I’ve been meaning to write about being a woman in the tech industry for a while now. Nothing like a stupid concept such as Code Babes (Gizmodo, Fast Company) to give you a little motivation to write something to counter the stupidity.
The basic concept of the site is that programming lessons are so boring that they needed to be spiced up by having instructors-that-are-basically-strippers teach you how to code. The site is rifled with suggestive phrasing (ex.”virgin” as opposed to “beginner” or “newbie”), overuse of “awesome”, and includes a chart where the more you learn, the less clothes is on the model. People seem to be hopeful that it’s a joke – because it’s just that absurd. If it is – it’s a pretty elaborate one as it actually goes out of its way to make instructional videos.
I saw their basic PHP video this morning (which is like Section 1 of any first chapter of an introductory coding book) where the woman instructor wasn’t as scantily clad as the other courses depicted. Maybe by the time you get to PHP you need less skin-based motivation to learn to code? …Or maybe there should be NO CORRELATION as to why you would need scantily clad women to teach you coding!
Here’s how I learned to code – on my own while making basic websites using books and website tutorials followed by actually attending classes on it at a college. While I don’t think I’m their target demographic, I’m pretty sure plenty of people have successfully learned to code in these ways without any issue.
These details aside, this entire concept reveals the negative aspects of tech culture, primarily as it relates to women. Women already have a challenging time getting involved in STEM-based subjects and if they get into the industry, they have to combat against sexism and the dynamics of an already male-dominated culture. One of the best things about technology is that the outcome isn’t inherently tied to a gender. A great idea is a great idea. The outcome of lines of code is determined on that it works and not necessarily how it’s written or who wrote it (though to be frank, there’s something beautiful about well-written and structured code…and you’re less likely to break something along the way).
One of the unfortunate truths (for now) about the industry is that the ideals of tech are marred by the fact that women don’t have equal participation or voice. Code Babes doesn’t help this picture at all. Not only are these women known by their bodies and by singular names, we don’t know their qualifications for teaching any programming, so their intelligence isn’t even a factor. Apparently some of the quiz answers are completely wrong. To apply to be a CodeBabe, you just need to give them your name, email address, and why you are interested. It’s surprising that they’re not asking for headshots. To increase the likelihood that these women are just reading scripts, you can also submit to “Create a Lesson with the CodeBabes.”
At this point, is your brain hurting like mine?
If you’ve noticed, I haven’t linked to this Code Babes site – because I’d rather not. However, if you want a site to help you learn how to code, I will link you to Code Academy.
-cct
Anti-Code Babes | http://t.co/ehgZ7OEhfY #tech #techculture #womenintech http://t.co/1E7WLykad4
Personally, I keep my preconceptions separate, and I believe that I am not alone in this.
The women of codebabes are likely models who did a project, a job, and that was the job they did, I can’t know for sure. I don’t look at all women of tech as though they are just pretty faces who need to strip or something to that end.
Secondarily, if the women in the codebabes are skilled with design, php, whatever it may be, that’s just bully. Great for them being free in their sex/sexuality. I examine everything on a case by case basis, my judgement of a person, male or female is neutral until I begin gaining empirical evidence.
I understand you are passionate about this issue, but I believe you’re somewhat clouded by bias in you summary here.
Women should be free to make choices related to their careers and life – in any industry – so long as they are able to be empowered by these decisions. This post in no way is meant to be critical of the women themselves. In fact, I hope they are/were being well compensated for their time and have little to no conflicts with doing this job.
My points in this post are criticizing the concept that is being sold and how that message reflects an industry that is already challenged by issues of inequality, power dynamics, and numeric representation of women. I also tried to point out that if these women are skilled in technology, there is very little empirical evidence provided by the company – so that gives the site visitor a few trains of thought: A) They are not technically skilled or B) If they are technically skilled, it’s not worth mentioning on the site. As a reflection of this likely logic, your comment breaks it into these exact separate factions (lack of knowledge/skill and skilled). As this site is supposed to be about learning code (among other themes), I find that our inability to determine this is problematic because lack of information/data would suggest that “A” is the most likely scenario. I also find it disrespectful to women who are skilled because it undercuts their intelligence and their agency – like why is it not worth mentioning if its true? Which, again, only leads us to believe in the opposite. Additionally, as I noted in my post, to start the application process is a simple three field form (Name, Email, Why You Are Interested) that does not relate to any technical skill or even the submission of a general resume. Perhaps this is an attempt of basic or blind submissions, but it seems appropriate to ask about technical skills if a primary part of the job is in instruction of some kind.
So while you may consider me bias on this topic, I think there’s a difference between being prejudice and critically analyzing a *product* that is being sold and how it uses females as a very focal selling point. I also think it’s important to critically analyze a product whose message adds to the already problematic history of providing women who actually do work in the industry a safe and equal place to coexist. So while the women in these videos may not be representative of women in the industry, the idea they are selling doesn’t support them either.