So my coworker sent around a YouTube video that is a rap song done by some Stanford guys. It is related to computing, uses phrases only a computer person would understand, etc. It’s pretty neat, but primarily it reminded of the Jonathon Coulton Code Monkey song that a friend introduced me to a few years ago when he got us to go to a Jonathon Coulton concert.
I really like the tune he sings it to, but it perpetuates so many stereotypes! Like, the fact that the code monkey is some awkward guy with a crush on the receptionist. Or, that a job in software cannot be fulfilling (it’s true that it can be un-fulfilling, but that’s not a requirement). I find it amusing because of the stereotypes, but in the back of my mind I wonder if it is just one more of those things that perpetuates stereotypes in a way that harms the field? But of course if you already listen to Jonathon Coulton you may fall into the stereotype of who might consider a computing field anyway. So this may be a null problem.