Thoughts on OR. The bad.
August 16, 2010
“Thoughts on OR” great title, eh? I’ve done two trade shows/industry events in the last two weeks on top of researching three separate articles and my creativity is circling the drain, so that’s the title I came up with. But I do have some thoughts on OR that I want to get in print, so here goes.
This is Monday of the Big To-Do List so I’m just going to cut to the chase. My first thought is that I was beyond disappointed to see women in thongs with their asses hanging out at a booth in the show, promoting “technical lingerie” or something like that. When I walked by I was on my way to an appointment so I didn’t have much time to react, but I sure wish I’d had taken a minute to stop by and tell the booth minders what I thought of their attention getting technique. I didn’t, though, so I’ll tell you. I think it is really disrespectful and inappropriate. People like me and countless others have worked hard to build respect for women into the industry and along comes a bunch of dumbasses (pun intended?) who think that OR is equivalent to some sort of car show and that mostly-nude “spokesmodels” are the way to go. I got out of the fitness industry because there is no role for women other than as sex objects there. I see this type of thing in the bike industry as well and that is why I don’t go to Interbike very often. I have no problem with the human body, really I don’t. But I do have a problem with objectifying women in order to garner attention at a trade show, and shame on OR for allowing it to happen. What’s next, “technical breast implants?”
I’ve taken other well-known industry powerhouses to task behind the scenes for making objectifying comments on their blogs (such as the “woo hoo, trade show, free beer and hot women!” type of thing) so this type of thing is nothing terribly new in the industry, but I’ve been in a glowing bubble of denial, thinking that the industry has taken great steps in the last few years alone to improve its treatment of women. Yes, I know that half the schmucks walking the trade show floor and manning the booths have nothing better to do than blatantly ogle the women walking by (I know this because my male writers and photographers tell me about it when we go to the show) which I find to be just kind of pathetic on a personal level, but I really had thought the outdoor industry was getting past this kind of thing. The ski industry and bike industry are still crawling out of the ocean on this one, so to speak, but the outdoor industry as a whole seemed to be improving. This booth was a huge step backwards, or maybe it was just blatant confirmation that I’m wrong about the industry’s personal growth. Yes, I am talking about you, company at OR whose name I was not able to suss out, I am offended by your marketing techniques. I am a woman, a human being, not a mannequin or a piece of eye candy for you to utilize as an attention getter, and neither are the women you dressed up in thongs to parade their bare butts around a professional industry event. Perhaps they don’t know that yet so they went along with it, but I do, so I’m speaking up to tell you that you should take it to the adult industry, not the outdoor industry. And OR – how about I not have to see that type of thing at the next show, OK?
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2 Responses to “Thoughts on OR. The bad.”
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Hey gals, thanks for posting up the good and the bad on OR. You’ll be glad to know that the team running OR is not male dominated, but quite the opposite. I personally did not see the booth you describe, but I’ll ask around… with 980 exhibiting companies, a few with indiscretion are bound to show up… but I, like you, am generally very proud of the industry I serve (and have spent 25 yrs in). My company produces over 50 trade shows, and very few I’ve been to have anywhere near the sensitivity and awareness of gender imbalance that the #OIBIZ does. It’s also not the show management’s policy to shut down booth activity that is legal and in good taste (obviously a subjective matter when it comes to coverage and provocativeness). I keep my ear close to the ground on these kind of matters, which if allowed to get out of hand can ruin a great show. So thanks again for noticing and calling it out.
That said, our industry is changing. As we become more appealing to a wider audience of consumers, we also become more diverse in the scope of businesses that play on our turf. The death of any industry is elitism, and though it is painful, we need to open our arms and welcome even those who don’t yet get it when it comes to this topic, and others that are offensive and don’t speak to the core values of the outdoor industry. In order to grow outdoor participation, we’ll need to become tolerant of a broader range of behavior at the very same time we are working to change it.
Whether it’s Camo clothing, people of color, women in leadership, or inclusion of the Surf culture (where minimal clothing is de rigeur), I see this as part of the good news about OR… instead of schooling brands through banishment and labeling, we can let them know (by example and through buying decisions primarily) that they can do better business by following the example of the most successful brands in the market. Gratuitous objectifying doesn’t really work…
Hey did you see Laird Hamilton at the Open Air Demo? What do you think about the beach culture coming into the outdoor business, as evidenced by SUP and other lifestyle brands entering the market? O’Neill, Body Glove, Quik, etc…
Would love to hear your views.
Kenji at OR
Thanks so much for your reply, Kenji. It’s nice to communicate directly with the women and men behind the curtain, so to speak! And it’s nice to know the OR crew does listen and pay attention. It is a HUGE show so I can imagine you have to rely on attendees to report what they saw since you can’t be everywhere.
I didn’t go to outdoor demo so I can’t speak to what was worn there. I can’t imagine I’d have any issue with swimwear at outdoor demo or on a beach or anything like that. On the trade show floor I think swimwear is borderline as it would clearly just be meant to attract attention, but thong underwear/swimwear in either location is in poor taste for a professional industry event. On an actual beach, I couldn’t care less what someone wears or doesn’t wear. Nudity/toplessness/g string swimsuit – fine by me. But at an event at which I am participating as a professional and a business owner, it’s inappropriate.
It’s quite possible to present swimwear and skimpy suits in a tasteful manner. If you get a chance, check out the Carve Designs catalog. They have incredible photography and while their models are usually surfing or doing other beachy things and therefore have small swimsuits on, the photos portray them as athletes, not clothes hangers or male fantasies, and they look great and empowering.
I’m certainly not the only one who felt this way about the lingerie booth. The Cupcake Mafia web site also had a few things to say about the same booth (and one other – I didn’t see the Reef booth so I’m not sure what she saw there. But let me direct you to her post here.
Like Cupcake Mafia, I didn’t expect to see near-nudity on the OR show floor. Didn’t the booth owners notice that no one else was parading mostly-nude girls around? Didn’t they notice that it wasn’t exactly common at the show and that maybe it’s not standard behavior there? You have to have a special kind of blinders on to not notice that you’re the only one with models with bare asses and that women who attend OR do not in general dress provocatively. I can only assume they did it completely on purpose and welcomed the attention, good or bad.
Reminding booth owners to keep their clothes on isn’t elitist, it’s just respectful to everyone who attends. Like I said in my article, there are trade shows and other industries I don’t participate in because of this type of objectification. That is certainly their choice as to whether or not they want to lose my business, but the trade shows that allow that stuff lose my business as well. It’s nice to know that the OR crew didn’t necessarily even know about this particular booth. I’d still like to know which booth it was so that I can target my comments more directly and perhaps even find out what in the world they were thinking by doing that at the show.
I actually didn’t know that surf brands were not considered part of the outdoor industry until I read your reply. I guess I just kind of always assumed they were a part of it as it’s all outdoors to me. The SUP brands are getting to be a huge draw and are very popular – it’s great to have them there! I think the outdoor industry should welcome all outdoor activities with open arms and of course will have to change and evolve as more points of view come in the door. But please, please, let’s not take any backward steps. Women are a huge force in the outdoor industry and play many powerful roles. Many well-known and respected brands have female founders – Mountain Hardwear comes to mind as do up and comers like Mountain Khakis and many others. I quite enjoy walking into booths and meeting with women who have incredible knowledge and insight into their own brands and are a major influence on the industry. I hate to see it undermined by people who don’t “get it” or worse yet, don’t care.
Thanks so much for commenting and please do continue to stay in the conversation!