"Pretty young women sell stuff"

[HollyMiamiFLA]

I mean it's pretty obvious. I have done a search for conference display stands as I hope to exhibit at a conference soon. I would say 50% of the images showed a stand with a pretty young women posing.

No men. No old women. No "plain" women. Just pretty young women.

That's just the way it is. Eye candy. I remember watching the Apprentice and one of the blokes suggested having one of the women on his section of the exhibition as it would attract more blokes.

Will this ever change? Or do people only want to see young women to sell stuff?

[KissesBreakingWave]

There's some male objectification, too, but not nearly enough, whether you're after balance or just fit men to perv on.

[KerryKatonasKhakis]

I hate when advertisers/events organisers switch the objectification from women to men in an attempt to appeal to women, like the links upthread and the old chestnut of the Diet Coke ad!

That is not the type of equality I'm after!

And it's just used as a stick to beat feminists with; see we're all equal ly objectified.

I think using 'booth babes' etc. is a not so subconscious way of signalling to potential male customers (who are still perceived to have all the money/power) that this company is about masculinity (and the stereotypical associations: power, efficiency, tough etc.) and a lot of men seem to like that. Some women too. I'm maybe analysing this wrong, but maybe it's about advertising the 'men's club' aspect of the company as well as attracting initial attention.

[Viviennemary]

What annoys me more than anything is those bimbo types on the Sports channels. No objection to women reporting on sports. But why is it always always always a young pretty blonde. Never an older woman. But plenty of old men reporting on the sports channels.

[BecauseIsaidS0]

star, yup. I'm a techie that speaks several languages. But I'm also a short ass at just five ft tall so even though I registered with several events agencies, I didn't get one single call (I'm cute, that's why I suspect the height thing).

[TessOfTheBaublevilles]

Not quite the same thing I know, but me and my family moved to the States just after Christmas, and a couple of weeks ago I took my son to the ice hockey (Pittsburgh Penguins).

Hockey teams have "ice girls" - who do serve a primary function - which is to clean the ice during the intermissions. It's an important thing, I've got no problem with the job they do, but the outfits a lot of them wear make me spit feathers. I don't see why they have to be half naked to clean the ice. Oh wait, yes I do!

The Penguins have an ice crew, with men and women, and the females on the ice crew are probably the most "covered up" out of any of the NHL ice girls. They wear the same trousers as the guys in the crew, my only gripe is they wear tight fitting tops, where the guys wear loose jerseys (similar to what the players wear). I was informed the girls used to wear short skirts, but that was done away with apparently, as the Pens are all about being "for the family".

If you want to see an example of what I'm talking about, Google "Chicago Blackhawks ice girls", and be prepared to weep.

[HollyMiamiFLA]

"Event agencies" - is the job to stand at events and hand things out?

I am just amazed at the need for products to have a pretty woman posing by it to help it sell.

I am looking at display stands. Each stand had a woman posing. Maybe it helps with scale?

[NiceTabard]

OFFS at ice girls.

Why? Why why why?

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[HollyMiamiFLA]

And then the argument is - do the women doing this realise the message they are part of and do they care?

Or are they glad of work and that someone appreciates and will pay them so men can look at them?

[middleclassdystopia]

And of course if you complain about this and are over a certain age, you are just portrayed as the bitter old woman

[ChunkyPickle]

I would say that they are glad of the work, and probably take it despite the costume because they need it.

If I'm offered two identical jobs, but one I have to wear a bikini, and one I can be normally dressed I know which I would take - but if the bikini one is the only one available then what choice do I have?

[poorbuthappy]

A few years ago I went to the oil & gas expo in Aberdeen.
1 stand had 2 women who only had on tiny briefs and were covered in body art.
There were at least 50 blokes standing round taking photos and videos of them.
I enquired loudly if they were short of wank fodder for that night and wasnt it nice of the company concerned to get them some.
My boss pissed himself laughing.

[MauriceMinor]

The thing is, very many young girls are quite happy to be seen in this way. They aspire to it. They don't feel exploited. Being a fake blonde, fake boobed, fake tanned bimbo is very appealing to them. They like being pretty and being praised for it.

What can you do?

[scallopsrgreat]

Why do you think that might be Maurice?

I think there is plenty we can do. Like offer role models to girls and women who are feted for what they do rather than how they look. You know like role models for boys.

We can stop objectifying women as if it is some innate right of men to ogle women.

We can stop assessing women who do great stuff by the way they look or what they wear.

We can get rid of P3 and lads mags.

We can stop reducing women to the sex class and remove pornography and prostitution.

But hey that would involve men giving up some of their privilege and a change in attitude and mindset for men. At the moment it appears to be too difficult for them to do that. I wonder why?

[MothratheMighty]

'We can stop assessing women who do great stuff by the way they look or what they wear.

We can get rid of P3 and lads mags.'

And all the women's magazines that focus mainly on how women should look and what they should wear as well. The ones that send out the message that a real woman is only such if she is plucked and waxed and painted and thin.

[LauraBridges]

There are a lot of products which are not sold by showing sexy women. I doubt many people buy accountancy or legal services or choose which bank to use for their business sale on that basis.

However there is no doubt that even in the City new graduates of both sexes tend to be better looking and slimmer than those going into less well paid work. it's a fascinating area - is it simply that those who get the higher grades in exams are from the social class where you are less likely to be overweight and badly dressed or are the interviewers if they have 01 candidates all with As in everything pick the better looking ones unconsciously?

[specialsubject]

nobody is forced into doing these jobs, especially not in the UK where there is work that pays equally well without having to make an idiot of yourself.

as long as women continue to be prepared to strip for money, this won't stop.

it isn't just the men who are at fault here.

[TheSmallClanger]

I'm sure there are plenty of working models who went into the profession with hopes of catwalk shows and beautiful high-fashion ad campaigns, but ended up doing this kind of work to pay the bills. Modelling is a competitive industry, and as with any kind of agency-based work, turning down assignments often leads to fewer calls.

[scallopsrgreat]

This is a demand-led market. Not supply-led.

If men didn't feel they had the right to be adorned by women, to have access to women's bodies, for women to 'serve' them, to judge then for their looks then this wouldn't even make sense.

And women's mags are shit. But underlying women's mags are men. They run them, they decide the content and the women in them are being judged on how they look to men. The male gaze is everywhere.

[KerryKatonasKhakis]

Graduates of both sexes tend to be better looking and slimmer than those going into less well paid work. it's a fascinating area, is it simply that those who get the higher grades in exams are from the social class where you are less likely to be overweight and badly dressed

LauraBridges Interesting points. I had a very vague theory when I was at school that conventionally good looking people tend to be more successful because they are, in general, happier and more confident making studying easier because they are less distracted and more likely to ask for and get help/support and they are more likely to be popular making networking easier. Obviously, it's very, very general and there are loads of exceptions but it fits with your observation and my facebook research.

We are such a looks-driven society with women bearing the brunt of it.

[Honeysweet]

It is biology and getting worse.

[KerryKatonasKhakis]

Biology? Do expand...

[LauraBridges]

I give a lot of talks. I can often guess which delegates are from the better firms and which regional ones where you go if your exam results are not so good and I can often tell just by height, looks and weight and clothes. It is not universal - you get the odd rather large genius doing well in the best firms. I find it is gender neutral too. It may just be that very successful people spend their weekends at the gym and are better at choosing clothes though rather than they are chosen because that is how they are.

I had to disable comments on my work youtube videos due to comments about my breasts (laughing as I type and to be fair most people come to me for advice because of my brain but looking reasonably okay does help a bit).

[NiceTabard]

A timely coincidence! Spotted this while I was looking at something else on the BBC.

piece about "booth babes" from 2012, well worth a watch, BBC 3 mins long

[NiceTabard]

I like the way that the guy says he thinks booth babes "work" as, technology is mainly males and males like looking at pretty girls.

And of course males always have to have exactly what they want.

I have yet to notice large numbers of scantily clad young men at predominantly female events. They don't have oiled hunks lying over the worktops at the ideal home exhibition, for example.

[KissesBreakingWave]

The daft thing about that is that at a trade show you're not looking to attract the young males who will get distracted by the sight of pretty girls, you want the ones with budgets to spend, and they are generally older, not there to pull, understand how implausible getting casual sex off a model hired to stand there and look pretty would be, and cynical about the kind of outfit that relies on scantily-clad women to get people to their stand. As that guy in techcrunch proved by a very wide margin.