And if you check out the hackathons website [0] and the previous hackathon [1], they are showcasing exactly the offensive content that I was describing in my post.
[0] http://stupidhackathon.github.io/ [1] http://www.stupidhackathon.com/
We don't have to hold every single developer event to the same standards as a Microsoft developer conference (which themselves don't always set high standards [1]). There are places for being serious, but there also have to be places where we can have fun and introspect with some lighthearted satire.
Here is the content I thought would be considered offensive it it didn't come from a progressive source (repeated from [1]):
Here are some examples from the previous New York hackathon [2]:
Sexual content:
Golden Bitcoin Pasties, Focus Tools, Collaborative Fuck Bike, E.T. Strapon, Sado-Masochistic Macrame Planter, Tinder For Babies, "ok glass, vomit"
Making fun of mental health/development issues:
Stupid Font
Body shaming and objectification:
Intellectual Babes Calendar
And here are some prize categories in the current hackathon that are similarly offensive:
Peter Thiel, Scatological APIs, Targetting The "Hikikomori" Space
[0] http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-apologizes-for-cringe...
When white women in the tech industry themselves are reprogrammed to be non-welcoming to diversities, you know there's a problem.
If your argument is "Well, nobody but SJWs would possibly throw one of these and they do it just so they can taunt the rest of us" then I think you need to spend more time off in the real world.
The Intellectual Babes Calendar is objectifying men, but I think by parodying and creating awareness for objectifying females it is still a net positive for society. That may change at some point, but that's why we view things in context.
You are obviously right that there is a lot of sexual content, and that that Hackathon was an industry event. But as long as everybody is aware of that when visiting the Hackathon, I fail to see any harm in that. This isn't even sex-deprived male cisgender nerds, most of the sexual content is created by females of various ethnicities.
Saying that sexual content is inappropriate during all work/industry related events seems overly broad to me. After all, our industry is diverse and even includes respected companies like pornhub. There are bound to be people in this industry who are very comfortable with sexual content, and it's not my place to judge them for expressing that in an appropriate context.
That's precisely my point. I don't think that it's ok that we have one set of standards for sex-deprived male cisgender nerds, and another for women of various ethnicities.
Saying that sexual content is inappropriate during all work/industry related events seems overly broad to me. After all, our industry is diverse and even includes respected companies like pornhub. There are bound to be people in this industry who are very comfortable with sexual content, and it's not my place to judge them for expressing that in an appropriate context.
That just highlights more hypocrisy. If you are against objectification, how can you consider the porn industry respectable?
Remember, we're talking about subjective measures here. One person's "demeaning" might be another's "hilarious". Are you now the arbiter of taste? Standard rules apply: if you don't like it, don't participate. If you feel the need to protest, that's your right, but understand that many people will consider you uptight and unreasonable.