This is an example of something that's hard to pick up on for guys who have never really thought about it, because I don't think it's trying to be offensive. It's just trying to make fun of startup founders.<div>
<br></div><div>The part that makes it obvious, and the part that really annoys me, is again "all startup founders are guys and we need to get them dates through the internet". That's a denial of the great women in tech and a discouragement for more women to enter tech. Maybe low impact because it's a joke site, but it's also the pervasive thinking, which sucks because a gender balanced tech workforce would be sweet.</div>
<div><br></div><div>It also implies these guys are dateable, in spite of "The Social Network".</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 3:03 AM, Christie Dudley <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:longobord@gmail.com">longobord@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div><div><div class="im"><div>On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 12:10 AM, Griffin Boyce <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:griffinboyce@gmail.com" target="_blank">griffinboyce@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:</div>
</div><div><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="im"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>I would think in this case that the guys would be the "commodity" since they are the ones vying for the affection of those who are considered to be socially-superior.</div></blockquote><div> </div></div><div>
uh... no, not really. When you seek money for your startup, it's the money that's the commodity, not the unique original idea that you have. Last I checked, the whole point of money is that it's a commodity.<div>
<div><br></div><div>I found the whole thing more sad than funny. It seemed a lame attempt at humor, relying on stereotypes (thus reinforcing them) to make a joke that at best was really childish, like laughing at a disabled kid for not being able to play ball like normal kids. Not only do I agree with Liz about the assumption that it's only men doing startups, but entirely found the treatment of women on that site uncomfortable. Although I suspect they meant it to be creepy, it is neither truly over the top, nor not-creepy, thus failing on either side. </div>
<div><br></div><div>They might have been able to pull it out with interesting embellishment or even meaningful credibility, but failed there, too. I mean seriously, no feedback form? Just an email address? You never got to know anything about the girls, not even how they select them. They could have taken that humorously quite a long ways, potentially making the women seem even *gasp* desirable in any way at all other than "lovely young". But by that omission, they so thoroughly commoditize the women, they assure that it falls flat. (They seriously would do better with cattle!)</div>
<div></div></div></div><div class="im"><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div></div><div>To me at least, it's coded as access to romance and basic human affection, which (again in my experience) isn't limited to "access to a vagina." In fact, it's incredibly insulting that it's so frequently assumed that "all men want" is sexual interaction. And yes, I've met (and frequently dated!) men who were exceedingly polite and respectful, but were too shy in most circumstances to make a good first impression. The same goes for women, come to think of it. Something like this could be a good way to meet people for all genders and sexualities. </div>
</blockquote><div><br></div></div><div>Oh, and I guess you missed the FAQ where they tell you they don't offer boys to date. "Our model works best." was their response. It makes </div>
<div><br></div><div>I think the biggest reason the joke here falls flat is because it's not even outrageous enough that it's clear to people who read it through that it's a joke. Or maybe that's the joke?</div>
<div><br></div><div>Christie<br clear="all">_______<br><font face="sans-serif"><span style="line-height:19px"><div>I'm the kind of person who finds and makes choices where there appear to be none.</div>
<div><br></div></span></font></div></div></div></div></div>
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