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Duane Benson
If the cheerleaders are demonstrating a robot they designed or assisted with, ...
BrianBailey
Yes Liz. Give me sexy tools any day. I can salivate over them and drool with ...
What were they thinking: Sex sells at DAC
Brian Bailey
6/8/2012 10:24 AM EDT
There are times when you just have to scratch your head and ask – what were they thinking? One of those events happened at DAC this year. They invited the 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleaders to perform before the keynote and award session on Tuesday – an event that I am pleased to say I missed because I had more important things to do. I did however listen to the keynote which was much more interesting.
The DAC website put a page up about it, which has since been removed, but with the Internet, nothing goes away. Paul McLellan wrote the blog in which he said “Here's a reason to get up early on Tuesday. The general session and award presentation at 8.30am will feature the 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleaders.
I have a friend who used to have field level season tickets which were somewhat frustrating. When things were going on at your end of the field they were really up-close, but when the play was at the other end it was impossible to see. But every so often the Gold Rush performed right in front of us. And on Tuesday morning they will be right in front of us in rooms 102/103.”
What do scantily clad women have to do with DAC? Peggy Aycinena rightfully kicked up a storm. Is it any wonder why so few women want to be in this industry? We objectify them and we tell them that they are only good to entertain us before the men strut their stuff. We are, or at least should be, better than that. There is no room left for sexual discrimination or objectification of any kind.
Maybe it is because I am English, but I can’t understand the purpose of cheerleaders anyway. Is it because American football is so boring that it needs some real entertainment, or that someone has to be athletic while the players catch their breath? Don’t get me wrong, I have watched cheerleaders and what they do can be amazing – it is a highly athletic activity requiring strength, skill, coordination and trust. Maybe the players should be required to wear the same costumes as the cheerleaders. That may change some thinking.
Don’t let Peggy be the only cheerleader for equality in our industry. Speak up whenever you see discrimination at work!
Brian Bailey – keeping you covered
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garydpdx
6/8/2012 3:10 PM EDT
Personally, I would side with Peggy on this one. While there is one context at a football game, it is not the case with most conferences - including DAC. University or high school cheerleading is one thing, it has become a sport with acrobatics and gymnastics (in fact, at C2MTL a couple of weeks ago, we had Cirque du Soleil do a brief number before Guy Laliberte's keynote). But this was the 49'ers, not Stanford (maybe featuring a cameo by John Hennessy?).
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Frank Eory
6/8/2012 4:22 PM EDT
Let's not forget the "booth babes", ever-present at any trade show, including DAC.
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BrianBailey
6/8/2012 6:49 PM EDT
If they are company employees who choose to dress like that and are not forced to, then there is nothing I can do about it. It is their personal choice. If they are hired to dress like that, then shame. Also if any company thinks it will make me look at their products more seriously, then they are badly mistaken.
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BrianBailey
6/8/2012 6:51 PM EDT
By force, I do not mean just physically - I also mean implied, coerced, suggested or any other way that asked to dress in ways that are not "normal" business wear for them.
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Brian @ BDH
6/9/2012 12:35 AM EDT
Re: "Is it because American football is so boring that it needs some real entertainment"
So...... If your statement/reasoning [hidden as a question] is correct, then the same must be true for DAC. You basically said 'use cheerleaders when the event itself is boring'.
"American football" is not boring - if you think it is, then you are probably just not capable of understanding it.
Do you think "American football" is the only sport that has cheerleaders?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading
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KB3001
6/9/2012 8:06 AM EDT
If and when they introduce cheerleaders to Football (that's Soccer for American readership) I shall lose faith in all forms of sport :-)
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BrianBailey
6/10/2012 11:08 AM EDT
Maybe we should get cheerleaders for cricket. Nah, it would interfere with the tea breaks
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KB3001
6/10/2012 12:12 PM EDT
God forbid :-)
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Brian @ BDH
6/10/2012 6:45 PM EDT
If you go to the "History" section of the Wikipedia link I provided above, you will see:
"The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders."
...as well as all of the sports with Cheerleaders.
You can run, but you can't hide! :-)
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KB3001
6/11/2012 2:57 AM EDT
Ah, Twenty20 not Test Cricket. There is a strong American influence on Twenty20 events (mainly to do with sponsorships as it's perceived as a closer relative to Baseball - you get a result relatively quickly!). I can hardly imagine cheerleaders in a test cricket event at Lords or Edgbaston :-) My litmus test is Football (international) as I said above, if and when cheerleaders are introduced to Football, I'll give up...
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KB3001
6/9/2012 8:08 AM EDT
Sadly, I have seen this kind of objectification of women in many science and engineering event in the past (not just in the US but Europe and Asia too). I have always been uncomfortable with it but it seems that many engineers do not mind... and perhaps secretly approve of it!
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Phadreus
6/12/2012 4:55 PM EDT
Lol!
As an Indian and IPL viewer, I can fairly say the cheerleader and dance and clamor for immediate result and gratification is bringing down quality batsman and bowlers in cricket. Hope such things do not extend to DAC and ISSCC
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hfj
6/12/2012 5:50 PM EDT
Cheerleaders can be stereotyped too. Here's one with an MIT degree.
http://www.49ers.com/gold-rush/cheerleaders/rachelp/23b5dcec-86dd-4369-9b01-b4ad2dc4e3c0
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KB3001
6/14/2012 1:43 PM EDT
Yes, and good luck to them. I just do not see why do we have "cheerleading performances" in engineering/scientific events?? I do not see the point of them in sporting events either to be honest. If I go to a Stadium to watch a Football match, that's what I am there for, I do not want any nonsense :-)
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David Brown
6/14/2012 5:06 AM EDT
Cheerleaders at DAC is totally inappropriate - but it is not the bottom of the barrel. Microsoft managed something even worse at its recent developers' conference in Norway (I'm not including a link - but you'll find it by googling for Microsoft, Norway, and some inappropriate body parts). What sort of morons choose these sorts of things as "entertainment"?
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LizLPR
6/14/2012 9:20 PM EDT
Getting back to those booth babes....It would seem that those tool vendors with sexy booth babes must be lacking sexy tools. ;-)
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BrianBailey
6/14/2012 9:49 PM EDT
Yes Liz. Give me sexy tools any day. I can salivate over them and drool with desire.
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Duane Benson
6/15/2012 12:35 AM EDT
If the cheerleaders are demonstrating a robot they designed or assisted with, then I'm fine with that. But to be there as entertainment is not appropriate.
For my money, I'd say that engineers are more interested in the technology. That's why we go to these shows. If there is someone in a booth, we want them to know the product and understand its applications.
If you want to show something off, show off new technology.
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