Shirtstorm - Misplaced Pages

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Shirtstorm (#shirtstorm) also called ShirtGate (a play of words on Watergateand marks the second of the -Gates of late 2014. The first having been GamerGate and the third having been "Pollgate") is the name of a harassment campaign against Dr Matt Taylor.

Background

Dr Matt Taylor is an astrophysicist who was a member of the Rosetta mission. Dr Taylor was asked to give a report on the progress of Philae on the 12th November 2014. He was wearing a frisky bowling shirt, depicting women with long flowing hair short clothing and a certain amount of décolletage. The shirt was a birthday gift from Elly Prizeman, a friend of his who has also made the shirt. His choice of clothing was breaking with the the commonly expected scientist labcoat or formal shirt. Tech writer, producer and The Atlantic journalist Rose Eveleth was the first to react on Twitter about the shirt, deeming it as sexist and unwelcoming of women in the tech industry. After this some women objected to Dr Taylor's choice of clothing. The debacle was reported on several news websites such as CNN, The Telegraph or Talking Points Memo. Other more feminism oriented websites such as The Verge and Stem Women blamed Taylor for his choice of clothing, pointing out rampant sexism associated with it. As a consequence of the trend, the shirt, that can be purchased under the name New Gunner Girls on clothing websites such as Alohaland, is sold out.

Public Apology

On November 14th, Dr Taylor broke down in tears on television after being forced to publicly apologise. “I have made a big mistake,” he said . “I have offended people and I am sorry about this”. The event was covered by news websites as well, including Daily Mail and The Guardian and sparked a public outrage against radical feminists.

Backlash

While the radical feminists celebrated Dr Taylors apology as a victory others criticised them for the unnecessary cruelty. Factual feminist Christina Hoff Sommers tweeted: "Women do not face a hostile climate in science. And they can handle seeing a guy in an edgy shirt." and "So guy in mildly risqué shirt stirs outrage.But topless feminist protestors at Vatican feigning anal sex with cross? http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/vatican-topless-femen-protestors-s". This event marks the second backlash against radical feminist bullying of 2014 after "GamerGate" and before "Pollgate" in which the TIME was forced to apologise to radical feminists after the word "feminist" was voted "the worst word of 2014". People who felt sorry for Dr Taylor started several campaigns to show their support. The biggest so far is the Indiegogo campaign which collects money to give Dr Taylor and everyone from his team a bottle of whiskey with a custom label saying their name and contributions, and an astronomical watch for Dr Taylor to make up for the abuse he as subjected to. The campaign started on November the 15th and has managed to collect 12.084$ 3 days later.

Background

Public Apology

Backlash

Sources