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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.'"
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.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Nobody pays us for standing around. Imagine having to do actual work.
Ever wonder what they think of their jobs?
I couldn't care less. Why is this on Slashdot again?
How do you...
Ah, yes, there's a certain form to these things, let's see...
First you write "Obligatory" and then your medium.
Ok. I can do this.
Khm.
Obligatory Penny Arcade.
Yes! Nailed it!
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams [...]."
These comments should be funny...
No sig today...
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!
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.
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?
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
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.
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
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.
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
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.
-Styopa
You aren't trying hard enough.
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.
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.
I live in Brazil, where booth babes are a fixture at any trade show. My daughter has been one of them. She's in college, speaks three languages and looks fantastic in a short, tight dress. She gets paid several hundred dollars a night to engage prospective customers outside the booth and qualify them as to whether to bring them into the booths for the salespeople to work them over. Speaking three languages, she's in demand for this job - she's tired at the end of a show, but it's good money and she meets interesting people. She's not a prostitute - she knows that she's being ogled, but she's worked hard on her looks and is proud of them. She gets propositioned occasionally, but she's a big girl and can handle herself. Next year, she'll graduate with a degree in Chemistry from University Federal do Rio de Janeiro, one of the best universities in Brazil, and will go into pharmaceutical research. She's not being degraded - she goes into her job with her eyes open and feels like this is a heck of a lot better than other jobs that she could get.
Jesus, I'm glad I don't live where people debate this shit endlessly.
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...?
we are all invisible unless we choose otherwise
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.
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.
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.
OK people, let's not be quite the gynophobic nerds we're made out to be.
First, RTFA. There was essentially no complaining at all in the article, besides a little "it's tiring to stand in heels for eight hours" Really really sad the number of slashdotters who without reading the article just assumed that it was a bunch of women whining. Not to mention the number of posts here responding to accusations of sexism that were never made. Defensive much?
Second, to the parent post, you know what the one who didn't like it did? She quit and got a different job.
Given that like every third slashdot post is someone complaining about their job, you'd think people here would maybe cut these women a little slack. Or is it really that offensive to hear a women who's job is to be professionally pretty talk about it just like it's any other job?
> 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?
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
One interesting thing is how broad the spectrum of depression is. For instance, you mention you had work induced depression. That sounds difficult, and I'm glad you were able to find a way to get through it. It's always difficult to discuss this because a great many people really, really struggle, and it feels somehow holier than thou to say "well, yes, but I'm talking about something different here..." I truly mean it; I think it's awesome that you've come to where you are, and I'm sorry that you still have troubles hearkening back to those days. I hope your recovery will continue.
Now, the sometimes awkward bit. I'll put a TL;DR summary of the below here: For some people, depression is a different beast. We've struggled all our lives to understand it, to combat it, and there IS no "emotional problem" or "open issues with parents" that cause it. Much like a diabetic, it's just there, and just like taking insulin, we take our meds to lesson our symptoms, but these symptoms are always, always, always there, in good times or bad. Often, the best we can hope for is "Take for 60 days with a 5% improvement."; lord knows that the 5% improvement I get from my Lamictal and Depokote cocktail might just be what holds this job down by letting me stagger to the shower in the mornings, instead of sleeping through the alarm and feeling vaguely disappointed I woke up at all. The same goes for important relationships; I have my girlfriend and kids to love; even with my meds, it's a large task; without them... well, I already had one divorce, causing me to lose nearly everything. That is not something I'll risk again, even though it's still difficult. The symptoms themselves are less "horribly sad and emotionally troubled" and more "completely empty and motivationally lethargic" from what I've found, and that is simply not a feeling that's easy to convey.
The long version:
Another area of depression, though, is no "reason-induced" depression; it's just there. To many of us that have struggled with depression all our lives, our parents tell us that even as a very young child we were "moody". Of course we feel bad when we go through the normal struggles of life; job issues, deaths of family members, divorce, etc, just like everybody else, and we can get through those moments, just like everybody else. My dad's death and my divorce were rough, but at no time did I think I couldn't get through them, bad as they were, unless I was also feeling this second kind of depressed, too. I guess I had something of a rough childhood, but there's really no trigger point I can point to that says "Yup. That's why I got sad for no reason last Saturday and couldn't shake it until yesterday". Even "sad" or the common meaning of "depression" aren't the right words. It's more a feeling of complete and total apathy, lethargy, no motivation, just no... substance or will. I think of it more as simply and totally "empty" than "sad", and most of my focus group members have felt much the same.
In my early 20s I would wonder if I was "self-faking" it (something like the Dunning-Kruger link above) to avoid success, or that if I could just find the right supplement or eat right or exercise I'd feel better, but was the lack of motivation my problem? Everybody else seemed to think so, well-meaning or not. If I could power through and find that one thing I need to shake this shit off, would I feel better? I felt so hopeless after I'd let myself get dragged to various drug stores or gyms and find that the latest thing to "cheer me up " STILL wouldn't work. What a pain in the ass.
I had an epiphany one night in my late teens when all my buddies convinced me to take ecstasy. Being on the high-octane side of the bipolar coin at the time, I thought this was a balls-to-the-wall good idea. While everyone at the party was having a great time, I got nothing, all night and after 3 or 4 pills (I assumed the first 2 were duds). May has well have been a handful of Tylenol. In the 12 years since, I've tried q