Digital Pinay 2005, information technology beauty pageant?! Options

[Pineforest Crunc...]

I was cleaning out my Bulk folder in my Yahoo! account when I encountered an email with the [paraphrased] subject title: Search for Digital Pinay 2005 Ongoing! Seeing the subject head itself made me automatically sent it to the Trash folder.

However, a good friend of mine messaged me asking if I could give my two cents worth on this Digital Pinay hoopla. So he sent me a link to his friend's blog, where I read the entire thing.

This is the gist of the email taken from his friend's blog since I deleted the email and did not bother reading it anyway:

The Philippine Computer Society (PCS) is doing a search for "Digital Pinay 2005". They're looking for role models for information and communication technology, "women who exemplify the qualities expected of future women leaders of the Philippine ICT industry."

To help them find worthy candidates, their application form asks for information like name, paragraph or two about why you deserve the award, IT experience, and such essential information as height, weight, bust, waist, and hip measurements.

Why in tarnation would we need the so-called "vital statistics"? They are even asked to model around in business suits. Now that you mention it, I'm thinking, is the JGSOM preparing their female students for this kind of thing because of that insipid dress code?

This is such an insult both to the information technology industry and to women, particularly to those working in the field. Fine, awarding women for exemplary performances in IT based solely on their merits with regard to work is more than alright, but to actually make them ramp around in their suits?

Bakit? Sponsored ba ng Black Shop, or ng Sari-Sari, or ng kung anumang corporate woman clothing brand yang event na yan? Dyosme. A beauty pageant is a beauty pageant, and nothing could deftly disguise it.

And they'd uphold the Digital Pinay as something like that? Na kailangan swabe kapag naka-business suit? Naknampucha. Kikay classes na lang tayo.

Another instance where women are enjoined to assert their sexuality in order to gain merit. Bah.