Posted by Editormum on 23 May 2008 in
News Commentary |
∞
This is a departure for me. I don’t do sports. And I don’t usually admit to liking NASCAR … the people I work and socialize with associate NASCAR with drunken rednecks, and that’s not the image I want to portray (because I am neither). But FOX’s article on Danica Patrick is right on, and I want to spotlight it.
The author is one hundred percent right: it’s time for women in high positions to stop spotlighting their looks and start showing off their skills. Danica is a racecar driver. A darn good one. And her driving a racecar has nothing to do with her looks or her sexiness; it has everything to do with her skill and determination.
Young women today need role models who will encourage them to use their skills and abilities without relying on looks and sexuality to pave the way for them. There’s certainly a place for femininity, for sexuality, but it’s not on the job. And we have blurred that line so much that many people don’t even know that there is a line anymore.
One of the biggest struggles I have in mentoring the young women who come to work at my company is that they simply don’t understand that certain styles of dress, while attractive, are simply not appropriate for the office. Cleavage (front or back), belly-buttons, tattoos, sparkly toenails, and flip-flops have no place in the professional world. Sorry. Save that for after hours, and the boyfriend. The boss doesn’t want to see it (and even if he does, he shouldn’t) and neither do your co-workers.
Likewise, sexy flirting isn’t appropriate for professional venues. Sure, everyone wants to be attractive and accepted, but flaunting your body at the office isn’t the way. (Not to mention that it could get you and/or the other person in all kinds of harrassment trouble.)
I hope that Ms. Patrick will consider and use her position wisely. Let’s have more role models who keep their clothes on and their sensuality in its proper place, and fewer who flaunt their looks at the expense of their brains and abilities.
Tags: NASCAR, news, role models, women
Danica as Role Model
This is a departure for me. I don’t do sports. And I don’t usually admit to liking NASCAR … the people I work and socialize with associate NASCAR with drunken rednecks, and that’s not the image I want to portray (because I am neither). But FOX’s article on Danica Patrick is right on, and I want to spotlight it.
The author is one hundred percent right: it’s time for women in high positions to stop spotlighting their looks and start showing off their skills. Danica is a racecar driver. A darn good one. And her driving a racecar has nothing to do with her looks or her sexiness; it has everything to do with her skill and determination.
Young women today need role models who will encourage them to use their skills and abilities without relying on looks and sexuality to pave the way for them. There’s certainly a place for femininity, for sexuality, but it’s not on the job. And we have blurred that line so much that many people don’t even know that there is a line anymore.
One of the biggest struggles I have in mentoring the young women who come to work at my company is that they simply don’t understand that certain styles of dress, while attractive, are simply not appropriate for the office. Cleavage (front or back), belly-buttons, tattoos, sparkly toenails, and flip-flops have no place in the professional world. Sorry. Save that for after hours, and the boyfriend. The boss doesn’t want to see it (and even if he does, he shouldn’t) and neither do your co-workers.
Likewise, sexy flirting isn’t appropriate for professional venues. Sure, everyone wants to be attractive and accepted, but flaunting your body at the office isn’t the way. (Not to mention that it could get you and/or the other person in all kinds of harrassment trouble.)
I hope that Ms. Patrick will consider and use her position wisely. Let’s have more role models who keep their clothes on and their sensuality in its proper place, and fewer who flaunt their looks at the expense of their brains and abilities.
Tags: NASCAR, news, role models, women