[hs-equality] People at Metalab have taken issue with some incidents at 29c3

[Erinn Clark]

* Koen Martens <gmc at hackerspaces.org> [2013:01:05 17:17 +0100]: 
> I mean, at some point I understood that perfectly normal conversation at 29c3
> was perceived as 'sexist' because one word used had also a double meaning
> that could be taken as sexist. So now you can not say anything anymore. Let's
> just all shut up and cancel all events, that's the only way we can be sure
> no-one can think of anything as sexist. The creeper cards and the extremist
> beliefs behind them are simply terrorism.

I haven't really been involved in the conversation about 29c3 despite being a
feminist female hacker, but this above comment is really... strange to me. You
can say all kinds of things without being sexist. And the idea that we should
shut up and cancel all events because of this tricky conversation is itself a
pretty extreme position to take.

But overall I think that most feminists are actually level-headed and just
don't like having the conversations about women's equality hijacked. That
doesn't mean there isn't room for, or lack of interest in, other conversations
about equality -- it just means that one should not interrupt others. I'm
pretty sure the majority of people who are opposed to the harassment of women
are also opposed to the harassment of men and people who identify as both,
neither, or somewhere in between, they've just chosen to limit their focus.
(At least this is true for me. I'm not a homosexual man so I don't know what
challenges you face, but I would listen to & support you.) But you should start
that conversation separately rather than yelling at (or about) feminists who
started a different one.