So most of us probably heard about the Rosetta spacecraft that landed on a comet 500 million (give or take) kilometers from earth last week? It was truly an exciting accomplishment for space exploration and certainly for the team of scientists that pulled it off.
But did you hear about the *ahem* "shirtstorm" that erupted after one of the project scientists was interviewed while wearing a shirt adorned with artistic renditions of scantily clad, leather-bound, buxom women? Ugh, I don't want to get into it, apparently things got pretty nasty - women lashing out at him, others lashing out at the women for lashing out at him... sigh.
I will say that (1) I don't have a big problem with the shirt, (2) I don't think it suggests that women aren't welcome in science fields, (3) I'm still impressed that he and colleagues landed a spacecraft on a freaking comet! BUT (4) he shoulda thought twice about what he was wearing for such a media event. I understand he felt pretty bad about it afterward.
Years ago, I worked in a lab with three older guys and a couple of guys about my age. One of the older guys had a couple of photos of random topless women at his desk in our open lab. Once, I was directed to get some keys out of a top desk drawer of one of the other older guys. I opened said drawer and, HELLO naked girl!
But... that was those guys. We actually had a fun work environment in that lab. There were other women who regularly came into the lab for both work and socializing. And I can honestly say that if there would've been any type of dangerous situation at work, those guys would've protected me before protecting themselves. That was about 20 years ago. Thinking about it now, I'm sure such "decorations" are not allowed.
So back to the scientist. I feel bad that his accomplishment has been marred by his bad choice of clothing, even though it was - yes - his choice. Maybe he could use his physics smarts to make a time machine to go back and wear a different shirt?
Today, I was going through a power point from one of my classes and noticed a typo. There was an equation that used an "A" where there should've been a "T", and it could've been misleading since either an "A" or "T" was relevant to the equation.
I typed out a quick e-mail to my professor, noting the typo. Before sending, I was thinking what I should put in the subject line. "T and A" immediately came to mind, but LUCKILY I caught myself. I don't know him that well!
Have you made a faux pas - fashion, e-mail, or otherwise - that you wish you could get a do-over for?
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17 comments:
Yea, that may have been a fashion faux pas. I doubt you'd see that shirt on the red carpet. But, then again, if George Clooney were to wear it, I'm sure it would have been acceptable. Sad that his accomplishment was totally overshadowed by a shirt you might find at the ComiCon.
Back in my earlier days in the Engineering pit, one Engineer had a Heather Locklear poster in his cube. Today that would get you a one way ticket to HR.
Well! How did I miss that story?! Both parts... the landing and hence, the shirt.
After a few minutes of thought (I don't have a good title either), I'll go with "dumb" as opposed to "offensive" concerning the scientist's shirt.
We're still in transition when it comes to respect for women; however, do we want a world where we do not make fun of sex (all? genders), flirting...
But, there is a time and a place for everything. We've got a way to go. Those decorations may be gone in most workplaces (I'm not out there), but when I see a preview of night time TV shows... if it depicts anything realistically... it's complicated...
Glad you caught your T and A faux pas before hitting enter. lol
Can't think of anything recent for me, but when i think of some clothes I've worn in the distant past - like a dress that was too shear. ugh! lol
That shirt would probably go unnoticed at ComiCon, and there would probably be a few cosplayers of the shirt subjects! Now that the shirt has been conjoined to the comet landing, I wouldn't be surprised...
And now that you mention it, I remember a female coworkers desk that was adorned with plenty of George Clooney - no leather, though.
I think there's a point where we go from "respectful" to "uptight", but there's a lot of grey in there.
Where do I begin?
Years ago, walking into an editorial board meeting with a guy who jazzed up his hair with mousse since the last time I had seen him. I blurt out, in front of my boss and his (and his boss was the head of a regional federal power marketer), "Hey, Ed! I love the new hair!"
He looked at me blankly and said, "Same hair."
Ha, Ooops!
Great post, Abby! Shirtstorm...haha...good one! I didn't give it much thought, but felt the same way as you do, without the inside view of working in a male-dominated science field. I'm sure he would like to build that time machine...
I made many fashion faux-pas in my younger days, but I don't really give a flying 'beep' about any of them ;0 At least I didn't wear any shirts with half-naked leather clad men on them!
So yeah, the shirt was maybe not the best choice. But am I offended? Nope. Do I think anything different about him? Nope. He's got his own style, and is obviously confident enough to be himself. Either that, or he's like Amp... his brain is thinking about more important things than what he's wearing. Amp has no idea which clothes he wears. He just puts on what's in his closet. And those clothes were put in there by me. :)
Not me, but a recent close call from #2 Son:
Classmate at school sports day: "Dude, you're wearing a DENVER BRONCOS jersey?!"
#2 Son: "Yeah, it's the only shirt I had. i know, old & kinda small."
Classmate: "Dude, there are, like, 3 Seahawks coming to talk to us in the auditorium!"
#2 Son: "Oh, crap!"
And although I'm surprised at what some people wear to work sometimes, I've never seen a shirt of half-nakeds.... not that there's anything wrong with that.
Are there shirts with half-naked leather clad men on them? Just wonderin'
Yeah, I just think it's just part of the guy's personality. He's got full sleeve tattoos, like a rock star. A science rock star.
*snicker* That there sounds like a good case for a raid on the lost-and-found!
If it helps, over half of the scientists at my Uni are women, and very good they are too!
I think the shirt thing got well out of hand. He is a scientist, right? Big Bang Theory, anyone?
Maybe this will spawn a new job description? Scientist Fashion Police?
He may be very smart but might be lacking in the common sense department. I'm sure he just put on the shirt and didn't think much of it.
He looks to me the type of guy that would have planned quite carefully what to wear. With all those tats on his arms he wanted to make a statement. Not sure if it was a very good statement, but there you go. His choice.
Well, until now, I was unaware of the hype surrounding the interview and the guy's shirt. But really, considering that his team landed a spacecraft on a comet, I have to wonder why anyone was looking at his shirt. I tend to be a little oblivious at times, so maybe it's just me, but had you not pointed it out, I probably would not have immediately noticed the graphics.
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