This is a “sexy BA” at best.
November 2, 2014 2:26 PM Subscribe
This is sad all by itself, but what I remember about my grad school years is wearing shapeless sweatshirts so I did not attract any attention from professors. The last thing I wanted to look was sexy.
posted by acrasis at 2:44 PM on November 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 2:44 PM on November 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
I guess this puts to bed
So to speak.
The costume is so fantastically terrible that it's hard to know where to start.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:51 PM on November 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
So to speak.
The costume is so fantastically terrible that it's hard to know where to start.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:51 PM on November 2, 2014 [2 favorites]
The link is missing my favorite comment:
Dear Lady Ph.Ds:posted by bibliowench at 3:03 PM on November 2, 2014 [75 favorites]
Welcome to the fold.
Love,
Librarians
Where's the sexy adjunct costume?
posted by Mcable at 3:05 PM on November 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by Mcable at 3:05 PM on November 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
Where's the sexy adjunct costume?
Look in the "sexy barrels" aisle.
posted by metaquarry at 3:09 PM on November 2, 2014 [34 favorites]
Look in the "sexy barrels" aisle.
posted by metaquarry at 3:09 PM on November 2, 2014 [34 favorites]
Sexy adjunct is filed under several other sexy part-time jobs.
posted by aaronetc at 3:38 PM on November 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by aaronetc at 3:38 PM on November 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
hah. "Hello class, I'm your sexy facilitator, Ms. Dunning. During the day, I'm a sexy data analyst and in my free time, I play clarinet in a sexy klexmer band."
posted by boo_radley at 3:41 PM on November 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by boo_radley at 3:41 PM on November 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Today I learned:
a) That there is a thing called Rate My Professor
b) That the Rate My Professor metrics feature a "Chilli Pepper Rating". I thought it was a joke- like, really? Can that really be a thing? It turned out to be true. Wow, that is some bizarre misogyny to add to all the already prolific misogyny. Cos you can never have enough misogyny.
FFS
posted by Philby at 4:27 PM on November 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
a) That there is a thing called Rate My Professor
b) That the Rate My Professor metrics feature a "Chilli Pepper Rating". I thought it was a joke- like, really? Can that really be a thing? It turned out to be true. Wow, that is some bizarre misogyny to add to all the already prolific misogyny. Cos you can never have enough misogyny.
FFS
posted by Philby at 4:27 PM on November 2, 2014 [6 favorites]
At last, the Halloween Costume I've been waiting for! The only problem with my life as a graduate student is that it is so hard to remind people I am a sexy lady person first, and an intellectual person last.
(Though I admit, I am a little jealous of my boyfriend's sizzling chili pepper on Rate My Professor).
posted by ChuraChura at 4:29 PM on November 2, 2014
(Though I admit, I am a little jealous of my boyfriend's sizzling chili pepper on Rate My Professor).
posted by ChuraChura at 4:29 PM on November 2, 2014
Wow, that is some bizarre misogyny to add to all the already prolific misogyny.
I work at a school that is 77% female students. The chatter on the campus shuttle bus about the male instructors is ... illuminating. That chili pepper is equal opportunity, trust me.
posted by anastasiav at 4:32 PM on November 2, 2014 [36 favorites]
I work at a school that is 77% female students. The chatter on the campus shuttle bus about the male instructors is ... illuminating. That chili pepper is equal opportunity, trust me.
posted by anastasiav at 4:32 PM on November 2, 2014 [36 favorites]
Well, since the post is snark anyway: Real-life women with PhDs make embarrassing typos while mocking stupid, sexist costume...yikes....
giving nary a thought to the male gaze and it’s implications....Hopefully I can keep my post structural hegemony’s from engaging...
posted by LooseFilter at 4:48 PM on November 2, 2014
giving nary a thought to the male gaze and it’s implications....Hopefully I can keep my post structural hegemony’s from engaging...
posted by LooseFilter at 4:48 PM on November 2, 2014
That chili pepper is equal opportunity, trust me.
Absolutely. As a young male professor (started full-time teaching at 28) I was subject to the objectifying gaze with accompanying unwanted attention from female students regularly. Seems to have stopped now that I'm in my 40s (I've aged into the 'Dad zone,' I think).
posted by LooseFilter at 4:54 PM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
Absolutely. As a young male professor (started full-time teaching at 28) I was subject to the objectifying gaze with accompanying unwanted attention from female students regularly. Seems to have stopped now that I'm in my 40s (I've aged into the 'Dad zone,' I think).
posted by LooseFilter at 4:54 PM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
As a proud male owner of the chili pepper, can we not pretend that beauty expectations hit men and women the same? I mean, this very post is evidence that they do not.
posted by TypographicalError at 5:02 PM on November 2, 2014 [16 favorites]
posted by TypographicalError at 5:02 PM on November 2, 2014 [16 favorites]
ratemyprofessor.com is ancient by internet standards, the site does not set set apart professors by gender in any way besides their names, and female visitors to the site greatly outnumber male visitors. I think this kneejerking is probably an unnecessary detour.
posted by Winnemac at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by Winnemac at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
Apparently one of the male researchers at a friends place of work showed up a homemade version of this and demanded to be called Dr Sexy Darling all day. Not one iota of serious work happened.
posted by fshgrl at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2014 [13 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 5:06 PM on November 2, 2014 [13 favorites]
I once showed my students how easy it was to game the system for ratemyprofessor.com by loading up the site (on the projection screen, so everyone could see), creating an account, and ranking myself as uber-hot. Then I did it again, and again. Net result: I have the highest chili pepper ranking in my department.
I regret nothing.
posted by math at 5:14 PM on November 2, 2014 [39 favorites]
I regret nothing.
posted by math at 5:14 PM on November 2, 2014 [39 favorites]
I am an academic advisor, in addition to the 234234 other hats I wear at my job, and I have been known to send students to ratemyprofessor (in addition to talking to their friends, fellow majors, etc.) when picking gen eds, because some terrible instructors are shuttled into gen ed classes, and unless I happen to have sat on a committee with someone, I can't tell you whose class is doable and who isn't. As noted above, I regret nothing.
(Huh. I also have the second highest rating on RMP in my department, but no chili pepper. This amuses me.)
posted by joycehealy at 5:22 PM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
(Huh. I also have the second highest rating on RMP in my department, but no chili pepper. This amuses me.)
posted by joycehealy at 5:22 PM on November 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
I guess it's the most telling thing about my profession that as soon as I saw the regalia was incorrect for a Ph.D. I stopped caring about any further insults to gender or intelligence.
THE WHOLE POINT OF THE HOOD IS to store and carry around scurrilous pamphlets, monographs, or your own diploma if you're sassy like that, instead of burdening your ivorytower-white hands. UGH! Halloween is RUINED.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 6:28 PM on November 2, 2014 [16 favorites]
THE WHOLE POINT OF THE HOOD IS to store and carry around scurrilous pamphlets, monographs, or your own diploma if you're sassy like that, instead of burdening your ivorytower-white hands. UGH! Halloween is RUINED.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 6:28 PM on November 2, 2014 [16 favorites]
So it was a friend of mine who started this by leaving the first snarky comment and inviting others to participate as well, and I am JUST SO PROUD OF HER, *sniff*. I told her to print out the comments and hang them beside her PhD.
posted by BlueJae at 6:56 PM on November 2, 2014 [10 favorites]
posted by BlueJae at 6:56 PM on November 2, 2014 [10 favorites]
Cold Lurkey: I guess it's the most telling thing about my profession that as soon as I saw the regalia was incorrect for a Ph.D. I stopped caring about any further insults to gender or intelligence.
Yeah, that's the first thing I thought of, too - "You couldn't take thirty seconds to google what a doctoral graduation robe looks like?"
posted by Mitrovarr at 7:25 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that's the first thing I thought of, too - "You couldn't take thirty seconds to google what a doctoral graduation robe looks like?"
posted by Mitrovarr at 7:25 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
tudor bonnet or gtfo
posted by en forme de poire at 7:44 PM on November 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 7:44 PM on November 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
The customers for this are going to be women, and of a background where being a college graduate is uncommon enough to warrant a halloween costume. It's got zilch to do with men directly. So, I'm not too tickled that the "sexism" this costume represents is being combatted by slut-shaming with a side-helping of classism.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:39 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:39 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
tudor bonnet or gtfo
We were not expecting this headwear when my SO got the paper, but... the Tudor Bonnet is actually quite stylin'. Now I want one. Without doing the required work.
posted by ovvl at 8:48 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
We were not expecting this headwear when my SO got the paper, but... the Tudor Bonnet is actually quite stylin'. Now I want one. Without doing the required work.
posted by ovvl at 8:48 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sexy PhDs are Sexy Adjuncts. The costume says nothing about actually getting a job after finishing graduate school. Perhaps her lack of pants indicates her current earning potential.
posted by bibliowench at 8:58 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bibliowench at 8:58 PM on November 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I really, really wanted a Tudor Bonnet when I graduated, but the discount regalia didn't come with one. No, for real, we had the option of buying either the academic quality regalia for $600 [!!] or the discount disposable polyester regalia for $70, and they totally looked different, so at graduation you could tell who was a pleb and who was independently wealthy* just from a quick scan of the crowd. Occupy Grad School, etc.
* I suppose it's also possible some people were actually going straight to a TT faculty position but I try not to think about that for the sake of my tooth enamel.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:06 PM on November 2, 2014
* I suppose it's also possible some people were actually going straight to a TT faculty position but I try not to think about that for the sake of my tooth enamel.
posted by en forme de poire at 9:06 PM on November 2, 2014
the "sexism" this costume represents is being combatted by slut-shaming with a side-helping of classism
Not wanting to derail this further than I already have- thanks all for explaining the chilli pepper thing, being a FOREIGNER I had no idea such a thing existed!- but where do you see the slut-shaming and classism? Was it here:
The customers for this are going to be women, and of a background where being a college graduate is uncommon enough to warrant a halloween costume.
Oh wait. That's your comment. Sounds pretty darned classist to me!
posted by Philby at 12:33 AM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]
Not wanting to derail this further than I already have- thanks all for explaining the chilli pepper thing, being a FOREIGNER I had no idea such a thing existed!- but where do you see the slut-shaming and classism? Was it here:
The customers for this are going to be women, and of a background where being a college graduate is uncommon enough to warrant a halloween costume.
Oh wait. That's your comment. Sounds pretty darned classist to me!
posted by Philby at 12:33 AM on November 3, 2014 [4 favorites]
Too many of the comments are merely pointing out that the costume is absurd. I think the people who designed it know that.
I was hoping more of the comments would take it on at an intellectual level - a bit of deconstruction, some semiotics? Remember, il n'y a pas de hors-robe.
posted by Segundus at 2:46 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
I was hoping more of the comments would take it on at an intellectual level - a bit of deconstruction, some semiotics? Remember, il n'y a pas de hors-robe.
posted by Segundus at 2:46 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
As a non-graduate who lives in a working-class community around people who are generally pretty damn hard-working and sensible I find this comment snobby and frankly a bit ridiculous.
You really think the primary purchasers are going to be undergrads? Or that young working-class women are too sensible go wild for Halloween? Astonishing.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:38 AM on November 3, 2014
You really think the primary purchasers are going to be undergrads? Or that young working-class women are too sensible go wild for Halloween? Astonishing.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:38 AM on November 3, 2014
I didn't spend four years at sexy graduate school so just anyone could wear a sexy PhD outfit.
posted by biffa at 5:46 AM on November 3, 2014 [18 favorites]
posted by biffa at 5:46 AM on November 3, 2014 [18 favorites]
Oh wait. That's your comment. Sounds pretty darned classist to me!
I've only known one person who's worn something like this - it was a "sexy professor" outfit, which is pretty much identical to this, only in black, and she added a necktie and glasses. She had never been to college, didn't socialize with many people who went to college, nor had any plans to go - college was something outside of her immediate experience, which made its trappings and regalia fun and exotic for her. She wore it to whoop it up with her girlfriends the weekend before Halloween. That's the customer base who's buying this.
Middle-class men are not the customers for this item. They're not even the beneficiary - some women like dressing salaciously on Halloween because it's fun to break loose from some social norms on Halloween, not to appease the appetites of men.
Remember, kids - punch up, not down.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:55 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've only known one person who's worn something like this - it was a "sexy professor" outfit, which is pretty much identical to this, only in black, and she added a necktie and glasses. She had never been to college, didn't socialize with many people who went to college, nor had any plans to go - college was something outside of her immediate experience, which made its trappings and regalia fun and exotic for her. She wore it to whoop it up with her girlfriends the weekend before Halloween. That's the customer base who's buying this.
Middle-class men are not the customers for this item. They're not even the beneficiary - some women like dressing salaciously on Halloween because it's fun to break loose from some social norms on Halloween, not to appease the appetites of men.
Remember, kids - punch up, not down.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:55 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well I am not shocked at this, because we have all known for some time that costumes for women are only available as a derivative of men's costumes. As in, let n = men's costumes; for women, you get sexy n or slutty n and that's it.
I know a lot of women with PhDs. None of them dress like strippers. Even for fun, as far as I know.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:56 AM on November 3, 2014
I know a lot of women with PhDs. None of them dress like strippers. Even for fun, as far as I know.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:56 AM on November 3, 2014
(OK so my cousin is a fan of "slutty n" costumes but she is a DVM not a PhD)
posted by caution live frogs at 5:57 AM on November 3, 2014
posted by caution live frogs at 5:57 AM on November 3, 2014
I really, really wanted a Tudor Bonnet when I graduated, but the discount regalia didn't come with one. No, for real, we had the option of buying either the academic quality regalia for $600 [!!] or the discount disposable polyester regalia for $70
Oh noooo. The only thing that is keeping me going is the prospect of getting a silly hat once I finish the dissertation. I need to go look up how my university handles such things.
posted by pemberkins at 6:18 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh noooo. The only thing that is keeping me going is the prospect of getting a silly hat once I finish the dissertation. I need to go look up how my university handles such things.
posted by pemberkins at 6:18 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
Cold Lurkey: "THE WHOLE POINT OF THE HOOD IS to store and carry around scurrilous pamphlets, monographs, or your own diploma if you're sassy like that, instead of burdening your ivorytower-white hands."
I wonder if anyone wears a hood with a tuxedo ever? Probably not. I'm just thinking about the notion of the folds in a cummerbund being meant to hold opera tickets and the like. One's entire outfit could be overflowing with documents.
posted by exogenous at 8:34 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wonder if anyone wears a hood with a tuxedo ever? Probably not. I'm just thinking about the notion of the folds in a cummerbund being meant to hold opera tickets and the like. One's entire outfit could be overflowing with documents.
posted by exogenous at 8:34 AM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
exogenous: You should probably go and get a DVD of Downton Abbey and fast forward to any bit with the Dowager Duchess sneering at someone. Then imagine you said that out loud.
posted by biffa at 9:00 AM on November 3, 2014
posted by biffa at 9:00 AM on November 3, 2014
> "So, I'm not too tickled that the 'sexism' this costume represents is being combatted by slut-shaming with a side-helping of classism."
I'm honestly not seeing it, at least not in this thread or the other comments I've seen. In fact, I don't think I've seen anything directed at anyone who might wear this costume. The comments I've seen have all been about the people who make it, and tend to fall into one of two categories:
1) Mocking the fact that the costume design is inaccurate.
2) Eye-rolling about the fact that every mass-manufactured woman's costume, no matter what it is, no matter what the concept, apparently MUST BE SEXY. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE SEXY. THE SEXY WILL FIND YOU. THE SEXY WILL CONSUME YOU!
This is very different from making fun of a woman who might *want* to wear a sexy Ph.D. outfit. While I have seen slut-shaming on those grounds, including on metafilter in at least one thread I remember, I haven't seen it in this one.
posted by kyrademon at 9:24 AM on November 3, 2014
I'm honestly not seeing it, at least not in this thread or the other comments I've seen. In fact, I don't think I've seen anything directed at anyone who might wear this costume. The comments I've seen have all been about the people who make it, and tend to fall into one of two categories:
1) Mocking the fact that the costume design is inaccurate.
2) Eye-rolling about the fact that every mass-manufactured woman's costume, no matter what it is, no matter what the concept, apparently MUST BE SEXY. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE SEXY. THE SEXY WILL FIND YOU. THE SEXY WILL CONSUME YOU!
This is very different from making fun of a woman who might *want* to wear a sexy Ph.D. outfit. While I have seen slut-shaming on those grounds, including on metafilter in at least one thread I remember, I haven't seen it in this one.
posted by kyrademon at 9:24 AM on November 3, 2014
While I have seen slut-shaming on those grounds, including on metafilter in at least one thread I remember, I haven't seen it in this one.
[...]
I know a lot of women with PhDs. None of them dress like strippers. Even for fun, as far as I know.
Honestly, even if they did in their spare time or for halloween, what does it matter? Would you think any less of an *actual* PhD who decided to be a "sexy PhD" for shits and giggles? The idea that only "low class" (e.g. sans PhD) women would wear these kinds of outfits is gross and offensive. Classism and slut shaming, indeed.
posted by smidgen at 10:57 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
[...]
I know a lot of women with PhDs. None of them dress like strippers. Even for fun, as far as I know.
Honestly, even if they did in their spare time or for halloween, what does it matter? Would you think any less of an *actual* PhD who decided to be a "sexy PhD" for shits and giggles? The idea that only "low class" (e.g. sans PhD) women would wear these kinds of outfits is gross and offensive. Classism and slut shaming, indeed.
posted by smidgen at 10:57 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]
You lot are only arguing because you want Cortex to show up in his "sexy moderator" outfit.
posted by garius at 11:06 AM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by garius at 11:06 AM on November 3, 2014 [5 favorites]
She had never been to college, didn't socialize with many people who went to college, nor had any plans to go - college was something outside of her immediate experience, which made its trappings and regalia fun and exotic for her.
I object to this flagrant appropriation of my culture.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:23 AM on November 3, 2014
I object to this flagrant appropriation of my culture.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:23 AM on November 3, 2014
Eye-rolling about the fact that every mass-manufactured woman's costume, no matter what it is, no matter what the concept, apparently MUST BE SEXY.
Except a quick glance at costumes available online shows that's not true in this case. The argument instead seems to be that no women's costumes should be sexy, and that hits out at women making their own decisions on how to portray themselves.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:20 PM on November 3, 2014
Except a quick glance at costumes available online shows that's not true in this case. The argument instead seems to be that no women's costumes should be sexy, and that hits out at women making their own decisions on how to portray themselves.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:20 PM on November 3, 2014
caution live frogs: I know a lot of women with PhDs. None of them dress like strippers. Even for fun, as far as I know.
How much of that is just the age window for people having PhDs missing the age window for people wanting to dress like that? There really aren't many people with PhDs under 35, and a lot of them fly under the radar because they're not established in their career yet (either they're working so much you don't see them at all, or they have crappy jobs so you don't know they have doctorates).
posted by Mitrovarr at 3:25 PM on November 3, 2014
How much of that is just the age window for people having PhDs missing the age window for people wanting to dress like that? There really aren't many people with PhDs under 35, and a lot of them fly under the radar because they're not established in their career yet (either they're working so much you don't see them at all, or they have crappy jobs so you don't know they have doctorates).
posted by Mitrovarr at 3:25 PM on November 3, 2014
I have no idea what we're arguing about at this point. I will state for the record that I think people should be able to dress however they like, slut-shaming is wrong, and anyone who has said otherwise is also wrong. K?
And, as to the other line of conversation on the thread ... What? Of course there are people with PhDs who like to dress sexily. I know a burlesque troupe that at one point had so many PhDs that they probably could have gotten accredited. Also there are people over the age of 35 who like to dress sexily.
posted by kyrademon at 4:23 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
And, as to the other line of conversation on the thread ... What? Of course there are people with PhDs who like to dress sexily. I know a burlesque troupe that at one point had so many PhDs that they probably could have gotten accredited. Also there are people over the age of 35 who like to dress sexily.
posted by kyrademon at 4:23 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
What would that look like?
Not entirely sure, but I think there's some Comic Sans involved somehow.
posted by garius at 4:33 PM on November 3, 2014
Not entirely sure, but I think there's some Comic Sans involved somehow.
posted by garius at 4:33 PM on November 3, 2014
I am the proud owner of both a Ph.D. and a closet full of deliciously slutty clothing that comes out on the weekends. Also I think the existence of this costume is hilarious and the comments on it are hilarious.
posted by ootandaboot at 6:02 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by ootandaboot at 6:02 PM on November 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by Jernau at 2:38 PM on November 2, 2014