Leaving aside the greater indignities, why the fuck can't they cut pasta? Twirling it is pointlessly hard.
Is it some kind of castration anxiety thing?
The last part, with the bold capitals about insubordination and questioning authority, is especially creepy.
Up through the 70s, weren't those types of instructions commonly imposed in setting where all the workers were female? I recall my aunt talking about the absurd dress code she had to deal with as a nurse.
5. I think so. My late aunt knew a woman whose house was hit by a V2, and who crawled out of the wreckage and went to work, only to be chewed out by her supervisor for not wearing gloves.
My mother, as a flight attendant, had a micromanagy dress/appearance code at least into the 90s. It wasn't enforced with any particular strictness -- there was a whole lot of detailed makeup required, and Mom used to fake her way through with some lipstick and ignoring the rest -- but very detailed.
Ben-Gals makes me think of Bengay. Not really the best association for people trying to be sexy.
Spread some on your genitalia. Maybe it does feel great.
10: University of TN will probably try that next. apparently, their previous experiments with hot sauce have been a roaring success. (Yes, that's the butt-chugging school.)
A) Obsessively micromanaging their appearance and behavior
or
B) Not paying them anything
Pick one, NFL
My late aunt knew a woman whose house was hit by a V2, and who crawled out of the wreckage and went to work, only to be chewed out by her supervisor for not wearing gloves.
They had Col. John Frost as a tech advisor on "A Bridge Too Far" and he took issue with a scene depicting his paras in the fifth day of street fighting against two attacking SS Panzer divisions. The actors playing the paras were unshaven. His paras, Frost said, had shaved every morning throughout the battle.
and he took issue with a scene depicting his paras in the fifth day of street fighting against two attacking SS Panzer divisions
I noticed an element of Shakespearean low comedy in the depiction of the special weapons teams, like Henry V in a 20th-century battle. I'll bet that got on Col. Frost's nerves too, although must have been a bit of an hono(u)r to have been played by Anthony Hopkins.
And didn't they show the same guys handling the flame-thrower as later handled the PIAT? doesn't make any sense. To say nothing of 9th SS Panzer acting like what Mark Twain famously called "Cooper Indians."
14: contrast the denouement in The Siege of Krishnapur, when we see the happy lice-infested rank couple through the eyes of the rescuing calvary.
whoops 14 was me, amnesiac phone. And come to think of it we both see and *smell* them. Hadn't recalled that novel in a while, great read.
So, given that these women are abused and barely paid throughout the brief course of their unpromising and strenuous careers, why do they do it? Couldn't they be flogging pharmaceuticals somewhere? Where's the payoff?
Famous. I don't know if you can parlay being an NFL cheerleader into some kind of performing career, but I'd bet the people who want to be cheerleaders think you can.
18,19: Also the chance to meet rich guys who might be looking for a trophy wife or girlfriend.
Why do people persist with the community theatre thing? They like to perform, and in many communities this is a pinnacle of (semi-)amateur performing opportunities. Not that I think it should be even semi-amateur. The daughter of the manager of my dentist's office has one of these gigs and she seems to have no illusions re either professional opportunities or mate attraction, she is looking to extend her amateur dance performing career.
Prestigious, too, for a certain value of prestige.
whoops 14 was me, amnesiac phone.
You're ajay? (I kid . . .)
Thanks, NickS, meant 16, 17 were me, wouldn't want to impugn ajay's reputation!
18: I also blame competitive cheerleading. This non-paying industry has its own feeder system.
18: Hilariously, that's basically the job the one B/-G/ I've known has had. She seems like a lovely person and diligently attends her sister's roller derby games.
We're not allowed to let them buy the whole department lunch anymore.
We've been ethical for so long, all my pens say "Bic".
8:Ben-Gals makes me think of Bengay.
When I saw it, I thought it might be what the Steelers called their cheerleaders for extra rapey creepiness. Was glad to see it was for the Bengals.
Another vote for "kind of prestige" My wife's doing a study of the impact on careers of undergraduate prizes, and therefore follows the careers of a number of high-achieving young people. A few weeks ago she described a young woman who had taken multiple graduate/professional degrees at the most prestigious schools, and was also a NFL cheerleader for a time.
What other explanation could there be?
18: So, given that these women are abused and barely paid throughout the brief course of their unpromising and strenuous careers, why do they do it?
21: Why do people persist with the community theatre thing? They like to perform, and in many communities this is a pinnacle of (semi-)amateur performing opportunities.
This seems a likely explanation, but I do wonder why, then, there would be complaints about the performative requirements of their job descriptions. Complain about the pay, absolutely, but the requirements of performance kind of go with the job, don't they?
But some of the performative stuff is creepy and/or infantilizing, and not all the performances are status-increasing for the cheerleaders even if they're profitable for the franchise, AFAICT. Community theater actors don't all want to do unpaid ad performances at the local mall, either.
29: I had that exact same thought process. (And then: Yes! Of course! It's a pun on a region in Asia! Professional sports nomenclature makes so much sense!)