It's a Hard Job, but Somebody's Got to Do It, Please!

I'm taking a gander at one of the local weekly newspapers, at the section entitled, "Saluting Women in Business." This section appears this week because yesterday, March 8, was International Women's Day.

The banner above the section pages shows half a woman (from the waist down--I'll comment on that in a moment) relaxing in an office chair, a laptop balanced easily on her lap, her long legs, crossed sexily, and very nice black shoes with 3-inch heels and ankle straps. The only other item in the photo is . . . please tell me I'm wrong . . . a waste basket. No, it must be something else. The words SALUTING WOMEN in BUSINESS are stacked in four lines, and, with a briefcase handle poised above them, form the shape of a briefcase. Take a look for yourself; click on page 18-19: Women in Business ad.

Now I know many women who run their own businesses and none of them ever look like this. They probably have two or three kids clinging to those legs, and if they are reclined in their chairs, it's from exhaustion.

Two things strike me here: half a woman. How is this possible in 2011? I ask myself. So much ink has been spilled in the last 35-40 years (can it have been that long already?) about how women appear in advertising--what they wear; how they hold their faces, legs, hands, mouths, and other body parts; where they look; who they are looking good for, etc., etc. Has nothing changed? Does no one speak up any more?

Okay, next point: the garbage can. Perhaps this is where the other half of the woman is. Need I say more?

Anyway, none of that is what first attracted my attention to the section, which includes (probably paid) advertorials on nine local businesses owned by women. What originally caught my eye was the cutline beside a photo of a woman who owns an organic and natural foods store: "Owner & Health Couch."

Hmm . . . it's one thing to be a couch potato, but to be a couch?!

On the same page, in an advertorial for a new lounge in town (maybe they need a couch?), Tuesday is "Amature Comedy Night." Another business owner states that owning her own business "has been a huge dream I've been bulding to my whole life." This same business stays open late till 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays "just so male workers can make her hours flexable for them." I have no idea what the previous sentence means.

Now I know what you're thinking.
- It's just a small town newspaper, so what do you expect?
- It's fine to point out the mistakes of others, but do you think you're perfect?

Which brings me to my point: it's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it. Please, somebody do it!

Read over everything. Once. Out loud. Slowly. Word by word. Read it again! Don't hit that SEND button yet! Think about it. Read it again.

Why? Because as difficult as writing is, proofreading is even more difficult. But somebody's got to do it.