Monday, December 8, 2014

"Turn left at the model"

It was way too early in the morning. And I had just travelled an hour to get to an opening ceremony at the factory of one of my clients.
These were the words which were said to me in order to direct me to the function area in the large factory premises.
As I was sitting and waiting for the dignitaries to arrive it dawned on me even though the phrase “turn left at the model” was a simple grammatical mistake it also outlined very clearly how people perceive  females today. Especially the pretty faced females, who are hired for functions to greet people, bring awards on stage or just wear revealing outfits and be eye candy making a boring event that much more interesting.
In my line of work I have to attend far too many events than I would like. One of the things I find distasteful about attending these events is how the "models" are treated. Of course I am sure I belong to a very minute minority.
For instance I was at one function where there was a game being conducted where a ball
had to be thrown to a target through the legs of two females who were standing with their legs apart. How demeaning is this?
How many times have I cringed when I see all the males and sometimes the females as well leering and drooling over the girls wearing revealing outfits?
Another particular function comes to mind where the event organizer was told by the client contact that  one of the directors of the company is offering 200 dollars for one of the models for the night.
The sad thing is that to many these models are lifeless things like mannequins in a shop window. They don’t see them as living human beings with feelings thoughts dreams and desires. To me it seems a crime that some of these ladies were born pretty. Their looks have turned out to be a curse instead of a blessing as it lures them into a world in which you make money in the short term with very dim prospects for the short term.
But to me the biggest crime of all on that day was that the words "turn left at the model" was uttered by another female.

3 comments:

Jack Point said...

A new low for the corporate world I think.

Jack Point said...

Some of the most blatant examples of objectifying women that I have ever come across. Don't think I appreaciated just ho wdemeaning it could get until I read this post.

lady grouch-a-lot said...

Finally! Thank you for addressing this extremely odd phenomenon. Being a woman myself, whenever I was required to attend press conferences, openings and etc in the past, I've always felt really uncomfortable with this "situation". Insulted even at times. Overtly made-up, clad in skimpy little outfits, everybody looks the same as if they all just stepped out of a slave-clone machine, handing out media kits and even fetching chairs for guests if necessary. It borders on creepy how objectified they are to the point of being barely human. It's even more disturbing to see how comfortable they seem with their roles. What I am really curious about is to find out how THEY feel about this dubious role they are required to play. Sad really.