Next you’ll tell me that Orcs and Dark Elves don’t exist in real life.
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Exactly. And geared toward a group of people who live for that sort of thing. Hey, you wanna go on a raid to the Screeching Caverns of Lordaeron?
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I went to Oracle’s Java One conference a decade or so back. One night was “industry night” where different companies had their own networking events (typically an open bar affair). I was at an event and noticed a rather large number of attractive young women. Knowing the ridiculous gender inequality in my field this seemed shocking. So I started “networking” and talking to one of these young females and she wasn’t the least bit secretive about being paid to be there as a guest. I’m not sure who in this situation is more demeaned.
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I wouldn’t be surprised if the models are being paid $50-200 an hour. In California a person’s billing rate is ~3x their salary. So the companies hiring the models are probably paying $150-$600 an hour. It seems like a lot but the computer programmers attending the parties are making $200-400k+ per year. Everything costs a lot in Silicon Valley.
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I’m just going by the article stating that it’s the companies that are paying that amount.
a record number of tech companies are quietly paying $50 to $200 an hour for each model hired
If the billing rate is 3x the salary, someone’s making $16/hr.
That said, I have no actual knowledge beyond this article. I’m more interested in learning the going rate to have people leave me the hell alone.
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Maybe more like Augmented Reality?
And we wonder why we have a problem with sexual harassment in this country.
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I’m sorry that happened to you. It shouldn’t happen to anyone. I doubt hiring women to suffer sexual assault will solve the problem, though.
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Yeah, because Silicon Valley is known for having a progressive and forward thinking view of women…
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No, I’d expect them to say “shut up and go home. If you ever talk about this, we’ll deny it happened and take you to court. If you go to the press, we’ll drag your name through the mud and no one will believe you”.
Law ≠ reality. Class and gender have more influence.
—
As with race, both individual and structural prejudice have a role.
As you noted, the practices described in the OP are virtually guaranteed to increase the incidence of sexual assault, sexual harrassment, workplace discrimination, hostile environments, pay inequality, etc.
The problem is systemic. You can’t fix it just by “educating” individuals. The system needs comprehensive reform.
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In this case, you and all the other attendees. The organizers thought that you all weren’t enough to make a lively and interesting gathering, so they hired fakes to do it.
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You’re probably right. I mean we were the one’s attempting to be deceived. Whatever though free booze/food. Just stupid all round though. I guess the young women got paid and hopefully not harassed.
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How does this even work? Do the real employees have more than three brain cells?
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Party LARPing?
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This reminds me of the time naive young acrostic went to las vegas for Defcon. Met a nice “massage therapist” attending with her BF by the pool and talked for a while. (I had just turned 21 and she told me about a great locals bar called the Stage Door down by Bally’s)
Ran into her later at a party with a different “boyfriend” using a different name. Luckily a friend I whispered about this to explained she was a hooker before I out the poor guy.
On one hand, I’m pretty libertarian on social issues - laws against prostitution largely serve to twice victimize trafficked women.
But another part of me can’t help but heartily LOL at the idea of bringing a hooker as your date to a party with an array of pinball machines in the side room of a suite at the Riviera.
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Used to be referred to as “party favors” in my day
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There is a famous hedge fund manager who was attending his partners Holiday party and decided to get a hooker as his date. He gives her the address and arranges to meet her there. She walks up to a bunch of hedge fund managers wearing a very revealing dress and says “So which one of you is Chris?”
The bosses wife who witnessed the whole thing banned him from ever coming to her home again.
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I doubt it. I worked in “show biz” in a not particularly show-biz oriented town, and even average looking people would very likely get at least $50 an hour, to model/host/present.
ETA: Although admittedly, there was less competition for jobs. Hmmm…
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I have to admit that I find the idea so ridiculous, that I’d want to have spoken with someone who worked at a company who actually did this. I’ve worked at geek-heavy companies, but something like this would be too absurd for words.
(I mean think about the wide variety of people you know. Is there anyone you know who wouldn’t be furiously rolling their eyes at pseudo-employees brought in for a Christmas party?)
I have, on the other hand, endured a corporate drum circle event and a corporate magic show. So companies do pay for some pretty odd things.
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