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May 9th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
© Alexander Kozovski
This project first caught my eye as a fairly dumb reuse of electronic components — after all, in what world would a bikini like this be considered practical or even safe to wear? We’ve seen our share of shoes, bras and even boxers made out of old computer parts but they’re sculptures, not actually wearable. But when I looked a little closer, I realize the brilliance of it.
© Alexander Kozovski
Created by Jennifer Shannon and Andi Cheung, the bikini calls in to question the role of women in the technology industry. This project hits home for me; considering my role as Technology editor on TreeHugger and the women in my life leading careers in the tech sector, it’s never been a question to me that women can be perfectly successful in and important to the industry. And yet, there just aren’t that many women taking part. Why? It’s a question that has been asked by many for years with no answer that really satisfies the inquiry.
EarthTechling points out, “We know that diversity in the workplace, especially fields of scientific research and technology, breeds faster, more quality innovation. So why is it so hard to find women in these fields? Some say that societal gender roles, either implicitly or explicitly expressed, teach girls to downplay or ignore their abilities when it comes to math and science.”
So what might bring them back? Some say make it fashionable. Literally.
© Alexander Kozovski
Shannon and Cheung created this bikini to make a statement about what some think is the bright idea for getting more women involved in the tech industry, by making it about crafts and fashion.
The artists state: “The bikini is adorned with bulky and out-dated components from old ITP projects and is both technology useless and painful to wear, exaggerating our interpretation of many of the wearable fashions and craft that have been heralded as paving the way for more women in technology.
“Mimicking the layout from a light, mainstream women’s magazine, actual quotes from well-known technologists promoting the ability of wearable technology to bridge the gap for women in STEM overshadow research stats from the National Science Foundation, The Anita Borg Institute, and the American Association of University Women on the negative impact of gender and stereotype threats.”
© Alexander Kozovski
Okay, okay. I’m a craft nut and I openly admit thinking that wearable electronics like a bike turn signal jacket is really, really cool (and, um, yes, that was created by a woman). But is leaning on fashion not a damaging way to get women interested in technology, a strategy that perpetuates roles and stereotypes as much as ever? I don’t claim to know the solutions for engaging women in tech, but I have a feeling we can start with sexism in classrooms first and move on to sexism on a broad scale second, rather than latching on to a stereotype and running with it.
DesignBuzz states, “As far as the project being a response representative of gender stereotypes faced by women when technology is concerned, the piece does more to reinforce them rather than educating us otherwise. Bits of old computer parts on what appears to be a very prickly bikini isn’t very thought provoking or stereotype breaking or even functional by any stretch of the imagination is it?”
Well, it is, if you stop and think about what’s being said. How many people will actually do that is up for debate. It is, after all, a little bit like the PETA ads with hot naked people saying they’d rather go bare than wear fur. Honestly, if you look like the folks in the ads then not a lot of people will complain if you do walk around naked. So is it really effective? Probably not. Will people do more than look at a zzzexy woman in a geeked out bikini with this project? Maybe not. But I sure hope they bother to. The piece itself is thought provoking, but you have to be open to the work that comes with interpretation.
The importance of women in the environmental movement is obvious — I won’t go into a rant about the studies, theories, and actions that have proven women play a vital role in keeping our earth inhabitable, but they’re there if you do a search — and with technology as an overarching driver to human civilization and how we interact with the planet, incorporating women in the industry would be a very good thing.
There is far more to technology than the (admittedly up-and-coming) wearable electronics sector. So, let’s figure out a way to bring in girls and women to science, math and technology fields that doesn’t begin with including them in a Susie Homemaker capacity.
So what are your thoughts?
© Alexander Kozovski
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