Tech sexism, are we talking about it?

Sexism is a theme very frequently mentioned in recent months.Is it an evil?I do not think, insofar as the reactions of certain individuals clearly suggest that he still remains to work.The case of OnePlus, whose latest communication campaign “Ladies First” has given birth to many reactions, is the latest example, but certainly not the worst.

OnePlus is a young firm, sympathetic by its commercial proposal - a super smartphone for a price dividing by two the standards of competition - and operating in reduced staff.Her communication essentially involves her forum, on which she announces her new features and organizes various competitions, and of course by social networks, including her Facebook page.Until then, nothing new under the sun: it is still the best tactic to adopt to make people speak without spending fortunes in marketing plans.

The Ladies First operation, a symptomatic case

By launching Operation Ladies First yesterday, OnePlus took one more step in his distribution strategy at the time of invitations to buy his phone, the One.She organized it for the most active members of her forum, on the occasion of the Football World Cup, for everything and for nothing.Either, we can criticize or appreciate this system of invitations, but the question is not there: until then, there was no question of the sex of the customer during the distribution of said invitations.

In France, the climate is currently aware of the status of women in our society.At the end of last July, a bill on "real equality between women and men" was voted by the Senate, still waiting to be ratified by the Assembly.It is not the work of howls or guards, drools to lips: only recognition by legislative bodies because women have trouble exercising their rights in certain executives.Differences in wages, violence, but also look: after all, which means that a woman is different-socially-of a man is due to the perception that he has.

OnePlus has completely forgotten to address an international audience - China, but also the USA, Canada (certainly more advanced on the side of the cause of women than France), France and some European countries.So many markets where sensitivities diverge, and where it is good to think about the consequences of its communication acts.

Let's examine this operation Ladies First.Organized on the OnePlus forum and relayed on the brand's social networks, it was first explained by Jerry, one of the administrators of OnePlus.The idea of a selfie (it is a question of “drawing the OnePlus logo on a piece of paper, or on your hand, your face or anywhere as long as you know that it is you”)is not fundamentally original.But now, it is addressed to women in a condescending tone that it would have been fashionable to analyze ... before publication, preferably.Jerry has worked to use the lexicon of feudalism to present the competition: “Like real gentlemen and because chivalry is not dead, we offer the man of the ladies of OnePlus the possibility of dodging the line'Waiting for invitations and to introduce ourselves ”.Nothing shocks you?Me if: while in commentary on our article explaining the controversy, Emmanuel Peype, one of the members of the staff OnePlus, indicates that his firm is made up of "44 % of women" (bravo, by the way), an organized competitionby gentleman refers to the idea that OnePlus is a firm of men.Besides, it is to them that women must present themselves, and this, by revealing their physique.It’s already badly starting the operation.As for the vocabulary of chivalry, should we really recall that he may recall the exoticism of courteous love, it is nonetheless relative to a feudal era where the noble woman could possibly influence male power,But above all was reduced to doing () tapestry, female weakness obliges.

We finish on this post signed Jerry: “Ladies, No Nudony Please” (ladies, no undressed photos).And it may be the worst in history: few women participated, the rare having done it have posted photos of their face and not much more, but the gravelly montages of the men offorum was legion, so that moderators had to do some cleaning.Understand that OnePlus had foreseen the slippages that his competition could cause, that a waves of degrading photos could result, in short that it was a false good idea.But did it anyway.

I don't think OnePlus is a sexist firm.On the other hand, I am convinced that she lacks decline and sins as much by clumsiness as by naivety.By dint of multiplying operations intended to win invitations to buy the One, she did not take the time to think about the bad taste of her latest find.Who, let us remember, proposed to win an invitation and a T-shirt with the 50 photos most liked by the community, and to give 100 other invitations in a random manner.I agree, only a third of the invitations was therefore subject to the vote: but go to make me believe that a selfie in turtleneck would have attracted as many likes as a shot showing a generous neckline.With that, we still fall into the reification of the female body (woman as an object, here only object of desire), which against which all feminists are fighting for a long time, and what those who do not wantunderstand.

A clumsiness of communication, it forgives.Besides, I take this opportunity to specify that it is not a question of breaking sugar on the back of a brand to that we would personally want it.OnePlus is a young brand, with a very interesting product but a frankly questionable marketing and communication strategy.And it is because she realized her dumpling that she purely and simply deleted her forum post (accessible here in cache) less than 24 hours after the launch of her operation.

The Streisand effect in practice

Is it a good idea ?So ask Renault Belgium who, a few weeks ago, launched an advertising campaign for women with, as a pompom, a lipstick offered to women coming to test the last Twingo.The campaign was full of clichés (women are going wrong, do not know how to make a niche, park anywhere ...) which were not received as the Belgian team had expected: so she removed it, arousing numerous media reactions, and leading Renault France to apologize.

This is typically the Streisand effect that the car manufacturer was suffered, and OnePlus does exactly the same thing.We are talking about the Streisand effect because a few years ago the singer wanted to have certain photos of them that she considered compromising.She had finally contributed to their greatest distribution.This is also what OnePlus did, to one detail: she publicly apologized.

This is better than nothing, but which raises an essential point: high-tech brands find it difficult to understand how to communicate with women, how to "involve them", implying as well as women are not interested in newstechnologies.A few years ago, the same debate animated the world of video games, which realized, not without difficulty, that the players were also players.

Does technophilia have a genre?

Will I dare to embark on the cultural shot in these lines?The fact is that the Asian brands that make the vast majority of the mobile terminals present in our pockets and on our low tables have a different look at the female condition.Add to that a dose of fairly patriarchal companies, and you get the comments to say the least of a Huawei official who, during the announcement conference of the ascend P7 in Paris, explained without blunder (or laugh)that the small bracelet of its brand would allow its customers to “monitor their wife” - laughs embarrassed in the room.

Photos © Kevin Hugues

These examples aside, the image of women in new technologies is rarely that of technophiles.They are associated with American "babes" culture, when we see the Samsung Girls and other LG hostesses, very short dressed, the latest brands devices.To speak to them, they are offered a flashy-brush (think of Wiko Sublim and Sugarphone, height of bad taste), always pink, or simplified objects.Not to mention the Netatmo June, who practices the extreme assistantship, but only for women.They lack visibility on the forums, in the comments of articles, and yet they are user in everyday life, more or less claimed geeks: they exist, without need that we are addressing them in a particular tone to interest themMore than when male counterparts.Technophile is one of those words that the French language describes as spins: after all, it is perhaps the sign that it is not necessary to force itself to differentiate the high-tech approach of women and men.

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