WHOA why is all this old stuff surfacing?!
LOL. (::hides::)
-Sarah
On Mon, May 16, 2011 at 2:46 AM, Sarah Stierch <sarah(a)sarahstierch.com>wrote;wrote:
**
Hi Aaron and everyone,
This is a really painful thing for me to read. As a scholar, my research
work has been based around the representation of Indigenous peoples of North
America in media and culture. I sincerely doubt that any of the "tribal
members" I know would say that this is a valid work that would showcase
their Indigenous cultures as anything but another stereotype. Just as I'm
sure some women of Tahiti today would question the relevance today of
Gauguin's paintings which often showcased nude or partially nude Tahitian
women - art revered by both genders and the Western art world. However, I'm
not seeking to speak on behalf of these individuals and communities, nor am
I hear to discuss the creators goal or context with this featured image.
It's more of the fact that *this* is considered a choice for the featured
front page and the concern that it has given me as a female contributor to
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, etc.
You also stated that you do not want to compromise "our core values just to
try to close a "gap" that some feel is such a big issue, if it even
exists."
This gap does exist, in fact an entire mailing list (which I have cc'd here
and I encourage anyone interested in the topic to join) was created to work
towards bridging this gap. This was triggered by an article titled "Define
Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia's Contributor List" by Noam Cohen, published
Jan 30 2011 in *The New York Times*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/business/media/31link.html
A great and interesting conversation took place by NYT to reflect on this
situation, which you can read here:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/02/02/where-are-the-women-in-wiki…
I do hope that perhaps those two articles can show you that there *is *a
problem, and there are many concerned Wikipedians of all genders, skin
tones, and identities aiming to change that. That is when images like this
deter us from our expansive mission to be more inclusive.
And this has nothing to do with me being "sensitive to toplessness" - you
don't know anything about my lifestyle or character to assume that,
regardless of where I live or where I was born.
#wikilove,
Sarah
On 5/15/2011 10:53 PM, Aaron Adrignola wrote:
Commons is not censored. It's a beautiful scene and it would be expected
that the an imaginary tribal member would not have the American
sensitivities to toplessness. Some images may offend. Some articles may
offend. We're not going to compromise our core values just to try to close
a "gap" that some feel is such a big issue, if it even exists.
On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 9:31 PM, CherianTinu Abraham <
tinucherian(a)gmail.com> wrote:
FYI
Regards
Tinu Cherian
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sarah Stierch <sarah(a)sarahstierch.com>
Date: Mon, May 16, 2011 at 7:33 AM
Subject: [Gendergap] Photo of the Day on Wikimedia Commons
To: Increasing female participation in Wikimedia projects <
gendergap(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Surely I'm not the only one who noticed this lovely gem of a photo of the
day today. In my work environment - NFWS.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Direct link to image:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:On_the_edge_-_free_world_version.jpg
I mean really? /facepalm
This is the kind of imagery I have no desire to see on the front page of
Commons. I'm a very liberal person, but, this makes me not want to even
allow my MOTHER to use Commons.
#wikilove,
Sarah
--
Wikipedia Regional Ambassador, D.C. Region
Wikipedian-in-Residence, Archives of American Art
Sarah Stierch Consulting
Historical, cultural & artistic research, advising & event planning.
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http://www.sarahstierch.com/
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Historical, cultural & artistic research, advising & event planning.
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