Power and Resposibility
I’m always a few degrees separated from current events in technology, so the conversations are already dying down about the GoGaRuCo CouchDB presentation while I’m just getting up to speed. So if you’re even further removed than me and don’t know what I’m talking about, please educate yourself about the situation by reviewing the offending presentation, reading the presenter, Matt Aimonetti’s, response, reading the conference organizer, Josh Susser’s, response, and finally, Liz Keogh’s thoughts on the topic.
I usually stay out of software community drama, but this situation is impacting people that I care about and I feel compelled to state my opinion publicly. One of these people is Victoria Wang and the other is Leah Welty-Rieger. I feel a responsibility to both of these women because they either worked for Obtiva or are currently working for Obtiva. And it’s not just that they worked for Obtiva, a company that I own a part of, these women work/ed closely with me, and I hold/held a position of power over them.
And I agree with Liz on the topic of power. People with power don’t have the luxury of absolute creative freedom. I mean, they do actually have that freedom of course, but there will be repercussions when you wield that power, even with the best of intentions. Matt was in a position of power when he gave his presentation, and once you’re in that position, you can’t rely on people understanding where you’re coming from when you color outside the lines. Once you’re in a position of power, you need to consider where other people are coming from. Once you’re in a position of power, you are representing many different things to many different people and you shouldn’t be surprised when a misstep has unforeseen consequences.
The consequences in Matt’s case was that many women in our community were offended, including Victoria. And when we discussed the situation with Leah yesterday afternoon, she was equally offended. I want Victoria, Leah, and all future Obtiva geek women to know that the sort of humor that Matt was attempting is not OK with me. I believe presentations like that contribute to the objectification of women. Call me a prude, mid-western American, but I feel compelled to give my opinion so that there isn’t any nagging doubts in the minds of my female colleagues.
This is not about understanding where Matt was coming from when he decided use those images of women. Instead, people in positions of power, like Matt and me, need to consider where our audience is coming from, particularly people in the audience who are in the minority. Please consider the power that you have when you are in positions of authority. This situation has certainly been a reminder for me that I need to consider the power I wield in my many relationships at Obtiva and with my family.
