Smaller Indiana

Making people and ideas findable

So....I have noticed more business women sporting miles of cleavage at networking events this summer. One chick's was so just out there that I bet her temperature controls were visible when she bent over. From an image consulting perspective, this is a killer for building business. I feel men don't take us seriously when we are showing almost as much mammary as a pole dancer at P.T.'s.

What do you think? Guys, how does a massive boob display affect your opinion of business women? Ladies, what are your thoughts?

Share

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Very honestly, it's hard to take a woman like that seriously. The impression I get is that she doesn't have much in the way of talent or smarts, so she's relying on something else. Whether I'm right or wrong, that's my first impression.

It doesn't help that some business owners I know seem to make their hiring decision based on that criteria, and not the talent and smarts.

Reply to This

I agree with Eirk

Reply to This

I, too, will defer to Erik's comments as representative of my own. Well put, my friend.

Reply to This

Hmm... This could give a whole new meaning to the term boob job. I remember the time we had an intern who seemed oblivious to the fact that her cleavage was disrupting the flow of our entire office. She was in her junior year at a prominent local university and her attire was a "Do" for a night in Broad Ripple, but a "Don't" for a day at the office. We ultimately had an intervention. Actually, several members of our staff elected one brave soul (a female colleague) to tell her the jig (or jiggle, as it were) was up. Their talk was professional and discreet.

Reply to This

That post was awesome, Erin.

Reply to This

When I read the title with my eyes open its distracting, but when I read with my eyes closed... I read ever word fine…
To be honest boos are just a body part. I have a very attractive female friend who manages a bank. She acts and dresses extremely professional. She has this one male customer that has a thing for feet. To the “foot guy”, her wearing high heels are no different than a chick showing her boobage.

I think a woman is free to dress how she wants, but she needs to be aware of the negative consequence her outfits might bring.
Not everyone is going to be cool and level headed about having to work around women with boobage. Or even take what they say seriously
Most guys, myself included, are going to notice a woman not matter what she has on.

With that stated, Ladies if you got it… flaunt it. You got bills to pay.

Reply to This

As I suspected--it does detract from a woman's abilities as a business professional. How often, I wonder, are women who display all assets given unfair advantages in the work place? Any thoughts on that? I always read about it, but haven't seen it in action.

Reply to This

Let's also turn it around, since someone else also alluded to it earlier: How often are women who happen to be attractive and/or well-endowed (but don't go out of their way to display said assets) overlooked in the work place because they're not taken as seriously as their peers? If memory serves, and it's been a few years, my organizational management studies in college showed that attractive women (a naturally subjective term, of course) are perceived to have the LEAST value in the workplace, below that of their counterparts of both genders, based solely on appearance.

It'd be interesting to get some honest responses regarding how often some professionals have thought "she got the job based on her looks/boobs/etc" without regard for said individual's qualifications and skillsets. I'd love to see some discussion on experiences Smoosiers have with had with appearance discrimination, as I happen to believe that it definitely "goes both ways."

Reply to This

It's a turn off. First impressions are of vital importance. If those are the assets you are trying to show off at a networking event, perhaps that's all you have to show off and my first impression of you is greatly lowered.

The only time I have ever seen mass cleavage be somewhat appropriate is at a recent event where I met three rather well endowed ladies who were obviously proud of their upgrades. It turns out they worked at a female owned breast augmentation clinic. So, yeah, they were showing off their business related goods.

Reply to This

My manly impulse control is mentally forefront (so to speak) when speaking with a professional female colleague displaying her attractiveness in such a manner. Regardless of her intentions, I find myself: a) vainly avoiding downward glances; b) wondering if the attire is purposeful (strategic?) or not; c) wondering is she just caught my last "unprofessional" glance; and d) slightly embarrassed and frustrated (professionally) by my distraction.

Yes, yes, "sex sells" and some of us guys are more testosterone poisoned than others. That's beside the point. The unfortunate thing is that office climes remain guarded, so it's difficult to just say, "Hey Annie, nice sweater." and move on.

Reply to This

When the stock market drops, the neck lines plummet. Don't boobs make everyone feel better?
You may be right about how it affects a business image. I've never felt the need to expose my tatas for attention, except during mardi gras.

Reply to This

I'm just curious what kind of business image one has during Mardi Gras. ;-)

Reply to This

RSS

Discussion Forum

Will Hardison

$750, 5 page website Christmas Special!

Started by Will Hardison 1 hour ago.

Genie Goykhberg

A letter from a teacher Ms. Kathleen Lyday - what do you think? 22 Replies

Started by Genie Goykhberg. Last reply by Genie Goykhberg 5 hours ago.

Pat Coyle

Is "real time" killing real news? 1 Reply

Started by Pat Coyle. Last reply by Leah Barr 12 hours ago.

Evan Burke

Indiana's Best - Designers 12 Replies

Started by Evan Burke. Last reply by Evan Burke 12 hours ago.

Annie Sever-Dimitri

Boobs-N-Business 87 Replies

Started by Annie Sever-Dimitri. Last reply by Tom Davis 12 hours ago.

Miriam Gardner-Ryan

Princess Tianna -from Princess and Frog - Now available

Started by Miriam Gardner-Ryan 17 hours ago.

ashan jay

Small business networking event on Dec 19th 3 Replies

Started by ashan jay. Last reply by Miriam Gardner-Ryan 17 hours ago.

Pat Coyle

Dave Forsell on Finding Beauty Everywhere 4 Replies

Started by Pat Coyle. Last reply by Amol Dalvi 22 hours ago.

Cameron Cox

SEEKING AN INTERNSHIP IN ADVERTISING/MEDIA 5 Replies

Started by Cameron Cox. Last reply by Lorraine Ball 1 day ago.

Shirley Caron

Child Abuse and Neglect

Started by Shirley Caron Nov 28.

About

Pat Coyle Pat Coyle created this Ning Network.

Help

A few things to consider before joining Smaller Indiana:
1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account

2. Please do not use logos or commercial images for your profile photo

3. Events should be posted in the events calendar

4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.

5. Please keep all comments civil and polite. It's OK to feel strongly about a subject, and it's OK to be critical of ideas, but please refrain from personal attacks of any kind.

If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.

6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.

© 2009   Created by Pat Coyle

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service