Girls of LeWeb3
After I Taliani in Paris, a video dedicated to the girls who attended the conference.
And I’m in it :-)
Thanks to Chauffeur de Buzz for making it!
UPDATE Dec. 19th 2007: a censored version of the original video has been posted today by its author and you can watch it below.
UPDATE Dec. 18th 2007: due to the requests of some people who claimed to be offended by this video (including Le Meur), it has been removed by its author.
Scavengergirl, 
Otto 5:56 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
superbe accent italien Livia !!! ;)
Livia Iacolare 6:11 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
ah bon, si tu aimes… merci! :-)
alchymi 6:24 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Moi j’adore l’accent ;-)
Mike Butcher 6:59 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Do you really think this was a good idea. I’m amazed.
Livia Iacolare 7:03 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
You don’t like it, Mike?
Manola Blablablanik 7:30 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
I wish that gender was not something to make a video about. How about a video of the guys?
Paul Downey 7:34 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
http://xkcd.com/322/
Livia Iacolare 7:35 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
I like girls, so I don’t mind Manola :-)
And I think there is nothing bad in making gender related videos. There’s nothing to be ashamed of and the guy who made it is actually a very nice and funny guy.
But that’s my opinion :-)
Thayer Driver 7:36 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Wow. That’s seriously pathetic.
Livia Iacolare 7:38 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Yes, as pathetic as watching a video one is not interested in :-)
Thayer Driver 7:39 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
@Paul Downey – Thank you! :-) My sentiments exactly.
Kat 7:42 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Looks like this is one of those “Catch 22″ situations. It’s always possible that a video like this may encourage more girls to go to conferences like LeWeb3 as they can see that there is a female presence (and one that doesn’t conform to the view that all geek girls are mingers). Then again there’ll be those that are put off as it could be seen to portray women as objects.
Personally I’m not offended, I suppose the final thought would be whether all participants were aware they were being filmed
Livia Iacolare 7:43 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Just relax people. It’s a video and not even a porn video.
Plus, when you go to a public event like that you should expect people to film you.
Thayer Driver 7:51 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
I wouldn’t expect people to film my arse, no, and I’d like to think people could take me more seriously for my work and thoughts as opposed to my body/looks.
Amazed that people still don’t understand how incredibly annoying this can be to professional women in this industry. Just incredible.
Livia Iacolare 7:54 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Personally I don’t consider it annoying. And I prefer people who film asses rather than fake moralists. Girls can be kickass professionals and that certainly doesn’t depend on the look of their ass.
Neville Hobson 7:55 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Like it! Adds another dimension to what LeWeb3 is all about.
alchymi 8:07 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Keep going Livia .. This video is just for fun .
Flemming Funch 8:37 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention. ;-)
Hey, he’s Italian, paying attention to female beauty is a good thing.
Ivan 9:41 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
I always believed that calling women ‘girls’ is demeaning and insulting. It’s a power play, a controlling thing. This video is all about control: men vis a vis ‘girls’. Bad.
Livia Iacolare 9:44 PM on December 17, 2007 Permalink
Ivan, I called it “Girls of LeWeb3″. The original title was “Beautiful LeWeb3″.
I am myself a girl, it’s fine to me :)
I don’t understand why you guys are all so concerned about it.
technokitten 12:47 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
@Livia
I agree it’s not the worst video in the world, and it’s certainly not porn, although the intentions behind it are dubious and are of a sexual nature towards women. I notice that there were no zoom shots of men’s behinds or genitals.
I’m concerned about it because of the shots of women’s backsides at a *professional* event. This is both gratuitous and objectifies women and therefore is sexist and demeaning whichever way you look at it. The context is *all* wrong, that’s the problem. Those women have not given permission, I suspect, to have their body parts filmed and it’s one of the last things they’d expect to happen at an industry conference.
Women are under-represented enough in most industries, let alone digital industries, and unfortunately, behaviour like this will put off a lot of women from taking part even more. A lot of women I know point blank refuse to go to networking events because “they’re full of testosterone fuelled blokes with one thing on their mind”. I realise this statement isn’t true either, but videos like this don’t put anyone’s mind at rest.
Women haven’t fought for the last century for equal rights to have it undermined in this way by people who are probably very nice and definitely should know better.
And I’m also concerned that you don’t get this either Livia. I realise it was supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek, but that’s not the desired effect it has had. It’s not about being PC (politically correct) or about being a raving feminist (I’m not, I’m *very* happy in the company of men) and it’s not about denying that sexuality exists, but there’s a time and a place, and for my 2p, I don’t think this was it.
Paul Walsh 12:54 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
@technokitten I take back my twitter messages. I agree with you.
Ivan, you’re going way too far by saying there’s an issue with calling women, girls. I sometimes refer to both girls/women and boys/men as ‘guys’. In Ireland, both sexes are sometimes referred to as ‘lads’, both both girls/women and boys/men.
Livia Iacolare 1:03 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
@technokitten
I understand your point and you are right about some things. I just don’t find this video denigratory. If they had mocked women or said that they were stupid I’d have gone berserk. But frankly, I know the guy who made it and he is a very funny guy.
I know he had all the best intentions to celebrate how many women came to the event. Moreover, we see female body parts anywhere on TV and the Web as well as male body parts.
They are just bodies, faces, laughters of people (men and women) attending a conference. I don’t see where the big deal is.
Deirdre Molloy 1:26 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Maybe this video should be included in a round-up of 2007 gaffes at a She Says, Girl Geek Dinner or even a Chinwag Live event .
One thing’s for sure, even as an attempt at humour it’s not a calling card to talented, aspiring people for the *real* and much more fun and inspirational digital media industries I know.
BTW, She Says (who have been doing a bunch of great events in the UK this year) have produced much funnier and savvier videos, including film shots at Cannes. I won’t link to it again – and am not an organiser, just an impressed supporter – because maybe links are not supported here, although I tried earlier…).
Livia Iacolare 1:34 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Sorry Deirdre, your comment was captured by my spam filter. Of course you can post the link. Please feel free to do it.
Deirdre Molloy 1:40 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Thanks Livia! There were actually three links when I tried to post first time around, but maybe this one is the most relevant, and definitely the funniest :-)
http://www.shesays.org.uk/latest-film.aspx
Deirdre Molloy 1:50 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Or maybe this one ;-)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnPJ0Fz3s8&NR=1
All their videos are here: http://uk.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=shesaysuk&p=r
Livia Iacolare » Blog Archive » Women, sexism and the Web 2:21 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
[...] I re-posted a video which showed some of the girls (or women, if you prefer) who attended the conference LeWeb3. I [...]
Bip 6:08 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Et moi qui pensait que cet événement bien que très intéressant serait plutôt le genre d’endroit où l’on trouve exclusivement des geeks et autres ingénieurs informaticiens du genre boutonneux à lunettes (bon je sais c un gros cliché)…lol…
Et bien non …y a des filles aussi..et plutôt ravissantes en plus…. c’est pas pour autant que ça enlève quoi que ce soit à leurs compétences, non c un plus….
Dire ou montrer qu’une femme intelligente est jolie et possède un beau physique ce n’est pas la réduire ou la diminuer…pour moi c la valoriser encore un peu plus…
Marre des censeurs du web bien pensant qui cherche à nous bidouiller un monde unisexe…insipide…aseptisé… où le moindre truc choque ou serait inadmissible…
Des femmes objets vous en voyez partout dans tous les salons (automobile par ex), dans la plupart des films, a poil dans des pubs partout, tous supports confondus pour vendre tout et n’importe quoi, dans la plupart des clips musicaux pour vendre plus d’albums, alors franchement je vois po le probleme ‘hautement” moral que pose cette video a certains et certaines…
Ce n’est pas un reportage, juste une petite video fun….des reportages sérieux sur Le Web 3 y en a deja plein….au moins cette video a le merite de nous montrer l’evenement sous un angle moins sérieux, different et évite d’être le 50ème reportage qui nous présente ce qu’il y avait la bas comme nouveautés, innovations, etc…
Personnellement, je trouve que par exemple une pub pour la lessive Omo destinée au ménagère de moins de 50 ans avec des chimpanzés ridicules et stupides qui sont censés convaincre les femmes que c la meilleure lessive se trouve être bien plus dégradantes et réducteurs pour les femmes qu’une petite video fun dans laquelle on ne voit finalement que des visages….et un cul il est vrai…mais dont on ne voit pas la tête de la proprietaire..donc voit po le probleme
ps..suis mauvais en anglais…d ou mon commentaire en français..sorry
Livia Iacolare 10:32 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Merci Bip pour ce commentaire. Je suis d’accord avec toi et je pense que t’as bien expliqué les intentions de cette petite vidéo.
Thanks Bip for this comment. I agree with you and I think you explained very well the intentions of this short video.
On parle toutes les langues ici, pas d’inquietude! :)
Thayer Driver 11:40 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
“Personally I don’t consider it annoying. And I prefer people who film asses rather than fake moralists.”
Good argument there Livia: not in the least surprised you can take my comments about my feelings on this video, and then attempt to insult me personally. Says volumes about you.
Livia Iacolare 11:57 AM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
I am sorry you got this impression. I didn’t mean to insult you personally. I live in a catholic country where I see many people pointing indexes at others while they act worse than them in their private life. Again, please don’t take it personally.
I just meant to highlight the fact that there is a lot of hypocrisy in this world and sometimes we should just take it easy. It’s not like that guy offended anybody’s intelligence by showing girls and a couple of butts whose proprietaries we don’t even know.
Cait Hurley 1:07 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Livia- the point is that if you delibetrately sexualise women within an everyday context: objectifying them, and highlighting (instead of, for example, any great speakers who were at the event who happened to be women) only women who happened to be young, attractive and pert… if you go out of your way to state that women at a conference like this, or any other serious conference are there to be viewed as sex objects first, and participants second, then what message does that send to all potential participants of that event in future?
And can you see that it also reinforces a strongly patriachal position? The trouble with “fun” sexism is that it is often generated by I’m sure, lovely, genuine people who mean no harm at all in the media they generate.
…but it all adds up.
Livia Iacolare 1:27 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
I think that it all depends on how we look at this phenomenon. I work in the IT field but I’ve never felt harmed by patriarchalism. Guess I’ve been lucky.
I think that this video hasn’t been done with the purpose to offend women. I’m more offended by the use that other media do of women, whereas they mock their intelligence and their professionalism.
Thayer Driver 7:00 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Some more feedback on what others think of this:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2007/12/beautiful_women_at_le_web_3_an.html
and
http://meish.org/2007/12/17/reflections-on-le-web-3/#more-2474
Stuart Bruce 7:17 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
What amazes me is that the ‘buzz marketing’ firm that made this must have thought it was clever. It certainly got them buzz, but at the cost of making them look sexist and stupid. Hardly the best messages to help you win new business.
Livia Iacolare 8:22 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
Dear readers, the conversation goes on here:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2007/12/beautiful_women_at_le_web_3_an.html
Rachel Clarke 9:08 PM on December 18, 2007 Permalink
“I think that this video hasn’t been done with the purpose to offend women.”
Livia, I think you are correct here, it has not been done with the pupose to offend.
Which. Is. The. Problem.
Publishing a video from a tech conference where the majority of the shots of the women focus on physical aspects such as their arse and the shots of the men are often of them being interviewed or acting ‘business-like’ and not understanding that it could be offensive is a problem But thankfully, the video has now been taken down and hopefully the company will have a rethink about their perspective.
The most desired gadget from LeWeb3 ‘07 | Luca Sartoni 12:45 AM on December 19, 2007 Permalink
[...] you think that this video is worth all the mess it has generated you are probably a old-fashioned feminist or a very time-wasting apologizer, [...]
Il gadget più ambito de “Le Web 3″ 2007 | Luca Sartoni 12:58 AM on December 19, 2007 Permalink
[...] pensi che questo video valga tutto il casino che ha generato, probabilmente sei una femminista retrò o un perdigiorno, perchè c’è [...]
Bip 5:15 AM on December 19, 2007 Permalink
sexuality don’t have place in Le web 3 ? lpffff…looooool……it’s stupid ! How many website about sex..with photos, video sexy or porn….??lol…
WEB is 80 % sex……..!
Livia Iacolare » Blog Archive » My comments on Girls of LeWeb3 10:42 AM on December 19, 2007 Permalink
[...] P.S. a censured version of the video has been posted here. [...]
Tom 11:40 AM on December 19, 2007 Permalink
Ivan – you’re right. there’s something odd about grown women being referred to as girls. Anyway, the feminists are absolutely right on this. It doesn’t matter whether the intention was to offend, nor if the video wasn’t exactly pornography. Accepting the objectification of women in an industry which already has more than its fair share of problems with gender equality is plain wrong.
Cork boy 10:43 PM on December 22, 2007 Permalink
Regarding Ivan’s comments on the word ‘girl’ and the comment by Tom backing him up, this is just a trans-Atlantic cultural difference. In Ireland, the UK, and Australia (where, essentially, British English is spoken) it is not offensive to refer to grown women as girls. Women themselves use the term all the time. My own mother is 61 and frequently says things like “I’m meeting the girls for lunch”.
Note that the huge British pharmacy chain Boots is currently running an ad campaign which features female office workers getting ready for their Christmas office party to the tune of “Here Come the Girls”. I think you’ll agree it is highly unlikely Boots would have chosen a song with lyrics likely to offend the customers that comprise their single largest demographic group!
So the use of ‘girl’ is not going to offend the vast majority of the 65 million native English speakers in Europe, which is after all where the conference took place. “When in Rome…”
Daft but possibly interesting aside: here in Cork (Ireland), grown men address each other as ‘boy’ all the time. It’s used in roughly the same way as the Aussie word ‘mate’. No doubt this form of address would be used with black people in Cork too, but without any of the racist overtone that this usage would carry in the United States.
catalonia blog 5:02 PM on December 5, 2008 Permalink
Got to agree with Kat on this when she says:”Looks like this is one of those “Catch 22? situations. It’s always possible that a video like this may encourage more girls to go to conferences like LeWeb3 as they can see that there is a female presence”.
Scavengergirl 12:06 AM on January 25, 2011 Permalink
Because there is worse out there, that makes something not as bad ok?
Did you know that upskirt shots are ‘ok’ because ‘people cannot expect privacy in public places’?
Not exactly related, but here is the reaction of a women who found out she was used in a similar manner, she wasn’t happy.
http://discgolfer.ning.com/forum/topics/taking-a-stand
Livia Iacolare 3:23 PM on January 25, 2011 Permalink
I just thought it was too much ado for nothing, since the video didn’t show anything but faces of women who were aware of the fact that they might have been filmed during a public conference. I’m sorry if that offended you. BTW, have you ever seen that video?