6551425
story
Comments: 572 +- Technology: Yahoo Offered Lap Dances At Hack Event on Thursday October 22, @09:50AM
Posted
by
samzenpus
on Thursday October 22, @09:50AM
from the whos'-next-it's-you dept.
from the whos'-next-it's-you dept.
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicbusiness.gif); width:64px; height:54px;
business
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicyahoo.gif); width:115px; height:23px;
yahoo
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicidle.png); width:70px; height:80px;
idle
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topictech2.gif); width:60px; height:80px;
technology
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."
Related Stories
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and
it holds the universe together ...
-- Carl Zwanzig
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.
Company Issued Laptop (Score:5, Funny)
This is an outrage! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This is an outrage! (Score:5, 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 [theonion.com]
Parent
Kid in the white shirt looks akward (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Kid in the white shirt looks akward (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:Kid in the white shirt looks akward (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe they weren't interfacing well.
Maybe he was little-endian, and she was expecting big-endian...
Parent
as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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!
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, Funny)
It's time like these that I wish slashdot's "Alter Relationship" user option was more powerful.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, Funny)
There's also "knows how to spell 'feminist'".
Yeah! There's no MEN in FEMINISM!
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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.
Parent
blame Taiwanese culture (Score:5, Interesting)
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!
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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?
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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 [slashdot.org]?
Parent
that's feminism circa 1960s (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
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, Funny)
I'm androgynous, you insensitive clod!
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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!
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (Score:5, 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".
Parent
Re:as they would say on FARK.. (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.
Parent
Figures... (Score:5, Funny)
The one IT related conference I DON'T go to... AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS!
Eh (Score:5, Funny)
Not really a big deal.. they offer blow jobs to congressmen all the time..
Apologize? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Apologize? (Score:5, Funny)
For not announcing the dances ahead of time so more engineers could plan on attending. Duh.
Parent
Re:The Fucking Crybabies (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/ [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.
Parent
Lap dance ON STAGE? (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).
Oblig. Bloodhound Gang reference (Score:5, Funny)
Remember! (Score:5, Funny)
No penetration testing in the champagne room!!
New proposed functions for YUI (Score:5, 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
It is Taiwan.... (Score:5, Insightful)
How many people wish they had said (Score:5, Insightful)
"Screw you. Some people like lap dances so they got one, and we're not apologizing."
Re:shucks (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:shucks (Score:5, Funny)
But dont you people understand how this disgraces women? They are human beings, not sex objects!
Now I'm off to redtube.
Parent
Re:shucks (Score:5, Funny)
Not to be outdone, the Bing team is hiring crackwhores to give blowjobs.
Parent
Re:Where's the problem? (Score:5, Funny)
I am heterosexual and I definitely see the difference.
Parent
Re:Where's the problem? (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:never apologize for sex (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:never apologize for sex (Score:5, Funny)
She had already made-up her mind to dump you several days prior.
When he apologized for kissing a different girl.
Parent
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Well I guess its bad... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
Re:Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... (Score:5, 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.
Parent
Re:Wonder why women are so uncomfortable... (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent