"A mixture of beneficial and problematic experiences..."
November 30, 2015 8:37 AM   Subscribe

"her challenges point to a need for tech companies to openly examine patterns of hostility toward underrepresented employees that stem from no apparent cause other than irrational bias."

You may remember Brielle Harrison from when her FaceBook account was suspended for violating the "real names" policy while she was employed at Facebook. She is also responsible for implementing the 58 Gender Options while employed at the social network giant, but alas "Squirrel" is not an option (yet)
posted by Annika Cicada (11 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
I award this post the "most tags" honorific.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 9:52 AM on November 30, 2015


I award this post the "most tags" honorific.

But there is no Squirrel (yet).
posted by tittergrrl at 10:15 AM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


Every time I see one of these articles about tech culture and (white/cis/male) privilege, I go to post a comment here and then, upon re-reading, delete it and resolve to continue to try to amplify less privileged voices than my own, mostly by shutting the hell up and letting them talk.

I'm choosing to write this metacomment instead, not least so I can refer back to it privately in the future as something I've done rather than re-write it elsewhere again or, heaven forbid, man/white/cis-splain more.

On a related note, I find Facebook's sub-site about Unconscious Bias very useful reference material.
posted by Fraxas at 10:22 AM on November 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


Back in the 90s, when fandom was a much smaller thing, there was a minor uproar when the author of a now-mostly-forgotten series made a very... weird set of rules that were intended to be used by people writing original characters in fanfic, to determine which genders and sexual orientations could hold which roles in that world. On the basis of natural inclination and ability, not social pressure. Much pseudoscience involved. Lesbians featured not at all, and the highest-ranking characters were all required to be straight. And I had a lot of weird conversations where people who I thought were very progressive kept saying, well, they're just characters, why does it matter? It's just a story. Just write about straight people instead.

I've realized since then--and it took far too long--that I was that way about trans people. Yeah, the Facebook thing is wrong, but it's just Facebook, it's not a big deal! Why do you care what bathroom you use? Why does this matter? But the little things add up. At some point, whether you're a teenager or an adult, you look at someone you're supposed to respect and you realize that they're nice to you, but that doesn't mean they respect you. It's just a social media account, it's just a meeting, it's just a joke. It's amazing to see organized pushback, but weird to me how many people still don't notice the issue until you shove it directly in their faces. And sometimes not even then.
posted by Sequence at 10:30 AM on November 30, 2015 [8 favorites]


It's just a social media account, it's just a meeting, it's just a joke.

That argument cuts both ways. If it's so inconsequential, why are you fighting me about it? Why can't the lead character be a lesbian? It's only a story, right?
posted by axiom at 11:20 AM on November 30, 2015 [8 favorites]


Axiom: The reason it doesn't is because there's a dominant group that gets to decide what's normal based on numbers of people belonging to that group and nothing else. That ability to decide what's normal distorts the mirror of "what is natural and right and not weird". So because that bias exists, the argument, while rationally cutting both ways, most certainly does not when matched against a biased and dominant group of individuals.
posted by Annika Cicada at 11:26 AM on November 30, 2015


It looks like Brielle is not the woman who had her account suspended, that was another woman (Zip) who was working with Brielle on the gender options.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:15 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]


OH! wow...oops how did I miss that. Oh gosh I feel really dumb now.
posted by Annika Cicada at 12:43 PM on November 30, 2015


I thought Zip was Brielle's blog name..

(real names policy still be damned)
posted by Annika Cicada at 12:44 PM on November 30, 2015


Yeah, Brielle and Zip (who does go by Zip IRL, I've met her, she's cool) are completely different people.
posted by divabat at 10:36 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


"...weird set of rules that were intended to be used by people writing original characters in fanfic, to determine which genders and sexual orientations could hold which roles in that world. "

Lemme guess, Dragonriders of Pern?
posted by ShawnStruck at 9:55 AM on December 1, 2015


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