Firebee Dispatch #7: Better late than never

Sorry the dispatch is late this week and pretty light on content. I ran out of time to get it out between being really busy at work and prepping for the workshop on Saturday.

• What I'm Up To
• Rant of the Week
• Recommended Reading & Current Events
• Mass Media Musings
• Firebees
• Miscellany
• Promotion

What I'm Up To

• I gave my "Speaking at Tech Events for Beginners" workshop for the first time through Code & Supply. I think it mostly went well, but I definitely need to select a longer time slot next time. You can find materials from the workshop, including slides and a worksheet, on my speaking page.
• Work continues to be very busy.

Rant of the Week

Reminder: appropriation is an ally smell.

Considering that, why the hell is a man writing a book about being a woman in tech? That article barely even mentions the woman, Farai Chideya, who is the co-author on the book. There are so many things wrong with this. I am so fucking sick of men and corporations exploiting our stories for profit, press, and attention, while many women in tech can barely get support for their projects and businesses. FUCK THAT.

Recommended Reading & Current Events

• Why can't you track periods in Apple's Health app? by ntlk. "The only valid reason I can think of is that it didn’t occur to anyone to include it." I would be curious to know if the developers on the team were entirely cis men. It certainly would explain a lot.
• You Asked: Why aren't more companies putting their weight behind diversity initiatives? by Ashe Dryden.
• Tech’s Wakeup Call From Your Trans Coworker by Jessica Lachenal.

This lack of knowledge about how to properly handle trans issues exists industry-wide. On top of it all, there is an immense pressure to believe that these problems don’t matter, shouldn’t be discussed, or that they don’t exist at all. If we don’t fit in to “the culture,” in tech, we get iced out silently and forcefully.

In the News

• A Mother in Jail for Helping Her Daughter Have an Abortion at NYTimes. A primary example of why the anti-choice laws in this country are harmful and dangerous.

This Week in Sexism

• Last week I was in Chicago speaking at jQuery Conf. from Jenn Schiffer.
• Texas court upholds right to take 'upskirt' pictures from the guardian. Excuse me, I'll be over here throwing up and adding this to a very long list of reasons why I will never visit Texas (beyond layovers in the airport, which are even a bit more than I want).

Mass Media Musings

Movies

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Despite never reading the comics (boo, hiss, I'm a fake geek girl, COME AT ME BROS), I really like X-men because I enjoyed the crap out of the cheesy cartoon when I was a kid. I deserved some silly movie fun after this long week. Below are some random notes I took during the movie. There may be some spoilering below depending on your exposure to info about the film.

• Are these things the sentinels? They look a little too terminator-y for me.
• WOLVERINE BUTT.
• Badass Mystique is best Mystique.
• Drunk baby Professor X amuses me.
• Enjoying the shit out of Quicksilver in this film so far.
• MAGNETO IS WEARING A FEDORA. I SEE YOU MAGNETO! I JUDGE YOU!
• I guess at least he’s classy enough for a real fedora (not a trilby).
• “We can change that.” YES PLEASE, RETCON THE FUCK OUT OF THE LAST STAND. DO IT NOW.
• Oh cool, these xmen have clearly played portal before.
• Magneto is such a douche. You know, as premonitioned by the fedora.
• YESSSSSS, LET THE RETCON WASH OVER YOU. YESSSSSS.

Overall, I am pleased because they retconned the crap out of X-Men: The Last Stand, which is a terrible film.

Firebees

I made a fuck your culture in cross stitch print and hung it on my wall. I regret nothing about this decision. If you want one too, you can get them at society6.

Miscellany

• Managing Privilege comic from Robot Hugs.
• The Bézier Game -- A game to help you master the pen tool. Maybe if I play this enough, I will finally get it.

Promotion

To Buy and Read

• Your Startup is Broken: Inside The Toxic Heart of Tech Culture. by Shanley Kane.
• Newsfail: Climate Change, Feminism, Gun Control, and Other Fun Stuff We Talk About Because Nobody Else Will by Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny the people behind the Citizen Radio podcast.

Donations Needed

In honor of dudes who are profiting off of women in tech, donate to some actual women in tech working to support themselves and others like them. Seriously, these are good causes, and it would mean a lot to me if you donated.

• Growstuff via indiegogo. Help build an open database for food growers everywhere. Check out dispatch #5 for more details about why Growstuff is awesome.
• Ada Initiative. The Ada Initiative has made record progress for women in open tech/culture in 2014. They are asking for donations before October 8th to support programs for the next year.