“The bigger sin is the disingenuous way they suppose it will cause a positive discussion.”

During the process of gathering my thoughts to write this, it became painfully obvious that many of my male colleagues wanted to voice their opinions on the Dear Kate ad featuring prominent female tech CEOs in their underwear, but had no outlet in which to do so. The anonymous quotes shared throughout this post are from men actively working in technology companies.

“I feel very strongly about that ad. While I applaud the women in it for being comfortable enough to pose for it, I think that given the field that they work in they have done more harm than good. Women are at a disadvantage in the technology sector. Time and time again (most recently with one of our summer interns) I have heard men make disparaging comments about women as programmers. I strive to correct them when I hear comments like ‘girls can’t code’, or ‘if they were smarter they wouldn’t have those problems’, or ‘she didn’t write the program we had her do the documentation because she’s a girl’. (I have heard all of those first hand.) Women at technology-oriented events are openly harassed and even assaulted by men because they are seen as sexual ‘things’, not as people. This is wrong. There is no justification for it. None. Yet for some reason some men feel it is ok to act like raging assholes towards women just because they are there. Having women, especially ones in leadership roles (and there are so few of those in the first place), pose in their underwear is sending a mixed message at best. They are saying ‘Hey look at me!’, and that is what guys are going to do. The fact that they are posing with computers? A lot are just going to see that as kinky. The underlying message? ‘Hey, I’ve got boobs!’, and not much else. Perhaps the most enraging thing for me is that this company has taken the name of a pioneer in this field, and have reappropriated it to sell their product. To me, this is oppression for profit. It is great that this company has created this product, I think there is a market for it. It is terrible that they have chosen to sell it this way. As a male in this industry who would like to see it change for the better, I’m in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation. If I say nothing, then the stereotype continues. If I speak up… I’m either a ‘white knight’ or my opinion means nothing because it’s a ‘girl power’ thing. It’s very frustrating. I want a better future for my kids. This ad campaign does not lead us to a better future.”

I finally came across the Dear Kate “Ada Collection” ad on Tuesday August 26. The lingerie line named after Ada Lovelace, the first female programmer, feautured female CEOs coding in their underwear. My immediate response was disbelief…is this even real? How could these women in technology, these CEOs, think that posing in their underwear would be beneficial for equality in the tech world?

I couldn’t stop thinking about the Forbes article I read a couple weeks ago “What It’s Like Raising Money As A Woman In Silicon Valley” with the cover photo being a male’s hand creeping under a woman’s skirt.

Instead of spouting off like I usually do, I decided to tweet the CEO of Dear Kate directly. Why was she not in this ad?

Julie Sygiel responded almost immediately with a photograph of herself in her underwear, posted on Instagram, as a result of my tweet. While I commended her, this instagram post is not front and center like the exposed bodies of the other female CEOs.

A productive dialogue about what exactly?

Sarah Conley, one of the models for the ad, believes the dialogue happening is about women’s bodies, “I believe in these women. And I believe that there needs to be serious conversation about size diversity without discrimination. And we’re talking about it, aren’t we?”

“I thought the ad was tasteless. The last thing the male dominated tech scene needs is to see the women tech leaders half nekkid. Demeaning.”

One of the few males I spoke with who had positive thoughts towards the ad had this to say, “I designed lingerie for Macy’s, am in tech and a feminist. The ads are polarizing, but brand consistent. Polarization can be helpful if there is a dialogue and action plan. Dove started a dialogue. This is about selling underwear.”

“I don’t have an issue. I like that they’re using different & non-trad body types & races, while promoting they’re used bc of their brains. As a father of a girl now I look at that stuff completely different than before. If they want her bc she’s brilliant not just pretty I’m proud.”

Exactly. This is about selling underwear. Stop trying to disguise this ad campaign as an attempt to start positive talk about gender roles in technology.

Admit what this really is: a publicity stunt.

“I’m very appalled by that ad, and I agree with you: detrimental to the needed conversation. There should be zero consideration of gender (or for that matter, any other distinction) in startup-land. Thanks for adding to the proper conversation. I see that ad as a stunt, and an ill-conceived one at that. The bigger sin is the disingenuous way they suppose it will cause a positive discussion.”

This is not about gender equality in technology. The tech world doesn’t have a “You go girlfriend!” problem. There isn’t a problem with women supporting other women in technology. The issues rest in the manner in which women are perceived. Glance through the #notcontroversial Twitter stream and you’ll see women encouraging each other. “You look great Julie!” was just one of the responses to Julie’s tweet [of herself in her underwear.]

If the goal is to start a productive dialogue, and bring positive attention to women in technology, it must engage males and females. The conversation started by Dear Kate makes it virtually impossible for a man in technology to join the conversation.

“In this kind of dialogue, there’s not an inch of solid ground for men. Joining this discussion is jumping into internet quicksand.”

“The thought behind the campaign was to bring attention to the fact that there are women in tech and they are killing it. We wanted to highlight the fact that they are there because, to some degree, the media doesn’t often feature women in tech.” Julie Sygiel explained the women are intentionally posed in power positions, rather than sexual positions, to remove any sexual undertones. This is the unique perspective of a female CEO of a lingerie company.

A woman in underwear, regardless of the pose, can be, and in many cases is, sexual in nature. “I think the (entirely predictable) backlash from advertising like this gave Dear Kate a guaranteed win for publicity and name recognition. As a company run by women they’ve got a better chance to pull it off vs a Calvin Klein or something like that. But maybe in some way this can even be humanizing for them to employees. I have a (male) CEO/owner that’ll go around the office once a year in drag (full female military dress uniform) to do a “white glove” inspection of the office; it’s self-effacing, it’s humanizing. I’ll just end (for now?) saying powerful women are never unappreciated in any state of dress & I wouldnt look down on them as an employee. Thanks for the chance to share. Spinning the marketing gimmick as starting a dialogue seems either cynical or a new breed of earnest activist. And as a male I won’t even try to weigh in on that debate, that’s not for me to say.”

This is either an inherent misunderstanding of the current state of the technology industry by a few female founders, or a disgusting attempt to exploit a serious problem as a marketing scheme. As an underwear ad featuring women of all shapes and sizes, it may start a necessary conversation. However, claiming this ad campaign is intended to help women in technology is deceptive.

As a woman in technology who has hung with the boys since childhood, I can assure you the dialogue started is not what the creators of this campaign desired.

In 6 months, I would like an honest account of the ramifications experienced by the women who posed in this ad campaign. The consequences of one’s actions must be considered, especially when leading a company. Even moreso as a female. Are these women putting themselves in danger posing in an underwear ad? Look at the retaliation and death threats against Feminist Frequency founder Anita Sarkeesian. She simply talked about the portrayal of women in video games. How are their conservative users and clients going to react? How might this impact their ability to do business in conservative countries? These questions may sound dramatic and exaggerated, but are they?