women, in fact!) had pointed out the problem to ROFLcon at previous events months before (see this piece from NPR).

@Phoenix, granted you didn’t know about the effort Paddy had made to get women on the panel, but is it fair to blame women for not bringing it up, or not suggesting women panelists? Or is it ok now to place responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the organizers for not including them at 2 straight events after it was brought up as an issue in April?

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