[Ipg-smz] Bro culture in action

[Richi Jennings]

Amusingly, this publication appears to be content marketing for vaping
products: https://www.astleysoflondon.com/the-edition

// @RiCHi <http://twitter.com/RiCHi> | +44.7789.200701 | 1.408.256.0084
// Other contact details: www.richi.uk/contact <http://richi.uk/contact>




On Fri, Feb 15, 2019 at 1:19 PM Tom Geller <tom at tomgeller.com> wrote:

> I've thought of writing this up somewhere public, but am unsure how to
> make the social good worth the time and trouble. But I figured I'd pass it
> on here. Nothing changed to protect the guilty.
>
> Warning: long and irritating.
>
> So I see this on Pitchwhiz.com:
>
> > Navigating a Post #MeToo Office Landscape
> > From: Artemis Comms
> >
> > We are looking for a feature for our men's lifestyle magazine The
> Edition on how today's modern man can navigate the often prickly landscape
> post #metoo. We are looking for an understanding of how inter-sex relations
> have changed, and how the movement has changed office behaviour in the US.
>
> I'm suspicious of "men's lifestyle magazines", but curious. So I write to
> find out how many words they're looking for. I get this back from a Nick
> Walton:
>
> > Hi Tom, thanks for your note. You can see our last issue here:
> https://issuu.com/donriosa/docs/the_edition_issue_1
> > Could you give me a sense of how you would approach this prickly topic?
> We'd be looking for approx 750 words with a piece from a guys perspective
> ie we're not all bad but we're kind of being judged guilty until proven
> innocent because of a few bad apples, how if at all, has the office
> environment evolved because of the movement and how has behaviour norms
> changed in response to it.
>
>
> Wow. My response:
>
> > Hi, Nick -- thanks for the quick response.
> >
> > I certainly wouldn't use that "few bad apples" thesis to write the
> piece. It's defensive and weak: We'd end up with 750 words of "wah, wah,
> leave me alone, I didn't do it". Not really useful for what's essentially a
> how-to article.
> >
> > Instead, I'd look at what "#MeToo" means. It's not an accusation: It's
> people (both women and men) saying "I've been sexually assaulted." That's
> all! We're Pavlovian beasts: If you got mugged in an alley, you'll not only
> avoid that alley, you'll avoid all alleys that look like it. With so many
> assaults happening at the workplace, we're trapped in that dark alley
> together.
> >
> > I also wouldn't use the thesis that behaviour, or the office
> environment, has changed. The number of assaults isn't dropping
> significantly, nor is the (tiny) percentage that get reported going up.
> #MeToo is like a co-worker announcing, "I have cancer." That doesn't change
> the incidence of cancer for others in the office -- unless they go home and
> examine themselves for symptoms. That's where the key lies. Only the
> self-absorbed respond with, "Hey, wait, I didn't give you cancer! It's not
> my fault! It's just a few bad apples!"
> >
> > So! That's the angle I'd take. Fun to work out. :) Cheers, [.sig]
>
> Of course they "went with a writer who has also been doing research on the
> topic and is approaching it from a different perspective altogether". Gee,
> I wonder what kind of perspective that would be.
>
> ---
> Tom Geller  *  Writer & Video/journalist  *  http://tomgeller.com
>        Rotterdam, The Netherlands, +31 (0)6 87071468
>             Oberlin, Ohio  *  +1-415-317-1805
>
>
>
>
>
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