A Very Odd Stance Indeed

Looking around a bit on the Web, I see that I am not the only person bothered by the weird current tendency to have women stand pigeon-toed (with their toes turned in toward each other) in ads. In my opinion, it makes the women look not "cute," but submissive and silly, even rather stupid, and most certainly child-like.

The most recent such depiction I saw was an ad from the Colorado Symphony for a performance by a group called The Airborne Toxic Event. There are five members of the group, one woman and four men. The woman is posed wearing tight black pants and what appear to be black high heels. But she is spoiling any attempt at looking sexy by standing with her toes turned in toward each other. What is even odder is that she is holding a pale green umbrella open over her head. Huh? What the heck is she shielding herself from?

The men, by contrast, are standing in much more self-confident poses. Their feet are
1) rather wide apart (a bit too self-consciously macho for my taste),
2) one leg crossed over the other (maybe a little unstable looking),
3) toes straight ahead, feet a moderate distance apart (okay), and
4) feet a bit closer together, toes turned out (okay).

So what gives with the woman's pose? I actually dislike this silly, degrading look so much that this ad prejudices me against the group as a whole, even though I have never heard of them before.

So good grief, ladies! Straighten out those feet and legs. Stand tall and strong. Look like a woman, not a wimp.