
Meet Google's Security Princess - jonbaer
http://www.elle.com/life-love/society-career/google-parisa-tabriz-profile
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skj
> “Security Princess” is Parisa Tabriz’s official title at Google. Seriously.

Well, sure, but at the same time my official title at Google is "Engine Ear".
It just takes manager approval.

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agwa
[http://chademeng.com/jgf.jpg](http://chademeng.com/jgf.jpg)

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genesem
[http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.ru/2014/07/flash-
player...](http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.ru/2014/07/flash-player-
update.html)

read the comments princess..

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judk
The photo credit is Brandon Downey -- the Googler?

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arkem
Almost certainly, since Brandon is a brilliant photographer who often does
portraits of other security Googlers.

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daimyoyo
Not really sure that needed 5 pages, but I guess ads don't view themselves.

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fallinghawks
"She has a ... sleek tomboy aesthetic: dark-wash jeans, clean-line crewnecks,
and Chuck Taylors, with the occasional bomber jacket thrown on top."

"“It’s slimming,” she says, shrugging, not that she needs to worry about
that."

Why the fuck does this damn article undermine itself by talking about what
kind of clothes she wears and her shape? Completely irrelevant.

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onion2k
It's Elle Magazine, not Wired. Clothes, style and aesthetics is what their
readers are interested in and what their advertisers make money from.
Relevance requires context, and in the context of a fashion magazine it is
relevant.

The same line in Wired _would_ be irrelevant.

The world is a subtle and nuanced place.

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vacri
I'm not so sure. The slimming line, probably, but the painting of the physical
picture of the person, in a biographical article? It's pretty common for a
bio. Wired probably wouldn't use 'tomboy', but I'd expect they'd play up the
'hacker'-esque appearance a little. It's not the main point of the article,
just setting the scene.

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AaronFriel
There's a running joke in a student organization I'm involved in, whether a
situation is absurd or completely ordinary, someone might ask: "Is it sexist?"

Occasionally it leads to interesting, and difficult discussion that waxes
philosophical.

So, her self-declared official title is "Security Princess".

Is it sexist?

Edit: I encourage readers to read my reply to _jamesaguilar_ , here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723),
to elucidate why we _still_ ask the question, "Is it sexist?", and not just to
be funny.

~~~
AaronFriel
I'm replying to myself to keep the above short and sweet.

I'm inclined to think it is. I'm worried that someone could see that title,
not understand her position or its importance, and disregard her. Or assume
Google has disregarded her. Or assume that you have to have adhere to
"Princess-like" gender norms.

All of which bother me. If I didn't read the article, I might think:

* Google doesn't take security seriously. (A topic for another topic, but I digress.)

* Google doesn't take women in senior positions seriously.

* If I'm a woman, I can expect to have a title like that at Google.

Etc.

Is it sexist? Knowing more facts makes it less-so, but can we rely on the
general public knowing all the facts?

Edit: I encourage readers to read my reply to _jamesaguilar_ , here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8013723),
to elucidate why we _still_ ask the question, "Is it sexist?", and not just to
be funny.

~~~
saraid216
You're confusing sexist interpretation with sexist action.

If Person A chooses to wear a pink t-shirt, this is not sexist. If Person B
chooses to interpret such a t-shirt as feminine, that _is_ sexist.

I'm deliberately avoiding giving Person A a gender, you'll notice.

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AaronFriel
I think you're confusing your interpratation of the question "Is it sexist?"
with its actual effect :)

Google, and even the employee herself, are sending signals, just like startups
send signals to investors and people signal their gender with what they wear.
Is it sexist to interpret pink t-shirts as feminine? (I think that's more a
question of gender construction, but I digress again.)

I think there's a big problem with the way that tech giants send signals
towards women who want to approach technology. Having a senior-level highly
technical role in your company with the title "Security Princess" sends a lot
of signals, and I don't think most of them are good for fighting sexism.

Does that make sense?

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wavefunction
Bumbla claat princess riddems. Control your space lady.

