Phrasing in a professional environment

[BeetrootBonanza]

I was in a meeting at work today, and part way through a discussion a senior man said we need to "open the kimono" to understand what's going on in one of our systems.
I'm not normally one to get offended by things, but this usage has annoyed me when another phrase could have been used instead.
Am I being over sensitive, or is this inappropriate?

Doesn’t bang for your buck refer to a bigger bomb for your money?

It does, but I do not think anyone is surprised that some d00d sexualized it with a nudge nudge wink wink.

Re bang for your buck - it's getting more for your money from the prostitute you are paying.

I've never heard "open the kimono" before, so besides any issues around sexism or racism, it's inappropriate for being incomprehensible.

I've never heard "open the kimono" before, so besides any issues around sexism or racism, it's inappropriate for being incomprehensible

Me too.

It also makes no sense. Presumably it's meant in the sense of "let's drill down into this/ find out what this is really about". Whereas what is under a kimono will be underwear - hardly surprising or difficult to work out.

I was just discussing this thread with my dh who is both in IT so very familiar with systems analysis and also very interested in Japanese culture. He said it was actually a very good analogy, if completely inappropriate in a business setting. Japanese women don't really wear kimonos very much any more, but traditionally did not wear underwear with a kimono and Japanese popular culture (eg in manga and anime) features jokes similar to those about Scottish men wearing kilts. He said that there is quite the idea that women wear beautiful kimonos on special occasions as a type of 'gift wrapping', so 'open the kimono' does make sense. I'd suggest not only sexist but also potentially racially insensitive (might be a better angle if you were thinking of complaining OP - technically kimono is a unisex term so you could get headed off with that defense even though it's pretty obvious what the intent was).

Whenever heard that expression I always imagined a man whipping open his kimono and flashing (from behind and wearing baggy white sports socks). I have no idea where I got that mental picture from!

But it still doesn't make sense. The OP said a senior man said we need to "open the kimono" to understand what's going on in one of our systems

On your explanation what is under the kimono isn't a mystery. Why do they need to unwrap it to understand what is there?

It is sexist, racist and incomprehensible.

The 'meaning' of the phrase is apparently 'Open kimono means to reveal what is being planned or to share important information freely. Similar to ''open the books'' or an "open door policy," opening the kimono means revealing the inner workings of a project or company to an outside party. Also referred to as "open (up) one's kimono."'

So the 'senior man' wasn't even using this unpleasant buzz phrase appropriately, from the context she gave.

Here's some discussion of the usage and derivation
text.npr.org/s.php?sId=360479744

I think if I heard anyone use it I'd ask them to explain what the heck they meant.

It's just so unnecessary (like a lot of management speak, TBH)

Though I do have a soft spot for "showing some ankle", used in the context of dangling some bait in order to provoke a reaction, even though I know I shouldn't (another of my Bad Feminist habits)

Maybe he doesn't know that kimono only means a garment or robe, perhaps he thought it had another meaning such as curtain. It's amazing how many people, even reasonably clever people, use the wrong words.

It would be a good idea to ask the man why he used that expression and hear his explanation. I would have said, "I've never heard that before, what exactly do you mean?", then explain to him that what he said was exactly the same as "Unbutton the blouse", or even, "Unzip the flies". He wouldn't say it again!

"Let's roll back the foreskin"

"Let's examine the prostate"

Maybe he doesn't know that kimono only means a garment or robe, perhaps he thought it had another meaning such as curtain. It's amazing how many people, even reasonably clever people, use the wrong words.

Huh?

'Maybe he blah blah blah'. He knows what he means.

i would be surprised if this was not about women. It's the only way it makes sense and it does if you're a misogynist.

When a woman is all wrapped up in a kimino her body is hidden - you can't see what you're "getting".

So if a woman is offered to you for sex / you are buying one, you need to "open the kimono" to see what you're actually "getting".

The visual image is of a man opening a woman's garments to see her naked body underneath.

I mean that's clearly what it's going to refer to, surely.

I had someone use "rape" in a meeting the other day, it was something about trade

Just grim.

Urgh. I suppose 'shafted' and 'screwed' have become too commonplace and lost shock value.

A lot of words to mean getting the bad end of the deal etc are based around sex. Buggered, fucked, screwed.

It's an interesting topic.

I can't decide whether the overtly sexist phrases are better than the more subtle ones. At least when people throw around words like "rape" there's a chance that at least one other person in the room would see why that was objectionable. It's much harder to argue that phrases like "hit for six", "hoping for rain", "bowled a googly", "bowled a yorker", "taken the bails off", "stumps up" are sexist, even though it's much more likely that men will understand the cricket lingo but exclude women

I fail to see how it's sexist... racist yes, but not sexist when both sexes wear them.

I fail to see how it's sexist... racist yes, but not sexist when both sexes wear them.

Oh dear lord save me from such fuckwittage.

It's much harder to argue that phrases like "hit for six", "hoping for rain", "bowled a googly", "bowled a yorker", "taken the bails off", "stumps up" are sexist, even though it's much more likely that men will understand the cricket lingo but exclude women

I know nothing about sport or cricket but I know what would be meant by "hit for six" "hoping for rain", "bowled a googly" and "stumps up" used in a non-cricket sense. I say "bowled a googly" and "hit for six".

Never heard the others in any sense.

Some of the cricketing idioms are so well known that they're almost disassociated from the game itself, I think. But they're best avoided if you work in a multinational team.

One of our directors used to use the phrase getting caught with your pants down. Obviously a phrase close to his heart given his widespread extra-marital activity.

"A lot of words to mean getting the bad end of the deal etc are based around sex."

That is such a good point.
I am struggling to think of a phrase that means "getting the bad end of the deal" that isn't related to sex!

"The shitty end of the stick" maybe, but that would go down terribly in most meetings.