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From: falk@peregrine.eng.sun.COM (Ed Falk)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Viewing Gifs
Message-ID: <14952@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 11 Jun 91 23:19:59 GMT
References: <1991Jun11.155757.17816@aero.org>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
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Approved: tittle@ics.uci.edu
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In article <1991Jun11.155757.17816@aero.org> mjm@ahimsa.intel.com (Marjorie Panditji) writes:
>...     Getting back to the gifs, if
>they are displayed in some area you have to work in, or are available
>from computer owned by your company, I think that would count as hostile
>environment.

If they're where you are likely to be faced with them, like a pinup
calendar on a wall, then yes, I could easily see someone being
bothered.  I disagree that their mere availability harms anybody any
more than the knowledge that some bookstore somewhere has pornography
on the shelves.

I am reminded of Robert Bork's position on birth control.  He argued
that since some people were offended by the idea that someone
somewhere was using birth control, the state had a right to ban its
use.

>On the other hand, the motive may be something else.  For example, men
>may do it to intimidate women (perhaps to claim their personal
>territory?),

I think you're reaching here.  I think men just like to look at women.
I'd say that men are more visually oriented than women (who instead
prefer to read romance novels), but that's likely to attract flames
from women who *are* visually oriented.

>may do it as "revenge" or to show men how it feels to be displayed (or
>even for the same reasons as men, I don't know).  Perhaps these
>pictures are displayed for "artistic" reasons?  :-)

I think you're reaching here too, although I'll agree that I've rarely
seen women who kept male pin-ups around to just plain look at.
Usually it's a desire for parity.  Just today I was told by a woman
friend "Well, if there's pictures of naked women on that machine, I
hope there's an equal number of naked men too!"

The only pinup picture I ever personally scanned into a computer was a
Playgirl centerfold which I scanned in at the request of an admin who
wanted to make it the background screen on one of her co-worker's
workstations.

>Any thoughts on this?  Any studies on pin-ups in the workplace?

Actually, the only kind of workplace I've ever seen that has a lot of
pinups are places like auto repair shops.  Here at Sun it's pretty
rare -- usually confined to calendars in loading docks or the
occasional woman-in-bathing suit screen background.  I don't know how
long the admin's friend mentioned above kept her Playgirl background,
but I'm told she was pleased with it.

As for me, the only background images I ever use are satelite pictures.

		-ed falk, sun microsystems
		 sun!falk, falk@sun.com

In the future, somebody will quote Andy Warhol every 15 minutes.