Showing posts with label Sexism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sexism. Show all posts

3.31.2015

The end of "Booth Babes"?



Scantily clad booth babes at tech trade shows get wardrobe check

Excerpt:

Anyone who's been to a technology trade show is probably familiar with the so-called booth babes -- attractive women, wearing as little as possible, hired to tout tech products. Some don bikinis, short-shorts or minidresses; others come dressed in tight leather outfits or costumes, a la Catwoman, Xena the warrior princess, and Star Wars' Princess Leia in a gold bikini. In one notable case, the exhibitors had their booth babes dressed in paint and little else. Booth babes are the Vanna Whites of the technology world, meant to reel in bedazzled male onlookers and then show off a company's products. But they've also been the subject of debate, with many critics saying it's demeaning for companies to treat women as sexualized props. A few associations are now looking to end the practice of provocative clothing at tech trade shows. RSA Conference, which hosts the world's largest security conference, announced last week it's banning scantily clad dress at its five-day trade show in San Francisco next month.
Comment: Image snap from here. I tried to find the most modest of booth babes (and had to go back about 50 years!)  If anyone has been to a car show he knows "the problem": too much skin!