I completely understand that not everyone has the same technical knowledge as myself. I do not expect that everyone knows how to use Power Point, knows what PDFs are, or even knows how to turn on a computer. But something that really urkes me is when speakers put on an overly dramatic public display of damsel in distress behavior trying to get a computer working during public lectures. And even more so when the talk is supposed to be about the opposite… This week I went to go hear a curator speak at a public lecture about Women, Art & Technology. This is someone whom I respect, I’d read her writings, I’d seen exhibitions she put together, I think she knows her stuff. After arriving a half hour late to her own talk the speaker began by publicly flaunting that she was late because she was having trouble printing her talk and saving her Power Point presentation. This wasn’t an apologetic statement but rather a dramatic entrance of her defeat to technology. Then, with her laptop plugged in to the overhead projector and her desktop on display for everyone to see she fumbles and flaunts with grand gestures trying to open her presentation only to find out that didn’t actually save it correctly and could not open the file. All while damseling on “oh now, what’s this (insert petty little laugh), now how do I open this, I click this, no that doesn’t work, where do I click, oh silly little me (insert petty laugh again)…” Until it is decided that the file will not open. Nor could she figure out how to pull up a web browser. So up to the podium the (happens to be male, but could have been female) rescuer comes to stand next to her and Google image search the images in her talk while she read from her printed paper and interjects with little comments about “ go to the youtubes” and “oh, look, ooohh, I didn’t know you could just do that”… Okay, now I know what you’re thinking, I’m being a snob. I’m complaining, and who cares… well here’s the irony, or at least the irony I found. The entire talk was about “Women, Art & Technology” and all throughout the talk the speaker discussed how she, as a curator and a writer, is very careful not to reinforce stereotypes of women. Trying to go against ideas that computers and science are built around the male agenda, trying to show positive and exciting work by women who pushed the boundaries. But was she not then just blatantly enforcing all of those stereotypes herself with the big song and dance about not knowing how to work her own computer and save and open files??? Of course I’m not referring to the act of doing these things, we all have computer crashes and technical difficulties during presentations, but rather the dramatic manor in which they are acted out. Perhaps its difficult to fully describe in just words (without being able to impersonate), but this most certainly is not the first time I have witnessed this type of behavior. And think (or hope) that others know what I’m talking about. So why does this happen? Why do these women (or, some men too) fall back into this dumb blond, “oh silly me”, “what’s this technology-thing-here do”, “someone come help me click buttons”, ditzy behavior? Does this not only re-enforce the behavior you are trying not to? Okay, that’s then end of my rant…