Booth babes banned by Chinese gaming expo Chinese gaming fans got a little less than they bargained for last week when one of the country’s biggest digital entertainment expos, ChinaJoy 2012, kicked off without the obligatory bikini-clad “booth babes” that have become virtually ubiquitous at consumer tech shows. Organisers of the Shanghai-based conference said they …
I am no virgin, I have a girlfriend and regular sex, I also enjoy striptease.
Labeling it 'nerdy' makes no favor, just accept it for what it is. I suppose F1 is pretty nerdy as well and much are all auto-shows.
So having young beautiful girls who like to show off their bodies is a plus to the tech. exhibition. Of course, the girls featuring the products won't be able to answer any question but you can't have it all.
Paris, coz she doesn't like nerds either.
"So having young beautiful girls who like to show off their bodies is a plus to the tech. exhibition."
Haha.
Don't know many models, do you?
Most of them don't enjoy standing around while ugly people stare at them, committing their curves to memory for a good wank later. They hate it, and they hate the punters. The ones I know often come back from shoots and shows in tears.
But it's money. And money talks. It's an exploitative market, that most people who are involved with deeply dislike and would probably prefer not to exist.
What you are doing by feeding the market is -essentially- making people deeply unhappy. Yes; you can smarmily say "well they shouldn't do it, then", but if someone offered you -as a struggling student- a hundred quid or more to stand around for 4 hours degrading yourself when the rent was due, you and I would both be tempted to take it. And even if we weren't, someone else would be desperate enough to. It's exploitation and degradation.
Don't ever kid yourself that modelling is glamorous and that you're actually doing them a favour by staring at their tits. If staring at strippers is your thing, then at least comes to terms with the fact that the girl you're staring at probably wouldn't be there, given a real choice.
Most of them don't enjoy standing around while ugly people stare at them, committing their curves to memory for a good wank later. They hate it, and they hate the punters. The ones I know often come back from shoots and shows in tears.
.. which is why they enjoy a normal chat with someone who has less problems focusing on their eyes than their assets (provided it doesn't get in the way of their work - after all, they are paid to draw attention to the product). If you are interested in people as a whole rather than just the decorative part you do get a lot better interaction.
Having said that, I agree that there are an awful lot of people around these days with Repetitive Stain Injury (no, that "r" is deliberately left out). What puzzles me is where they come from - wasn't Darwin supposed to take care of that?
".. which is why they enjoy a normal chat "
Assuming that you're normal. Most people who try to have a "friendly chat" with the models are also creepy pervs. Or certainly generally assumed to be.
And if you are chatting to them for more than thirty seconds, half the time they get in trouble for it, because they get told to parade around showing their ass more.
The best thing that can happen for them and the industry (both the game industry and to drive a stake through the heart of the modelling and marketing agencies responsible) is to just walk by, don't look twice, and make a point of only stopping at stands that don't hire half-naked models.
@AC 9:18
If staring at strippers is your thing, then at least comes to terms with the fact that the girl you're staring at probably wouldn't be there, given a real choice.
That's way too bold of a statement. Different people enjoy different stuff. While I do not claim all strippers enjoy their job, many do. Do you seriously believe all girls working in the industry do it for the money solely?
Also what do you define as "real choice": many people despise the idea of working as 'developer'?
you're actually doing them a favour by staring at their tits.
Again that's what you say: have I mentioned I like staring at their boobs? Like I told it's not possible to speak about technical stuff with/to them (sometimes it's not even possible w/ speakers on a conference but it's beyond the point). However, they would rarely decline informal chat.
Strippers also chat but that's also beyond the point.
"While I do not claim all strippers enjoy their job, many do."
A minority, if we're honest.
And they enjoy it because of the screwed-up ass-about-face world we live in, where they feel somehow vaguely empowered and valued by reducing men to drooling flabheaps with bulging trousers. That's not really a good reason.
If I'm totally and brutally honest, the only women who I've ever met in that kind of work who ever enjoyed it were as thick as pigsh**, and have had the wool totally pulled over their eyes by a world and industry that is totally exploiting them.
"Again that's what you say: have I mentioned I like staring at their boobs?"
Sorry; that was a general 'You're' as in 'any bloke'; not specifically you.
"So we're trying to claim that models don't like it when their attractiveness is used to 'attract' someone to the goods or services that they're advertising?
Can I ask exactly what the purpose of modelling is then?"
Is that even a serious question?
The purpose of modelling is to sell us sh*t. It's not an industry that exists so that pretty girls can feel great about 'using their attractiveness'. That's a very blinkered view.
Do you genuinely believe that low-end £50 a day / per shoot models do it because they get all happy and hot under the collar that sweaty geeks perv at them as they 'use their attractiveness'. At the other end of the scale, supermodels most certainly do not give a flying feck what blokes think, and are just seeing that big dollar sign. And even if you are examining the motives of the pure narcissists, then they are motivated by looking good *to themselves*, not for the sake of others.
Normally it's pretty direct and obvious what modelling is selling us: Fashion, computer games, cars... or just to grab our attention for long enough to give us whatever the message the person hiring the model wants us to hear.
Even if no product is involved and it's a 'Tog's portfolio shot, then the 'Tog is selling themselves by it, and furthering their own careers.
99% of people in the business are being exploited and underpaid, and either don't really enjoy their work, or are fooled by highly manipulative people.
Let's not label it "nerdy", because that implies lack of social skills but enhanced intellect. Let's just label it "misogynistic", "degrading", "moronic" and "juvenile".
And yes, that does apply to all the people involved in the souped-up-hatchback side of motorsport.
If attendances dwindle because there are no booth babes then doesn't that simply mean that there's no worthwhile content at the show in the first place? Why go to a show about video games if all you want to do is oggle women? There are plenty of strip bars you can go to if you must have that sort of thing
Why go to a show about video games if all you want to do is oggle women?
It may be because you can *download* the video game - gets a tad harder for the Real Life damsels.
If you go there *solely* for the eye candy, it still means you're at the show, have paid your entrance fee, drink some beverages and possibly buy product. WHich is what this is all about. Some even have fun there.
Personally, I don't have anything against booth babes. As far as I have been able to work out, you're allowed to ignore them too..
I don't see any benefit in these "booth babes". I think the Chinese are doing the right thing. Who would have imagined the Chinese teaching us something?
This sort of carry on is demeaning to women. I used to buy PCFormat magazine and that went through a spell of having a model in a swimsuit pouting with a piece of tech on each cover. If I want to find out about tech stuff I don't want a "booth babe" getting in the way. It just insults my intelligence.
I'll take that on.
If it was just that there was no benefit, then sure, let it go. But when the result is actively bad for everyone, then it's time to plant the stake through its rotting heart.
Usually I wouldn't piss on the Chinese gov if they were on fire, given their usual disregard for human rights; but in this one case they're ahead of the rest of the world.
i like the booth babes they create an interesting juckturposition between the technologies and the human nature my only complaint is theirs not more of them so i went to an expo and i complained to the organiser man about the booth babes were wearing too much clothes i said why not some of them more naked? i have a good eye for technologies and i see where you could make your expos better by having more naked babes everywhere but he said no it was not a good idea but he could respect my point of view but later i got kicked out of the expo because i forgot you are not allowed to touch the booth babes
I think it's a bit unfair.
For most of the flabby,malodorous, pizza-guzzling, coke-swigging, light-avoiding virginal bedroom-dwellers who attend these kind of shows, booth babes might be the only chance they get to see a flesh & blood female in any sort of state of undress, apart from when they walk in on their mum in the shower.
[you will let me know if I accidentally omitted any of the stereotypes, won't you]
Yup, I think you missed "masturbating", but I guess you left that out because they don't do that in public unless they sing and are called George Michael, but I digress.
I prefer to express malodorous as "Having missed their annual bath. Twice", but that's a personal preference (and the few who know me personally now know who is behind the alias :) ). As far as I can tell, the rest is more or less correct. Maybe a sideways reference to inflatables, but that would possibly be overdoing things.
Thanks for the summation. However, let's not forget that sex sells. Even for charities.
It's arguable that the show organisers were a little too inflexible--should they have made allowances for game characters? But that raises the obvious question of character design. This area doesn't need a prudish backlash, but it is depressing to see the way that women are depicted in computer games. And superhero comics can be as bad. It's not just the exaggerated anatomy, it's the apparent ignorance of the artists as the characters stand in implausible poses,
And, while I can appreciate the view, I do feel a little insulted that the companies think that this is what is needed to sell the product. In the end, I don't think that either the game companies or the show organisers are treating women with respect. To both, they are just a visual trigger for a sexual reaction.
I attended a consumer electronics show a couple of years ago, one of many I attend in a year, and the stand next to ours had a girl being body painted on stage. There was no relevance to their business, it was just to get the hordes of sweating men standing around their stand, what made it more horrific was the number of men videoing the process clearly for their later fulfilment. Now, I have nothing against having attractive hostesses on stands, my company often has two women (and one man), but it is poor form to promote your wares just with titillation.
All organised by Sales types. They don't give a rat's arse about anything other than what's most likely to draw a crowd and give 'em an opportunity to push their gear. The fact that they got your attention puts in a tick in their "win" box.
You should thank your lucky stars that Sales droids publicly taking it up the arse from anyone passing who fancies a bit doesn't sell stuff.
Did I fall asleep and wake up on a different planet? What the hell is wrong with having the booth babes? Seriously?? WTF? Pretty girls get paid to stand around wearing stuff that they would wear on a beach or a night out anyway. Are you all so deliriously puritanical that you can't handle seeing a girl in shorts without having a trouser accident or rushing off to touch them or yourself? Should we ban all pop videos and Strictly Come Dancing now too? Honestly, get a grip.
Having said that, the girl with her fanjita out has taken it a bit far but if a bloke walked around there with a mankini on I'm sure it would get the same press attention.........aye right. This girl wanted publicity and she's got it. I love the epic Photoshop fails in the link BTW, down the bottom where you've got an arm that's incredibly long and thin then in another one her leg just disappears after her bum. Funny.
Google "I see your camel toe" on YouTube if you haven't heard it yet. "Looks like a big taco, I see your camel toe"
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