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This is really bothering me and I can’t sleep, so I’m going to throw a few ideas into the SEO universe in the hopes that something good might actually come of the accusations re: #YoastCon.
2. (That is, if we can tear ourselves away from the schadenfreude just briefly here…) #YoastCon
3. I’m not going to condemn the tweets or videos. Does that mean I “hate women,” as a prev. tweet suggested? Um, no. That’s ridiculous. #YoastCon
4. It does us all a disservice to attempt to make this a stark b&w issue of good vs. evil. Sexism & misogyny will not be resolved in soundbites. #YoastCon
5. We know what SEO was like 10 years ago. Using women as booth babes and otherwise purely for entertainment value was (is) gross. #YoastCon
6. Considering the entire SEO industry evolved not all that long ago out of garages and basements, this objectification of women was disappointing but not all that surprising. #YoastCon
7. But I will tell you something… I felt a lot safer at the parties than in some other situations. There’s safety in numbers. And the women of SEO aren’t stupid, guys. We know what’s in bad taste and what’s actually threatening. #YoastCon
8. Statistically, the majority of the men at that party aren’t rapists or sex criminals. Sensationalizing this helps no one. #YoastCon
9. This is going to blow some minds, but guys… you can be a feminist and still do burlesque, strip, escort, etc. You can be a feminist and *enjoy* burlesque and other displays of female sexuality. #YoastCon
10. Being an ally does not mean making assumptions about a woman’s enjoyment/permission in a situation and using her to prove your point. #YoastCon
11. The after-parties in any industry are just that: after-hours. They’re not mandatory. They’re distasteful to some, but being an ally does not mean mischaracterizing the interactions of others as sexual harassment or assault to score points online. #YoastCon
12. Being an ally is not a competition. It’s not screaming the loudest, or dismissing the voices of those actually experiencing the issue. #YoastCon
13. Being an ally is not stepping in and over those affected with your idea of a superior solution. The problem isn’t that we just haven’t figured out how to solve sexual harassment yet and need you to save us. #YoastCon
14. The problem is that misogyny, sexual harassment, gender bias and toxic masculinity are not “women’s issues.” Yes, women are most affected by them, and women of colour, LGBTQ and other minorities by orders of magnitude more. But these are MEN’S ISSUES. #YoastCon
15. When it comes to power dynamics and the ability to oppress in order to protect your status quo, statistically it is white men who hold the cards. #YoastCon
16. Naming/shaming does nothing but shift the focus around so some can feel superior for a brief time when in reality, the invisible microaggressions and thousands of times you kept quiet or turned a blind eye are just as damaging. #YoastCon
17. Why do we have Janes of Digital, where women get a platform only amongst themselves? I want to see a Joes of Digital, where the men of digital mentor one another on being good colleagues, employers, allies, and humans. #YoastCon
18. The casual sexism is awful, yes. Gender bias, the glass ceiling, and pay inequity are all REAL issues that still need a lot of work. But digging up douchey behaviour from years gone by isn’t helping. #YoastCon
19. The accusations being levied are not substantiated by what’s being shared. What’s needed is ACTION. Millions of intentional actions every single day but all the men in digital who want to be part of the solution. #YoastCon
20. It needs to be done without fanfare or social recognition. No one gets a medal for not being a douche. We need all men of digital to avoid shouting, objectifying, dismissing, gaslighting, and vilifying us as feminist bitches when we put our foot down. #YoastCon
21. But the most important piece is for as many men as possible to be those mentors, role models and good, strong allies who shut that shit down as soon as you see it. #YoastCon
22. There are a lot of great guys in SEO, and we see you. The ones you can count on to walk you back to the hotel without getting handsy. The ones who hire without discrimination. The ones we can trust and count on. We see you. #YoastCon
23. And yes, there are the others. They are often powerful men, it’s true; psychopaths become more common the higher up you get in the corporate structure. #YoastCon
24. It was a CEO/speaker who slammed me up against a wall in NYC when I said no. I was walking back from getting pizza after an SMX afterparty and apparently that’s an open invite. #YoastCon
25. It was a man calling the shots when I discovered that myself and all of the female writers on my team were being paid less than our male colleague, despite my being in a leadership position and all of us having more experience. #YoastCon
26. These are the things we need to address, and it’s up to men to lead the charge in their everyday actions, not in public-facing campaigns. You guys need to hold one another accountable. #YoastCon
27. We don’t need to lock guys up for being inappropriate in 2010, ffs. All of this is just noise that absolves some while vilifying others, and nothing changes. We can do better than this. Sincerely, An Exhausted Woman in Digital #YoastCon
