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Yahoo Offered Lap Dances At Hack Event

Fotograf writes "Yahoo's latest embarrassment seems like a sign that the company is just trying too hard to be cool. The latest debacle is earning the company some additional publicity. After Yahoo hosted Taiwan Open Hack Day, a special event for engineers and developers that was held last weekend, a series of photos found their way onto the internet — as ill-thought out decisions often do. Yahoo offered lap dances to the attendees of the hack event. Since the pictures have come out the company has decided to apologize."

73 of 572 comments (clear)

  1. shucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Awesome. Wish I was there.

    1. Re:shucks by oldspewey · · Score: 5, Funny

      My company never offers me lapdances. Hell, they give us a hard time if we requisition a new laptop.

      --
      If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
    2. Re:shucks by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 3, Informative

      They hate us, for our freedoms!

      --
      "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
    3. Re:shucks by sopssa · · Score: 4, Funny

      But dont you people understand how this disgraces women? They are human beings, not sex objects!

      Now I'm off to redtube.

    4. Re:shucks by artemis67 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not to be outdone, the Bing team is hiring crackwhores to give blowjobs.

  2. Company Issued Laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now that's a nice company issued laptop. ZING!

  3. This is an outrage! by PalmHair · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why wasn't I invited?

    1. Re:This is an outrage! by interkin3tic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What I don't understand is....why is yahoo now apologizing for this?!?!?

      Should be obvious: they don't want to get bad PR, get targeted for an idiotic protest/boycott/letter writing campaign, lose advertisers... money.

      I heard about this elsewhere, with quotes by a father who was at the event with his young daughter. I can understand not wanting his daughter to see that. There are, however, people who were -not- there who could hear about this and might be persuaded to go on some campaign against yahoo, for lacking morals or something like that. Why might someone object to this even though they weren't anywhere near taiwan? I don't fully understand their mindset, people who honestly believe the world is becoming more immoral. They seem to ignore the fact that we're no longer burning women at the stake for being witches, we no longer have slavery, we no longer go on crusades (er... as overtly anyway.) To these people, Walmart switching to saying "Happy holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" is evidence enough that we are becoming corrupt. To combat that decline, they've gotten it in their heads that they must fight what they deem to be immoral behavior whenever they notice it.

      If this story were to be picked up by, say, a certain extremely unbalanced cable news network, Yahoo could very easily have a large protest on their hands. "Sex! Sponsored by an american company! Outrageous! Call pastor bill, we need to boycott this company, whatever 'Yahoo' is selling." And that would be annoying.

      Fortunately, these people are almost as easily pacified as they are riled up. A semi-sincere sounding apology will shut those people up, they say "oh, they learned their lesson."

      For further reading on this subject

  4. Kid in the white shirt looks akward by Nebulious · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just goes to show you that you can read all of the documentation you want, but experience is what really matters.

    1. Re:Kid in the white shirt looks akward by CarpetShark · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's because there's a sexy woman dancing around his lap, trying to turn him on, and yet there's a big guy in the corner who'll kick his ass and throw him out if he looks like he's about to touch her.

    2. Re:Kid in the white shirt looks akward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe they weren't interfacing well.

      Maybe he was little-endian, and she was expecting big-endian...

    3. Re:Kid in the white shirt looks akward by BobMcD · · Score: 4, Funny

      I am intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

  5. as they would say on FARK.. by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Get the popcorn... this is going to be an epic thread. We've already had the "Wish I was there" post, it's time for the feminist wing to turn up. Oh the objectification!

    1. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by armanox · · Score: 4, Funny

      Get the popcorn... this is going to be an epic thread. We've already had the "Wish I was there" post, it's time for the feminist wing to turn up. Oh the objectification!

      This is slashdot. I have yet to see a feminist wing.

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    2. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by caffeinemessiah · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You can't tell me that nobody in charge knew this stuff would be controversial. They knew exactly what they were doing and that it would get them more publicity than they were willing to pay for

      Never attribute to cleverness what can be attributed to stupidity. The Pepsi campaign was actually for Amp, a mountain dew-type energy drink, which is supposed to be "edgy", whatever that means. To me, that sounds like a bunch of douchebag marketing execs, fresh out of newly minted MBAs or marketing degrees, who genuinely, genuinely believe that putting out a sexist ad is "targeting the demographic" and not a "massive liability".

      --
      An old-timer with old-timey ideas.
    3. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Whalou · · Score: 5, Funny

      OMG! A real female on slashdot!

      It's time like these that I wish slashdot's "Alter Relationship" user option was more powerful. :-)

      --
      English is not this .sig mother tongue...
    4. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm androgynous, you insensitive clod!

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    5. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Devout_IPUite · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think some waxed boys in those skirts and knee socks would look pretty cute.

    6. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by megamerican · · Score: 4, Funny

      And yet when a guy tried to complain here about sexist attitudes in open-source he was shot down to hell...

      Don't you mean he was met with ire and denial?

      --
      If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
    7. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Crudely_Indecent · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Forget the feminist wing, I'm looking forward to the lesbian wing showing up! I don't need a lap dance, I just want to watch.

      On that note, did anybody see Gretchen kiss Claire on Heroes? HOT!

      Dexter has been replaced by Heroes as my favorite TV show!

      --


      "Lame" - Galaxar
    8. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by DinDaddy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Odd. My wife, who is a stay at home, except when she is devoting as many hours as a paying job to the PTA, mom, constantly gets down the nose comments from other women about not working and understanding that world.

    9. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Tetsujin · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's also "knows how to spell 'feminist'".

      Yeah! There's no MEN in FEMINISM!

      --
      Bow-ties are cool.
    10. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by adisakp · · Score: 4, Informative

      FWIW, Having Strippers at the company is *NOT* a good idea. The last game company I worked for had a stripper come in for the art directors birthday. I t was very awkward -- especially since she tried to get him to strip as well (which is something I did not need to see). Plus between married guys and nerds, no one really knew what we should be doing (I guess neither married guys nor nerds get sex).

      Oh, and to top it all off, the one woman who was working there at the time (the receptionist) ended up suing the company for sexual harassment when she quit.

    11. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is slashdot. I have yet to see a feminist wing. Hey! We do have a feminist wing! But this is her day off.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    12. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's disrespectful to men.

      I don't want a stripper begging me for money. I don't want my peers expecting me to treat her like a stripper. I'll proudly call myself a wimp, girly, sensitive or whatever and if you have a problem with that, you really have to reconsider your image of what it is to be a man. Gay men are men. Men loyal to their girlfriends and wives are men. Men who don't take strange women's clothes off are men. We don't all have to fit into the model that television and movies make us fit into.

      I've been put in this situation before and there was nothing I could do except play the game and shove money down her pants. The stripper knows it and she exploits it. Next time I encounter an event like that, I'm telling my coworkers to have fun, I'll walk straight out and tell the organizer to fuck off.

      If I were Yahoo's management, I'd reassign or fire whomever was responsible for it. They shouldn't be calling shots for events.

    13. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What a load of crap. Just because you don't have a spine and bowed down to peer pressure and feel angry at yourself for it, don't ruin the party for everyone else. I usually don't drink and I'm not going to complain if some company passes out free drinks. It's not that hard to say, "No thanks, you go ahead, I'm not interested." If you don't want to be "exploited" by some girl taking her clothes off, then politely excuse yourself and leave.

    14. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      right...because people are forced to get lap dances. if you didn't want one and didn't have the balls to say so, then that is your problem. yahoo provided a perfectly legal perk to their guests if they wanted it--that is not something to be fired over.

      it is not disrespectful to men or women as long as both know what is going on and are there voluntarily. if you don't want to participate, don't. grow the fuck up.

    15. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by bkr1_2k · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've never understood this. You do realize, don't you, that without feminism, you wouldn't be a female programmer today? You'd either be a housewife, or a secretary looking for a husband so you can become a housewife.

      Understanding your history doesn't imply you have to agree with the same course for the future. Being appreciative of her position now doesn't obligate her to agree with the rest of the political mumbo-jumbo of zealots that say all women should work and women who don't are somehow less of a woman because of it.**

      **I'm aware not all feminists are zealots.

      --
      "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
    16. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by bkr1_2k · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've been put in this situation before and there was nothing I could do except play the game and shove money down her pants.

      Wrong! You can politely decline her advances and not pay her a cent. You can [God forbid] have a conversation with her that has nothing to do with giving her money (although that's harder but not impossible) and never ever feel bad for yourself or her.

      Women who do this do it for many reasons, not all of them are exploitation. Men who accept this are not being exploited (necessarily) any more than the women are. Enjoying the company or sight of attractive people is not a bad thing. As you suggest, there's nothing wrong with being aware of your manhood without trying to prove it to every other swinging dick around you, but there's also nothing wrong with enjoying what is out there to be seen. Treat people with respect, whether they are cops, strippers, hookers, your parents or your neighbor, and you've done all that should be expected of you.

      I guarantee, from personal experience, that people around you will respect you plenty if you don't "partake" but enjoy the atmosphere quietly and treat all persons present respectfully.

      --
      "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
    17. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's disrespectful to men.

      I don't want a stripper begging me for money.

      I've been put in this situation before and there was nothing I could do except play the game and shove money down her pants. The stripper knows it and she exploits it. Next time I encounter an event like that, I'm telling my coworkers to have fun, I'll walk straight out and tell the organizer to fuck off.

      Why can't you? I've been in that situation, as a designated driver, and had no problem not shoving money into a g-string. One thing about strippers - they are in it for the money. You are simply a conduit for moving it from your wallet to hers. Once they realize you are not going to shell out cash, they leave you alone. A simple "I'm here to drive my friends home safely and am not interested, thanks," gets them moving on to the next guy. Word quickly gets around and you get left alone.

      As for my friends, if they give me hard time I simply tell them I'm a cheap SOB and will not waste money when there is nothing in it for me.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    18. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Knuckles · · Score: 3, Funny

      Men want to be objectified too!

      ;-)

      Don't anthropomorphize men.

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
    19. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by xmundt · · Score: 4, Informative

      Greetings and Salutations...
                Hum...do YOU realize that that originally, computer programmers were ALL women?

      http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/halloffame/1997/eniac.php

      and, for quite some time this remained true.
      The pendulum swings both ways, and, perhaps one day we will be back to an all female programming staff.

      regards
      dave mundt

      --
      YAB - http://blog.beemandave.com/
    20. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by that+IT+girl · · Score: 3, Funny

      I represent straight women, and I approve this message.

      --
      10 FILL MUG WITH COFFEE
      20 DRINK COFFEE
      30 GOTO 10
    21. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by BitZtream · · Score: 5, Insightful

      PR handbook if it was done in the US maybe.

      In most of Europe, no one would care.

      In Tiawan, no one cares the slightest.

      You are applying your culture to a country and people thousands of miles away from you that subscribe to a completely different culture.

      The only reason you know about it is because some posted pictures of the event and someone else said 'OMG BOOBIES OMG OMG OMG OMG'.

      They did it last year as well, no pictures, no story. This is completely socially accepted in Taiwan's culture. Stop projecting yours on to it.
      $10 says it didn't make the news in the city it happened in, probably not even the country it happened in. No one there CARES.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    22. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by TheCarp · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In fact, it was a feminist that I know who prosed this question to me:

      If you have a person who actually enjoys doing housework, or even go so far as to say enjoys being dominated and kept as a slave. These people exist, they are not that hard to find.

      Now lets say that person is a woman. Hell lets say she is black, and her chosen mate is a white man.

      It may make people feel weird, but if the values that we hold dear are liberation, and choice. Then why can't a black woman be submissive to a white man? Because she is a woman? Because she is black? Because we think she should want something different?

      I think the real problem is that labels seldom apply well to people. One group of people calling themselves feminists make a few outrageous statements about all men being rapists, and next thing you know, every feminist is seen as a man hating battle axe.

      Frankly, I take maybe a pessimistic view. However, I don't really think talk of ideals changes people for the most part. Asking people to change their behavior seldom does much. However, economics kind of required women to go to work, and once they did, it was hard to argue that they couldn't do the job anymore.

      Essentially, realities change, then people accept them, seldom the other way around.

      -Steve

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    23. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by Rary · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Understanding your history doesn't imply you have to agree with the same course for the future.

      What does that really mean? "I'm glad feminists got me to where I am today, now I wish things would go back to the way it was"? Or maybe "Feminists have benefited me, now they should just give up and stop fighting for others who are still oppressed because, hey, I'm free, and that's all that matters"? I really don't understand what you mean.

      Being appreciative of her position now doesn't obligate her to agree with the rest of the political mumbo-jumbo of zealots that say all women should work and women who don't are somehow less of a woman because of it.**

      **I'm aware not all feminists are zealots.

      But the position you describe is really not the general sentiment of feminists, nor does it describe what modern feminists are fighting for. Are you talking about feminists? Or about zealots? Or creating a straw man?

      Most anti-feminist sentiment comes down to "I'm opposed to man-hating bull-dyke feminists who think all women should be CEOs who have a man who cooks and cleans for them". Well, that's great that you're opposed to something that doesn't exist, except maybe in the "mind" of Rush Limbaugh (or whoever the hell is the hero of the right-wing these days), but what do you think about actual feminists? You know, the ones fighting for actual freedom (including the freedom to choose to be a housewife if that's what you really want) and equality?

      --

      "You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein

    24. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by starfishsystems · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Men who don't take strange women's clothes off are men.

      Men who do take strange women's clothes off are men too. I don't think that's the issue.

      About twenty years ago, I stopped going with colleagues to watch exotic dancers. I paid a small professional cost, perhaps, in being the odd man out, but it seemed a fair trade for peace of mind.

      I realized that I could not be comfortable with the rules of the game. Atom Egoyan illustrates this point well in the film Exotica. To create a setting of sexual arousal without corresponding social freedom and compassion is essentially perverse.

      Just because a natural impulse can be monetized doesn't mean that it should be, especially if it involves forcing the participants, both dancers and patrons, into hyperconstrained roles that dehumanize their relationship to each other.

      --
      Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
    25. Re:as they would say on FARK.. by electrons_are_brave · · Score: 3, Interesting
      As I female, I've been to a work-thing where the club we had drinks at turned out to have strippers. It was difficult for me to know what to do. Sit an smile and risk looking like I'm comfortable sitting next to my collegues who are gawping at strippers? Leave and miss out on the networking? Insist we go somewhere else and look like a sour old bag? It was awkward - for most of us, male or female. The worst thing was that one of the men who was himself offended - for religious rather than feminist reasons - insisted on bringing me into it when he complained ("She looked really embarrassed"). So it ended up looking like I was on-side with the office wowser.

      It's always going to end up embarrassing or offending or excluding someone, so best keep it out of work functions.

  6. Figures... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The one IT related conference I DON'T go to... AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS!

    1. Re:Figures... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      don't mean to be a downer... but .... maybe it was because you didn't go....

  7. Eh by ae1294 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not really a big deal.. they offer blow jobs to congressmen all the time..

    1. Re:Eh by rho · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This was the creepiest fucking thread I've seen on Slashdot. I like the way you keep replying to yourself. As if you think, "Oh, hey, here's a creepy fact about college-age strippers and drugs the Slashdot community is dying to learn from me."

      --
      Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
  8. never apologize for sex by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I think Yahoo should be like, "F**k yeah! We have lap dances at our events." I say this because the last time I apologized to a girl for kissing her, she dumped me for being such a woosy.

    Moral of the story: NEVER apologize for sex.

    1. Re:never apologize for sex by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Insightful

      wussy (wimp plus pussy) - And your girl was just using an excuse. She had already made-up her mind to dump you several days prior.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    2. Re:never apologize for sex by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Funny

      She had already made-up her mind to dump you several days prior.

      When he apologized for kissing a different girl.

    3. Re:never apologize for sex by yurtinus · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now you're just talking crazy. This is somebody on Slashdot, the odds against him kissing *one* girl are high enough. Two within several days? I can't even fathom.

      --
      +1 Disagree
  9. Apologize? by jacob1984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why?

    1. Re:Apologize? by corbettw · · Score: 5, Funny

      For not announcing the dances ahead of time so more engineers could plan on attending. Duh.

      --
      God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  10. Lap dance ON STAGE? by Cthefuture · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who the hell would want a lap dance on a stage in front of tons of people. That would be awkward and unpleasant even if you liked lap dances from strangers (rubbing their diseases all over you, heh).

    --
    The ratio of people to cake is too big
    1. Re:Lap dance ON STAGE? by Red+Flayer · · Score: 3, Funny

      Who the hell would want a lap dance on a stage in front of tons of people. That would be awkward and unpleasant even if you liked lap dances from strangers (rubbing their diseases all over you, heh).

      Some people actually dig that sort of thing.

      In my case, it would be awkward only because I'd feel guilty about making all the men in the crowd feel inferior because of the size of the bulge in my pants.

      (No one needs to tell them that I stole a paper-towel tube from the kitchenette just prior to the lapdance).

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  11. that will make you yodel by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny
    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  12. Where's the problem? by beefnog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe I'm a bit jaded or detached, but I fail to see how offering lap dances is fundamentally different from offering free beer. It's cheap fun, and some people may find it morally objectionable, but in the end not a single attendee is going to end up bumping uglies with one of the dancing girls. Had the cheerleaders for an NFL team been there in tight shirts and tiny skirts waving pompoms nobody would have said a word.

    1. Re:Where's the problem? by PalmHair · · Score: 5, Funny

      ... I fail to see how offering lap dances is fundamentally different from offering free beer...

      I am heterosexual and I definitely see the difference.

    2. Re:Where's the problem? by amplt1337 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Had the cheerleaders for an NFL team been there in tight shirts and tiny skirts waving pompoms nobody would have said a word.

      Um, no.

      Women (try talking to one sometime) are very widely offended at the whole phenomenon of Booth Babes, scantily clad spokesmodels, etc. The difference with this is that because it was lapdances, it actually makes the news.
      It's just as hostile to the women who want to be treated as colleagues (instead of sex objects) to have micro-bikini models hanging around, but that won't make the papers.

      --
      Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
  13. Oblig. Bloodhound Gang reference by LizardKing · · Score: 5, Funny

    Personally, I always prefer a lap dance when the stripper is crying.

  14. Remember! by lupinstel · · Score: 5, Funny

    No penetration testing in the champagne room!!

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Cthulhu.
  15. New proposed functions for YUI by Anonymusing · · Score: 4, Funny

    .stripper(): slowly removes the HTML elements of your page, revealing something naughty underneath.

    .poleDance(): automatically adds a vertical navigation bar to your site, then teases you when you want to click on something

    .Titillate(): a replacement for .Console(), to make sure the programmer is, um, "properly aware" of script feedback

    --
    Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
  16. Re:Yawn by dummondwhu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Underclass? Pfff.... Most of them probably earn more than I do.

  17. Pictures... by jeffshoaf · · Score: 3, Funny

    Pictures or it didn't happ... Oh, wait...

    --
    Putting the "anal" back into "analyst"...
  18. that's feminism circa 1960s by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Interesting

    the new feminism is about self-empowerment

    such that grad students who work in strip clubs are seen as feminist icons: its all about exploiting silly weak men for lots of their cash by doing nothing but shimmying around

    and no, that doesn't mean the new feminism is the same as pre-feminism. because the feminist who strips is CHOOSING to strip for fun and titillation (pun intended), rather than being FORCED to do it for economic difficulties

    not that women aren't forced into exploitation for economic difficulties anymore, i'm not describing reality. i'm describing philosophical trends in feminist thinking. in feminist thinking, porn actresses are the new pioneers

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:that's feminism circa 1960s by swb · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Mod parent up.

      The old, Andrea Dworkin, men-hating, anti-pornography lesbian feminism is over. As it turns out, the philosophy really was driven by the psychology of angry lesbians who could only find empowerment by striking at heterosexual women capable of controlling their sexual destiny.

      Diablo Cody, screenwriter of "Juno" is the exact personification of the new feminism. Stripper, writer, she's "in control" of her sexuality and is fine with using it for *her* own ends, even if on the surface it appears to be just furthering the old stereotypes. That doesn't matter because the men are really the manipulated victims (paying for sexual titillation) and the women are in charge.

      Excuse me, gotta run, I have an English Lit class.

  19. It is Taiwan.... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... There it is considered positively old fashioned and prudish to stop with just lap dances. The competition is sure to be offering a lot more.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:It is Taiwan.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      ... There it is considered positively old fashioned and prudish to stop with just lap dances. The competition is sure to be offering a lot more.

      I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter

  20. Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... by kevjava · · Score: 4, Insightful

    in the Information Technology field? This might go some way to explain it.

    Did Yahoo not think that women engineers would be present at this event? They make up roughly ten percent of engineers as a whole. Furthermore, did they think that there was some way that women attendees would be perfectly comfortable watching other women objectified on a stage?

    It's not that I mind women being objectified for money -- the women involved are handsomely rewarded for their parts in this business deal. I do mind people in my field saying that they do everything they can to make women comfortable in our field, then turning around and saying that they don't understand why anyone would be offended by this.

    1. Re:Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... by Jearil · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually there was someone there who interviewed a bunch of the women hackers at the event. A lot of them thought it was funny watching the awkward guys up on stage going through having a girl dance next to them. Even more said they didn't even notice what was going on on stage. Apparently the dances only happened twice during the multi-day event and each dance was for about 5 minutes.

      There's been a lot of outcry from women in the US about it, but none of the women who attended the event had anything negative to say.

    2. Re:Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... by that+IT+girl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Heck, I'm a woman and I think it's kind of funny, albeit inappropriate. Not necessarily an event I'd want to be at while this was going on--simply because lap dances and this kind of sexually charged thing is generally considered part of one's personal life, and this was a business/professional event. Some women and and even more privately-minded men would feel uncomfortable. If a man wants to go to a strip club, that's his business and I personally have zero problem with that. It's just not really appropriate for this event, in the same way that overt sexual advances, talking at length about one's sex life, etc are not appropriate for the professional office.

      --
      10 FILL MUG WITH COFFEE
      20 DRINK COFFEE
      30 GOTO 10
    3. Re:Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Every single one of us "objectifies" ALL of our sex partners or potential sex partners at some point in time. Women are "objectified" as a comparison to other available members of their sex or gender, as a part of an evaluation we MUST go thorugh and are ENTITLED to go through as one of our basic delights in the choosing of the direction of our future genes.

      Women who are initially objectified for their looks don't stay objectified for long, unless the man doing the choosing is vapid. But the tendency to first judge women visually is innate to the male and only a country full of neurotics like ours could find a way to take issue with that most basic of evaluations which is the very reason we are all here today. You will probably live to 80 because a thousand of your ancestors objectified your female ancestors to make sure they weren't turning their family tree into a stump with disease and inferior genetics.

      Not only that, but when you are judging a woman based on her looks, you are judging a lot more than just some random lottery of "fuckability." You are judging her self-esteem, outlook, pride, exercise habits, eating habits, courage...it's not 100% accurate but girls who look good usually end up that way because they have their shit together, which makes them attractive. So "objectifying" a woman based on looks is really more trying to get a read on whether she is about to crash and burn, or whether she is a rising star who will be uplifting to associate with.

      What's more, women objectify men all the time, but far less press is paid to the objectification of men as "success objects." A girl says she wants to marry a DOCTOR, and noone is there to scream at her "That is objectifying men! Think of the poor garbage men whom you are ruling out, you insensitive clod!"

      I take issue with neither form of "sexist objectification" myself. I feel people's romantic, genetic and breeding choices are deeply private and none of my business.

  21. Re:The Fucking Crybabies by L0rdJedi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Per the article, which I know no one reads, the guy that made the remarks has a blog at http://simonwillison.net/

    He may not have been there, but his point is that for an industry that's always trying to attract women, this is the wrong thing to do. Not to mention that even if it is culturally accepted in Taiwan, some developers may be morally opposed to this.

    So we shouldn't be surprised when women don't want to enter the IT and Computer Science fields because they see it as a male dominated field. Images like these reinforce that perception. If you want more women in the field, do things that attract them. Don't trot out booth babes like it's an anime/gaming convention or a car show.

  22. Re:Well I guess its bad... by eln · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why should they have minded? Because, in your opinion, sexuality is to there to be enjoyed not sold? Why should their sense of shame or morality have any relation to your opinion? What makes you so special?

    I'm not a big fan of strip clubs, and I personally find the whole concept of selling sex as off-putting, but I'm not going to go around saying people who do it should feel ashamed of themselves. You assume they are relaxing their own principles or boundaries in exchange for money, when in fact in many cases their principles and boundaries are simply more permissive than yours. I accept that some people have more liberal boundaries than my own. However, when they're doing things that, ultimately, don't hurt anyone, I can't justify getting offended by it, and I certainly can't justify trying to get anyone to feel bad about it.

  23. How many people wish they had said by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Screw you. Some people like lap dances so they got one, and we're not apologizing."

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    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  24. Re:The Fucking Crybabies by geekoid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Please, that;s stupid.
    A) No one was forced to
    B) Anyone could ahve gotten one
    C) It's socially acceptable there.

    Seriously, people need to grow up an realize that if it doesn't impact them they need to ignore it.
    What next? no one can eat meaat at work because it might offend a vegan?

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    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  25. blame Taiwanese culture by pikine · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If I were Yahoo's management, I'd reassign or fire whomever was responsible for it. They shouldn't be calling shots for events.

    I too think the lap dancing is distasteful, but this is a fine example how corporate culture is heavily distorted by the country's own culture as well. I think Yahoo! Taiwan organized the event autonomously without any collaboration with the US head quarter, and that the US head quarter really has nothing to do with this.

    In Taiwan, hiring scanty show girls for any event like trade show, religious celebration, new year, and funeral is very common. You even see that in weddings (especially in the country-side). Imagine how the bride feels about that!

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    I once had a signature.
  26. Re:The Fucking Crybabies by BitZtream · · Score: 3, Informative

    some developers may be morally opposed to this.

    Cry me a river. Everyone morally objects to something someone else does, get over it. No one was harmed. No one did anything against their will. There were no guns to heads.

    Anyone who has a problem with this event is the exact kind of uncultured intolerant person that I personally have no need to work with, male OR female.

    I'm not changing my ways to appease someone else because they 'dont like' some aspect of the culture of the field. If they want to be in IT they can adjust to the IT field. As they join the IT field will change based on the ratios of what people prefer.

    Real women (just like real men) have no problem entering a hostile field without whining and bitching. What you are doing is attempting to change a field, to encourage more people to join it, but the people you are encouraging don't WANT to join it. You want to change the field to get what YOU want, not what women want.

    Not EVERYTHING has to have a perfect balance based on sex or race. Differences between sex and race AND CULTURE will ALWAYS result in less than a perfect balance. Thats not a bad thing, thats reality and you need to check it out.

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    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager