As a woman in tech I am annoyed but I understand why women in tech use their appearance/flirting etc in their work, as you accuse Sarah Lacy. These accusations may or may not be true but they are certainly and undoubtably not surprising.

Have some humility and step into her shoes. The only advantage a woman has in tech over men is her sex appeal. Access to the men’s tech club is closed. A woman’s skill has little to do with it because it is a culture for, about and reproduced by men. One of the quickest and easiest ways to get superficial access is to use sexuality. A woman tech blogger can toil away writing about issues that concern her (for example sexism, racism and ethnocentrism in tech) and be entirely ignored because these are not white Western men’s issues but rather the roots of their privilege – something they would rather not look too closely at.

So your comment is sadly predictable and lacks the introspection and humility I dream of that would signal an actual shift in power.

Sarah Lacy is a horrible journalist who attempts to flirt with her interview subjects. Call it reverse sexism, working with what she has to even the playing field, or whatever you want, but there was nto organized hoax to shame Sarah Lacy.

She just came unprepared, dropped the ball, tried to make too much of the interview about herself, and expected Mark to finish her sentences for her. For you to call that sexism means you’re grasping at straws. I don’t think Lacy is a harlot, bimbo, or anything else. I just think she’s unprofessional and extremely self-centered. Hers is not a new style of journalism. It is trite and desperate self-promotion.

And it doesn’t go over well with audiences.

Thank-you for illustrating my point nicely. I promise I didn’t make up your post to demonstrate the gendered borders of of the tech world and how anyone violating the code by mocking this power structure gets warned.

Do you even read my blog?
Try reading Let’s Get Low Low Low for a primer on what sexism IS.
Sexism is about power. It is impossible for reverse sexism to exist. To be clear, there is never sexism against men.

Gender is only something to see past because it serves you, don’t you see that honey?

Further, even mainstream (read manly) tech pages have an entirely different take than you. Techcrunch called the entire coverage a “witch burning”:

What in the world drove these “journalists� to write this nonsense? Jealously over the fact that they weren’t on stage, or over Lacy’s new book? Perhaps they just got caught up in the fun of a witch burning. But whatever drove them to write those articles, it certainly wasn’t journalism. Nor was it professional. And, worst of all, it wasn’t accurate.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/10/the-nuclear-disaster-at-sxsw-was-nothing-more-than-a-witch-burning/