A Day In the Life of a "Booth Babe"

jfruh writes "Booth babes," promotional models paid to showcase products, are ubiquitous figures at tech trade shows. Ever wonder what they think of their jobs? Well, it may not surprise you to learn that standing up for eight hours in heels isn't much fun. Some enjoy the work, while others don't enjoy being the subject of stares. And one model adds that 'The industry is now moving towards making models show more skin.'"

Comments

Hard to feel bad for them

[drinkypoo]

These women have taken a job where their bodies will be used to manipulate the minds of lonely men by displaying their sexual atttributes, and then some of them have the gall to be upset that they're being regarded as sex objects? Wake me up when someone intelligent is interviewed. They oughta be happy that someone will pay them for something if standing around in heels is one of their finest talents.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[Umuri]

I'll bite the bullet and burn some karma for this one.
No, that wasn't what he meant, thanks for the ad hominem.

What he meant is that when a woman applies for, then gets a job, where almost her sole purpose is to be a sexual object and to dress sexually, in an effort to promote her body in some vague conjunction with a product, then she deserves to be treated as a sexual object.

In the same way someone who applies for, then gets a job, where her sole purpose is to defend the law, should be treated as an officer of the law.
Likewise a woman who applies for, then gets a job, where her sole purpose is "dispensing the word of god" in a safe and conservative setting, should be treated as a nun.

You pretend you can't curse when you're around nuns, you end everything with a sir around a cop, and you make comments about a woman or mans body when their jobs are only 1 piece of clothing away from being a stripper.

I'm sorry, the minute you voluntarily take a job that exploits your sexuality, you lose your right to complain when people treat you as a worker in that job. There is a line between "legitimate harassment" (i hate that that is even a valid phrase), and "illegal harassment", but lets not go pretending they're saints who deserve to never hear a foul word out of anyone mouths.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[Anonymous Coward]

You are missing the point. This is not about the booth babes. I don't care about the booth babes. It is about how companies view women.

Would you take your 15 year old daughter who happens to be interested in computers and science to one of these conventions? If you say no, is it because she would be exposed to an industry that shamelessly objectifies women? Could you imagine your daughter wanting to work in one of these companies?

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[serviscope_minor]

lets not go pretending they're saints who deserve to never hear a foul word out of anyone mouths.

Do they deserve to be subjected to those foul words?

What he meant is that when a woman applies for, then gets a job...

Have you ever taken a crap job because you needed the cash (especially when you were younger)? You might not have, but many others have, and I wouldn't be surprised if many of the attendees at these trade shows have, too. If you ever talk to someone about crap jobs they had in the past, is your response something along the lines of: "you took the job, its your fault you deserved to be treated like crap"?

If the answer to that is "no", then you're guilty of double standards.

If you've ever shown sympathy to any slashdotters who put up with awful working conditions as is common in many areas of our industry then you are again guilty of double standards.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[drinkypoo]

So noone should be allowed to complain about a job "they took"?

I know you're a troll but I'm up late because I had a headache so I'll take this question anyway. No one should be allowed to complain about the fundamentals of a job they took. If you take a job whose title is "Shoveler of Elephant Shit" and then you whine about how you don't like shoveling elephant shit, nobody will give a fuck. Now, if you complain that you've been given a spoon to shovel the shit with, that's a valid complaint; you're actually a spooner of elephant shit, and that's a whole different job. But if you've been hired to be ogled by horny dorks sans social skills, you don't get to complain about being ogled by them. If someone tries to slip you one on the conference floor, complain; that is not appropriate behavior. If you're paid to wear a bikini in front of nerds and someone stares at your tits on the conference floor, stick those fucking tits out — that's what you're being paid for.

If I were to somehow secure a job as a model, I wouldn't complain if people told me how much they admired the way I looked. That'd be my job function. This would also have to be some kind of parallel reality, but the point still stands. If you get a job as eye candy don't complain when you're perceived as nothing more than a sweet treat. That's how it works, whether you're a booth babe or a trophy wife.

Or put simply, by their actions shall you know them.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[Anonymous Coward]

Computer and High-Tech fields lack women because the culture is viewed as being misogynistic. Contrast this with the legal field in which women and men are represented in equal numbers. The difference is that anyone who works in the legal profession is trained to understand why sexual harassment is wrong for both moral and legal reasons. You don't see women being objectified in legal conventions. The same is true for the medical profession. Medical device manufacturers don't need booth babes at their conventions. In the tech industry most companies are dominated by 20 or 30-something males, and the morality of sexual harassment never crosses their minds. Women aren't stupid and most aren't going to waste years of their lives becoming educated and proficient in their field only to be resented, objectified, and sexually harassed. It should also be noted that countries that lack strong protection against sexual harassment feature booth babes and other types of promotional models more often.

From this we can conclude that booth babes are a result of fields dominated by young men, fields that don't actively try to protect women workers, and places where objectifying women is less of a taboo. Booth babes are just the tiny speck of cancer that has reached the surface for everyone to see.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[Half-pint HAL]

Well if you read the article they are getting paid north of $50 and hour.

Selective quoting, much? That's the rate for a product launch, which is a short event. Short shifts mean more down-time -- that "$50 an hour" is also "$100 dollars a day" and possibly their only income for a week or a month.

As for the trade shows, the article says Computex models are on $100-$170 for 8 hours, which is £12.50 - £21.25 per hour

That's still not bad as an hourly rate, but again, it's not regular work, and there's a Saturday shift in there too.

But Computex is a big one, and as TFA says, other shows pay $60 a day, bringing us into the same territory as the minimum wage in many US states-- $7.50. That's also less than the UK minimum wage, which is about $9.40.

Let's say you get 3 product launches, the full 5 days at Computex and another 15 days at other trade shows -- that's $2140. Not bad for the equivalent of a month's work, but nowhere near $50ph in real terms. But then, it's not going to be a solid month's work. If that's all you're getting from modelling in a year, that's not even an extra $180 each month over your main source of income.

This is why so many girls go into modelling and find themselves dispirited: it's made to look like a glamorous, well-paid job, but it turns out to be exceptionally sleazy and cheap.

For the most part, girls do not know what they're getting into.

Re:Hard to feel bad for them

[asdf7890]

If she was interested in modelling as a career it might not be a bad place to take her as an education point: "this is the sort of place you need to start, and many don't go far beyond these first steps". If it is enough to put her off then she wasn't going to make it far (unless through luck) in that sector anyway, and if she is still determined it might indicate a genuine passion that should be nurtured (rather than her seeing the career as an easy and/or entirely glamorous option).

At 15 the vast majority of girls are more than capable of dealing with "the way the world really works" lessons, including being exposed to an extent to the world's less attractive factors, and it is probably unhelpful (unhealthy even) and almost certainly impractical to try shield them from all that.

Be thankful

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody pays us for standing around. Imagine having to do actual work.

No, I don't

[Hentes]

Ever wonder what they think of their jobs?

I couldn't care less. Why is this on Slashdot again?

Pass the popcorn

[Joce640k]

These comments should be funny...

sexism

[arikol]

I'm sorry.These women take jobs that are sexist (their job is to arouse the customer and link sexiness and sensuality to some plastic product that isn't really sexy at all) by some sexist companies and then get ogled by the people who are supposed to ogle them.

No. Sympathy. At. All.

While I don't agree with the whole concept of booth babes (I would prefer having real people from the companies instead of models. Not scantily clad, just real people who know the product) it is very hard to sympathise with those who choose to take part in it. They knew what the job was about when they took it. If I take a job that entails wearing a Borat style Mankini then I know I will be the subject of stares (not for the same reasons as these women, but still, my crotch will garner some stares) and then it's my own stupidity to blame if I'm unhappy about being stared at...

But, again. Stupid companies. Stop using booth babes. It makes the industry look adolescent in nature, and is disrespectful to all women, and even more disrespectful to women in tech.
THIS kind of attitude is why many of us geeks can't get a date.. change it!

Re:sexism

[neyla]

How about sympathy for those of us who are female and work in the industry, then arrive at a trade-show only to see women used purely as decoration over-and-over-and-over again ?

It's insulting, and sends the message that this is a thing for guys, that we don't really *belong* here (other than as decoration)

Re:sexism

[arikol]

As I said (lower in my first comment), the COMPANIES should stop this because it is disrespectful to women, and in particular it's disrespectful to women in tech (those are the women who might want to go to tech trade shows, right?)

I have no sympathy for women who choose to get paid for being decorations. That's who the article is about.
The article SHOULD really focus on: "WTF is going on? It's 2012 and big tech companies still act like a horny teen boy. WTF?"

Re:If they don't like it

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe, just maybe, they can't find another job? Or they dislike the other jobs they can get even more?

Quitting your job is not an option for everyone. Don't paint everyone with the brush that you've been painted with, some have less options.

Re:If they don't like it

[mwvdlee]

By definition, the vast majority of women can't get this job.
Should they feel sorry for those that can and do but don't want to?

Re:There was a talk show with models

[pnewhook]

A model is no more a sex object than a store mannequin is a sex toy. They are selling products, they are not hookers. Get some perspective.

Re:If they don't like it

[TheLink]

Hey genius, if they can't find another job, or dislike the other jobs then getting rid of these sort of jobs won't help them will it?

If they really have no skills and qualification for other jobs they should be thankful that they're not an ugly girl and qualify for these easy and relatively high paying jobs (pays more than McD right?).

When opportunity knocks too many women just complain about the noise.

Re:Options?

[Lotana]

It's all in the mind

If you think that you have less options, you _will_ have less options

Oh very much so. But the thing to remember that modifying your thought process is right up there with some of the hardest things in life.

Low self-esteem is something that feeds off of itself and just gets worse with time. Depression is not far behind, which puts the person into real trouble because that kills any motivation to try to improve yourself.

The sad part is that there is still this common misconception that low self-esteem and depression are easily overcome. The sufferer just simply can't "Start feeling better". Without professional help, there is really no way out, thus limiting his/her options for life and careers.

'He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.' -Lao Tse

NEP;DR

[argStyopa]

Blah blah blah feminism blah blah blah don't exploit women blah blah blah if I had a daughter blah blah blah.

In fact most of us didn't read it because there weren't enough pictures.

Re:If they don't like it

[Charliemopps]

This isn't a job. It's a way to make a few bucks while a trade show is in town. When your job is "Stand there and look hot", complaining about the fact that people stare at you, when the entire point of you being there is to have people stare at you with the small hope that they might glance at whatever nonsense you're holding in your hands for a second, seems rather silly. Walmart, McDonalds, Department stores, all pay more than $100/day. The only difference is they'd have to WORK while there and they couldn't claim to be a "model"

I have no pity for people that base their entire carer on their looks and then complain that it's not lucrative enough. It's not lucrative enough because you're not all that good looking. If you were hotter you'd have better options than booth babe. Sorry, but it's a shallow business you got into there.

Re:If they don't like it

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, just like those goddamn whiny miners who still wanted to work in order to support their families but kept bitching about how much they were dying! Who the hell do they think they are!

Complaining about your job and asking and sometimes demanding that your employer do more to improve your work situation is a proud American tradition. It's the reason why the majority of American workers today have things like weekends, overtime pay, and sick days. There's absolutely nothing wrong with workers telling their bosses they want better work conditions.

Re:If they don't like it

[Shadow99_1]

Where the heck do you live that McD, Walmart, and 'department stores' all pay more than $100/day? Doing the math $100/day is $12.50 an hour with 8 hours. Where I live in PA those places pay minimum wage to $9/hour (capped) and you have to hope you can actually get an 8 hour shift.

That said, I don't have pity for them either. Most of the women interviewed worked as models or dancers most of the time. What exactly do they think those fields are about...?

Re:Options?

[AngryDeuce]

Plus, the Dunning-Kruger effect doesn't help.

Speaking as someone that's dealt with depression since I was a pre-teen along with the extreme lack of self-esteem, it's incredibly demoralizing and makes it difficult to advance. Every time a promotion came up, I would tell myself I was going to go for it and try and psych myself up but in the end my own fear of failure and disappointment kept me from even trying a lot of the time, and when I did actually manage to get promoted, due to the way I internalize everything, I was never able to let the "shit roll down hill"...it always stopped at me and compounded my neuroses and lack of self confidence.

Coupled with the stigma that still comes along with mental health issues, particularly in the work environment (you can miss a day if you wake up puking your guts up and nobody bats an eye...try and miss a day because you feel like you're a worthless piece of shit that ruins everything he touches, see how that goes over), it's really quite debilitating. This is why it makes me so fucking angry when people make glib comments about the subject, because it really is a handicap. It would be ridiculous to tell someone that lost an arm "just think positive and everything will be okay", but for some reason, when the subject of depression comes up, there are still a large number of people out there that think you can just turn it off.

God, I fucking wish I could just turn it off. I wish it was as simple as telling myself I'm awesome every morning while I'm staring at myself in the mirror, or reading a few self-help books.

Re:If they don't like it

[AngryDeuce]

No, but at the same time, they knew exactly what was expected of them when they applied for that job. They knew exactly what was going to be involved. They sought out that job, probably because they felt they were too good to flip burgers or ring people out at Target, or those jobs wouldn't afford them the wage that they desire.

If you want to talk about the way the industry objectifies women, then fine, I'll agree that there is objectification there. If you want to ban booth babes to try and change this, be my guest...personally, using sex in advertising has never, ever worked on me (and honestly, I've always felt that it was fucking stupid). But let's not pretend that the women doing this job are oppressed in some way. They know exactly why they're standing there in that skimpy-ass outfit in their Fuck Me Pumps, and if that bothers them, then they probably shouldn't have applied in the first place. It's really no different than a vegetarian working at McDonald's bitching about handling meat.

Re:If they don't like it

[Eraesr]

Maybe I'm being a bit blunt here, but these women know they are selected on their looks, they know they are put in convention centers filled with a predominantly male audience, they know they are put there to garner attention by flaunting their female properties and yet they complain about being looked at in sexualized ways? Sorry, but that's like a prostitute complaining about people only wanting to have sex with her and never come by for a good talk over a bottle of expensive wine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of the ladies waving their "accessories" left and right on the shows (like E3). It only helps to reinforce the stereotype image people have of games and gamers. I think the games and gadgets industry (and probably the cars industry, another big offender) is better off without these stereotype girls draped all over flat screens and hubcaps. Still, if these girls have a problem with the job they have, then they shouldn't do it.

I see the other reactions about how some of them may have no choice, but that's such self-victimization. Everyone has a choice, the only thing that's stopping these girls from getting a different, more appropriate job is their own lack of belief that they can. If you think the job sucks, sure, I can understand that, but don't enter a room filled with oversexed nerds wearing nothing but a bikini or figure hugging cat suit and expect them to judge you on your intelligence.

Re:If they don't like it

[jonadab]

> So since the vast majority of women can't get this job that
> sucks, the ones who have it but think it sucks should like it?

No, absolutely not. If they don't like it, they should get another job -- probably one in a field other than modeling, because if they don't like wearing heels and showing skin, modeling is really not the ideal career.

Let's talk about career choices here.

I don't like walking, hate uniforms, and am absolutely terrified of dogs. I think I'll be a... mailman! Yes!

I prefer to remain fully clothed, especially in public, don't like wearing uncomfortable clothing such as high heels, and I don't like to have people stare at me. I want to be a... model! Yeah!

Really? Are you totally sure about that?