Gizmodo “NSWF” = sexist crap.

Bottom: "by G-Ram for Gizmodo"

I enjoy Gizmodo,”the gadget blog”.  I’m subscribed and have been for a while.  They have great, creative articles that I like wasting time on.

Today, however, Jesus Diaz posted an entry, called “iPanties: Slide to Unlock Lingerie May Require Jailbreak”, after “G-Ram” became “inspired” by the iDoormat post.

Since “women in their underwear” follows logically from “doormats”.

At first I was incredibly offended at the G-Ram reference watermarking the bottom of the second pair of underwear but, after minor sleuthing, deduced the user had been around for a while.  The name was a painful coincidence and not a painfully sexist joke to top the image pair off.

I’m also wondering what is being referred to, regarding the Jesus Diaz’s “jailbreak” title.  What’s being broken, in this picture of a woman in her underwear?

I know things that objectify women are out there, and it’s my philosophy that objectification of women is a systemic problem that won’t be solved by mere censorship.

But it’s disheartening to see a “gadget blog” that I subscribe to post something completely unnecessary and marginalizing towards a rights-conscious contingent of their readership.

I encourage anybody else who feels similarly to write an email to Mr. Diaz (Jesus@gizmodo.com), and/or Editor Jason Chen (jchen@gizmodo.com), if only to ask why this was necessary to officially post, and not have it just be a “NSWF” email exchange.

It’ll only take a second, doesn’t need to be long and I guarantee if you read through this post, you’ll feel good for speaking out.

**update**:

Jesus Diaz himself responded to my personal email straight away, which is nice.  It’s not uncommon to be completely blown off in these cases.

Here’s his response:

Obviously you are not getting the article because you are not familiar with the term “Jailbreaking”. It refers to a program that allows people getting into iPhones. The meaning is that, while panties only require “sliding” to take them off, doing so requires “something” else (seduction, perhaps). The meaning is not breaking the panties. Nothing sexist about it, as my friend and sexologist Dr Debby Herbenick would tell you:

http://www.mysexprofessor.com/vulvalicious/for-crying-out-loud-theyre-called-the-labia-majora-aka-down-with-the-cuchini/

Thanks for reading Gizmodo,
j.

What do you think?

And Now, Some Turkish Blackface!

Article at Womanist Musings

Hyper-gender, rape and Pam Jones

There was once a boy named Carl. He was regularly taunted at school.  His mother visited the school, sat in on classes.  The taunting continued.  Carl ended his life of 11 years with an electrical cord.

There is a bar in downtown Phoenix. There is one television in the small pub.  It’s a split screen view of the outside, due to the frequency of gay-bashings in the area.

There is a LA-based rapper named Pam Jones. She was held at gunpoint by several individuals, beaten and raped.  People laughed.

It’s frightening.  It’s maddening.  It’s incredibly, deeply, sad that this is permissible.

Hyper-gender: displaying or enacting an extreme form of stereotypical gender-based paradigms in an online setting.

Rape has been a form of pop-entertainment long before SVU and Seth Rogen. And unfortunately, they do know what they do.

Beatings, tauntings, rapes haven’t transferred from the real world to the web.  They’ve been translated.  Drunk on anonymity, trolls have an outlet to let loose even the degradations they wouldn’t have in face-to-face social situations.

As absolutely maddening the comments in the above link is, I’ve got to believe there’s humanity in them, regardless that they post in arbitrary message boards just to add in a racist slur against a rape victim.

Our system is not lift as you rise.  Our system is race to the bottom.  And by “not losing”, by being the “special interest” group that’s not on the bottom, you win.

So let’s all laugh at Krayzie and his racist, sexist slurs, because it makes us feel better about being politically, economically, sub-par…?

A big ball of bigotry is rolling towards you.  Do you side step it, ride it like a wave?  It’s an issue of momentum.