Sexiest Women...really?

I am so irritated by Digital Dealer's "Sexiest Women" issue. This type of rating system sets the industry back twenty years. We might as well be working at Hooters! Anyone else find this offensive? I know after 17 years in the industry I was hoping our work and accomplishments would be noticed first and foremost not our sex appeal. There really is no excuse for it and I am pretty sure it is illegal.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Webb on October 9, 2010 at 7:50pm

Just so you all know, I already went and created a blog post on ADM called
Who is the Sexiest Ralph Paglia? ---- yes, I've included several pics of him. Exploitation works both ways and I'm just as bad/good as he is.
(Then again, my post was in jest and in retaliation for something long prior - where his Sexiest Women post was just a re-posting from someone else. Yes it could be misconstrued as politically incorrect, but anyone who knows Ralph knows that he is a great guy who has a beautiful wife (a professor of feminine studies) and has raised very well-adjusted daughters.

Sharon Hill said:

OMG, I just read the post. My opinion of Ralph just dropped many many notches. I'm totally appalled. I'm out of the office but when I get back on Wed. I'm going to start calling these women, find out if they knew the slant of this piece and get their feedback, and then I'll do some posting of my own. Just when you think you might have started to gain respect and equality along comes Paglia. I had included him on my list of industry folks to come to for quotes when I was writing automotive industry articles, but no more. Although, come to think of it, he might be a good example of what NOT to do. Maybe that's MY slant in my next article. Why don't you send me your most titillating screenshot of yourself, Ralph? Why don't we focus on YOUR body and downplay anything else you might have to offer?

Permalink Reply by Keith Shetterly on October 9, 2010 at 10:05pm

Fuchsia McInerney, author of the blog at http://www.fuchsiamac.com/top-10-sexiest-women-in-social-media/ that Ralph re-posted on ADM had this to say when I invited her to post in the ADM thread. You are welcome to email her directly if any of you need verification or clarification. Here's the text of her reply, unedited, food for thought:

"Hi Keith

I had difficulty posting on the thread, but you are welcome to quote my thoughts below if you'd like.

"As the author of the original post, as well as an alum of the largest women's college in the United States, a mother of three, and a CEO running a company predominantly staffed by men, managed by women, in an industry dominated by men, I would never post something that I felt disrespected or objectified women. Conversely, this piece was designed to attract publicity to prominent women in this field and their projects, all of whom agreed to participate with enthusiasm, provided photos, bios, etc., with a catchy headline and a light-hearted twist. Overwhelmingly and with very few exceptions, this has been the result.

Depending on a multitude of circumstances, it's justifiable enough to jump atop the soap box and protest the objectification of women. In this case, however, what is sexy? Is it their success, their high-powered positions, their innovation in the industry? I think those things are likely far sexier than the photos that they submitted, and I think that the vast majority of people who read this can appreciate that as well. This, ultimately, is why they were chosen for this piece.

I can't speak to the automotive industry personally and I haven't read the entire comment thread here, but hopefully some of the commentary was productive, progressive and educational, if a little controversial."

Fuchsia McInerney
C.E.O. | Creative Director
Pearse Street Consulting, Inc.
e: ceo@pearsestreet.com
www.pearsestreet.com
www.linkedin.com/in/pearsestreet"

Permalink Reply by Joe Webb on October 10, 2010 at 1:12am

Congrats to Keith who just put this controversial post to bed. Well done and good night.

Keith Shetterly said:

Fuchsia McInerney, author of the blog at http://www.fuchsiamac.com/top-10-sexiest-women-in-social-media/ that Ralph re-posted on ADM had this to say when I invited her to post in the ADM thread. You are welcome to email her directly if any of you need verification or clarification. Here's the text of her reply, unedited, food for thought:

"Hi Keith

I had difficulty posting on the thread, but you are welcome to quote my thoughts below if you'd like.

"As the author of the original post, as well as an alum of the largest women's college in the United States, a mother of three, and a CEO running a company predominantly staffed by men, managed by women, in an industry dominated by men, I would never post something that I felt disrespected or objectified women. Conversely, this piece was designed to attract publicity to prominent women in this field and their projects, all of whom agreed to participate with enthusiasm, provided photos, bios, etc., with a catchy headline and a light-hearted twist. Overwhelmingly and with very few exceptions, this has been the result.

Depending on a multitude of circumstances, it's justifiable enough to jump atop the soap box and protest the objectification of women. In this case, however, what is sexy? Is it their success, their high-powered positions, their innovation in the industry? I think those things are likely far sexier than the photos that they submitted, and I think that the vast majority of people who read this can appreciate that as well. This, ultimately, is why they were chosen for this piece.

I can't speak to the automotive industry personally and I haven't read the entire comment thread here, but hopefully some of the commentary was productive, progressive and educational, if a little controversial."

Fuchsia McInerney
C.E.O. | Creative Director
Pearse Street Consulting, Inc.
e: ceo@pearsestreet.com
www.pearsestreet.com
www.linkedin.com/in/pearsestreet"

Permalink Reply by Ralph Paglia on October 10, 2010 at 2:23am

Craig, considering that each of the ten women wrote the section about themselves, and submitted the photo to be used, I would venture a guess that they approve of what they submitted to be published about themselves! If there is any pandering or grand-standing going in in regards to Fuschia's "Ten Sexiest Women" article and what each of the women wrote about themselves, it is from those who have commented in a judgmental manner without actually reading the article to learn that the list was prepared and published by a woman, and that each of the sections was written by the woman who is the topic of that session...
In my opinion, the negative commentary made about such an article tells us more about the ignorance that drives unconstructive polarization on important issues than anything in the article itself... Which is basically a celebration of women, written by a woman about ten ladies in marketing, including her own daughter, with each section WRITTEN BY THE WOMAN HERSELF!

Craig Lockerd said:

Be interesting to see what the women that were picked in this stupid thing have to say about being picked?...Did they have a choice? Did they agree to it? How do they feel now? Maybe I'll wander over to ADM and make a comment!

Permalink Reply by Sharon Hill on October 10, 2010 at 7:07am

okay, my last word on this. First, just because you consent to an interview, or even submit the copy yourself, it doesn't mean you know the final result or even the slant of the article until it appears. I'd like to know if these women were aware of all this. Second, just because you're a woman who said yes, let's treat me like a piece of meat in public, doesn't mean you can't feel bad for her or be offended by seeing it in print when you're enlightened enough to realize this is not okay. The really sad thing here is there is so much good material about these women in this article and so little attention is being paid to THAT because of one word and a couple of ill-advised photos. The sexy focus, beyond being offensive, took away from the effectiveness of the message about their accomplishments. It was offensive and misogynistic, but even more it was counter productive. More than being in poor taste, it wasn't even smart marketing.

Permalink Reply by MANNY LUNA on October 10, 2010 at 7:30am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09LGpNMYNjw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttkvaJ_GRGk

Please dont hate the players, hate the game!

Sharon Hill said:

okay, my last word on this. First, just because you consent to an interview, or even submit the copy yourself, it doesn't mean you know the final result or even the slant of the article until it appears. I'd like to know if these women were aware of all this. Second, just because you're a woman who said yes, let's treat me like a piece of meat in public, doesn't mean you can't feel bad for her or be offended by seeing it in print when you're enlightened enough to realize this is not okay. The really sad thing here is there is so much good material about these women in this article and so little attention is being paid to THAT because of one word and a couple of ill-advised photos. The sexy focus, beyond being offensive, took away from the effectiveness of the message about their accomplishments. It was offensive and misogynistic, but even more it was counter productive. More than being in poor taste, it wasn't even smart marketing.

Permalink Reply by Cliff Banks on October 10, 2010 at 11:52am

I do want to add, despite my opinion of the content of Ralph's post, he is personal friend and a stand up guy. I would never accuse him of being a sexist -- I know him too well.

Sharon Hill said:

OMG, I just read the post. My opinion of Ralph just dropped many many notches. I'm totally appalled. I'm out of the office but when I get back on Wed. I'm going to start calling these women, find out if they knew the slant of this piece and get their feedback, and then I'll do some posting of my own. Just when you think you might have started to gain respect and equality along comes Paglia. I had included him on my list of industry folks to come to for quotes when I was writing automotive industry articles, but no more. Although, come to think of it, he might be a good example of what NOT to do. Maybe that's MY slant in my next article. Why don't you send me your most titillating screenshot of yourself, Ralph? Why don't we focus on YOUR body and downplay anything else you might have to offer?

Permalink Reply by Keith Shetterly on October 10, 2010 at 12:38pm

Thanks Joe! And the women involved included Fuchsia's sister-in-law. If this keeps up, I guess I could write them all for their take on the article that came out about them and see who answers. I don't think it would make a difference, though. Fuchsia said this was for publicity, and I think she got that!

Permalink Reply by Sally Whitesell on October 10, 2010 at 5:39pm

It is still unacceptable and once again in very poor taste! Is Ralph her boss?

Susan LoManto said:

Hi all,

I just read all your posts and went back to Ralph's post in ADM. I am not sure that anyone has mentioned this: the article was originally posted by a WOMAN. http://www.fuchsiamac.com/ . .

Permalink Reply by Sally Whitesell on October 10, 2010 at 5:43pm

Cliff Banks said:

I do want to add, despite my opinion of the content of Ralph's post, he is personal friend and a stand up guy. I would never accuse him of being a sexist -- I know him too well.

Sharon Hill said:
OMG, I just read the post. My opinion of Ralph just dropped many many notches. I'm totally appalled. I'm out of the office but when I get back on Wed. I'm going to start calling these women, find out if they knew the slant of this piece and get their feedback, and then I'll do some posting of my own. Just when you think you might have started to gain respect and equality along comes Paglia. I had included him on my list of industry folks to come to for quotes when I was writing automotive industry articles, but no more. Although, come to think of it, he might be a good example of what NOT to do. Maybe that's MY slant in my next article. Why don't you send me your most titillating screenshot of yourself, Ralph? Why don't we focus on YOUR body and downplay anything else you might have to offer?

Permalink Reply by Sally Whitesell on October 10, 2010 at 5:47pm

We do now. But thank you for clarifying once again. I have written articles for Dealer Magazine and I am very relieved to hear they are not affiliated with this article.

Joe Webb said:

Everyone knows that the sexiest women blog post by Ralph was done by Ralph Paglia and not by anyone with Digital Dealer, correct? They are two separate entities.

Permalink Reply by Joe Webb on October 10, 2010 at 5:47pm

Sally, this was written by a female social media guru far outside of the automotive industry. If you read above, Keith reached out to the original creator of the Sexiest Women post and she herself commented on it. Read her reply above in Keith's comment.

Ralph simply found the full Sexiest Women article already written out in the blogosphere and posted it onto his own site. It isn't his content, but he did post it, right or wrong. However, if you read ALL of the comment thoroughly, you will find that even the women who created the blog originally and participated in it were involved throughout. However, they have NO affiliation or connection with Ralph Paglia.

Sally Whitesell said:

It is still unacceptable and once again in very poor taste! Is Ralph her boss?

Susan LoManto said:
Hi all,

I just read all your posts and went back to Ralph's post in ADM. I am not sure that anyone has mentioned this: the article was originally posted by a WOMAN. http://www.fuchsiamac.com/ . .