In March 2013 at the Austin tech conference SXSWi, the venue, Parish Underground, where the MIT Media Lab held their party, used wristbands as drink passes. The wristbands had various slogans printed on them including "That's a nice dress. It would look great on my floor." and "Do you wash your clothes with Windex? 'Cause I can see myself in your pants."
Many people complained about the wristbands.
Joi Ito then issued the following apology,
- "We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve received about the party we hosted at The Parish Underground on Saturday night at SXSW. While we received a lot of positive responses, we want to address an issue with the wristbands that were given to people who came in the door. They were offensive and in no way reflect the sentiments of the MIT Media Lab. These wristbands were provided by the venue, and while we didn’t realize what was printed on them until after they’d been handed out, we should have prevented the situation from occurring in the first place. The Media Lab is firmly committed to supporting women in the sciences, computing, arts, and engineering. We don’t like—and certainly don’t want to support or disseminate—offensive messaging. We appreciate those of you who noticed the wristbands and pointed them out to us; please accept our sincere apology."
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