Noose

Guardian, 23 June 1998
I'm Sexy. So Promote Me
by Linda Grant

In the news is a $15m advertising campaign by Jockey, particularly an image in which 5 female Wall Street brokers stand in a row. On top they're wearing mannish, double-breasted suit jackets. Below they wear tights, bordello hold-ups and 'the obligatory five-inch black high heels'. The ads have provoked feminist outrage. Grant discusses sexuality in the workplace: Should women stifle their sexuality to suit a male agenda? Must women flaunt themselves to preserve their femininity? Is a short skirt just a weapon of war? What did the 70s 'Dungarees Dykes' achieve? Grant concludes that the workplace should be a neutral space. Men conform. The Jockey ad 'reeks of fear and desperation'. Sexy outfits at work don't gain respect and will always ultimately backfire as they set the wrong agenda.