Is there a sexist bent in affiliate marketing?

I would say yes. Others would disagree. Nonetheless, we have not overcome sexism within our industry. In a recent post here about an industry conference adopting demeaning and downright sexist imagery to attract visitors, I was amazed at the numbers of “So’s?” and “Duh, it’s marketing that works!”. I was called everything from a “homo” to a “hypocrite” because I pointed out the absurdity of treating women as marketing objects and men as silly sheep more apt to think with their genitals rather than their brains.

Now, Kathy Sierra, a prominent and well-respected blogger (and someone that I’ve gained an incredible amount of insight, wisdom and insipiration from) feels threatened and vulnerable based on threats that she’s received recently.

Robert Scoble has even pledged a week of not blogging to raise awareness for this issue of sexism and violence against Kathy and women in the tech sphere in general.

As a man who is expecting to start a family with his wife within the year, I cannot begin to express how outraged I am over the prevalent sexism that is rampant in our industry. I ask urge you to stand up and not let networks, merchants, other affiliates or super affiliate guru’s dictate your ethics. When you see a “booth babe” at the next marketing conference, think of your own daughter and how they would be perceived in such an industry. To borrow from a Biblical story, participating in such a system adds blood to all of our hands.

Let’s work for change.

Let’s make this an industry that stands up for the integrity of all people.