more re sexism

further to this, Guy Kewney has written a posting on the subject.

Many surveys have suggested, regularly, that mature business buyers are actually deterred from promotions - exhibition booths, events and advertising - which assumes a 20-year-old male as the stereotype customer. These surveys are all nonsense, in the minds of the CF devcon organiser. Women don't exist; adult males are all sexually rampant and alcohol-fuelled. Muslims only pretend to be uninterested in getting drunk, and Real Programmers are either adolescent, or wish they were.

more here

it's endemic ...

we just had a ring on the doorball, from a chap selling door to door from www.goodtastefoods.co.uk. He had a van full of stuff, and we were interested enough to let him show us his wares.

he brought a heap of boxes to the house; he had salmon, tuna, hake and cod, and all the rest was ready-cooked. We don't buy - or eat - ready-cooked food, as we're lucky enough to have the time to cook most nights; and if we don't, we take something we've previously cooked from the freezers.

so he was a bit disappointed that most of his offerings didn't appeal. perlmonger and I were interested in the fish; it seemed to be from reasonably sustainable sources, but we were concerned about freezer space.

and "it'll be ok if *you* organise it", he said to perlmonger. I told him he nearly lost the sale by making stupid sexist remarks, and he was really quite taken aback. P pointed out that actually, it would in fact be much better if *I* did it. And I did, and 12 tuna steaks and 14 pieces of cod loin* are in there.

* I find it very difficult to think of fish loins, don't you?

whoosh ...

my male chauvinist really has missed the point now. I can't decide if he's deliberately misunderstanding, or if it comes naturally.