Female tech founders and CEOs pose in their underwear to promote lingerie company and empower women coders [blankchat]

Business Insider ran a story the other day about a new ad showing female tech founders and CEOs coding in their skinnies in order to show women in empowering roles within the tech community.
Underwear company Dear Kate took a rather non-traditional approach to advertising its new lingerie collection by having six prominent women in tech posing with computers and coding while undressed down to their underwear.
Here is how Dear Kate founder and CEO Julie Sygiel hamsters the ‘logic’ behind such an ad campaign…

“I think a lot of traditional lingerie photo shoots depict women as simply standing there looking sexy. They’re not always in a position of power and control. In our photo shoots it’s important to portray women who are active and ambitious. They’re not just standing around waiting for things to happen.”

Business Insider had this to report about the underwear coding campaign:

…some people have found the campaign offensive, with feminists arguing that the photos place emphasis on looks in an industry that is already fraught with sexual abuse and misogyny.
“Posing in your underwear undermines the message that you aim to be taken seriously as a technologist,” Elissa Shevinsky, CEO of Glimpse Labs, said to Time.
On the other hand, Skillcrush cofounder and CEO Adda Birnir said she didn’t think twice when Dear Kate asked her to participate in the photo shoot.
“I think it’s an amazing company that has a truly integrated, feminist point of view, and I wanted to help support them in everything they do,” Birnir said to Business Insider.

Commenters on the Reddit, Red Pill sub had a more logical take on the entire “gender in tech” narrative that is playing out. One commenter notes:

It’s amazing how this whole “gender gap in tech”-phenomenon became an issue only after it became evident that there is a lot of money to be made.
Where are the feminists complaining about the gender gap among construction workers? Where are the feminists complaining about the gender gap among plumbers? Electricians? Welders? Garbage personnel?
Oh, those jobs aren’t as lucrative, right? Feminists should stop cherrypicking their issues if they want to be taken more seriously.

While this comment is spot on, I doubt we will see women rushing off to fix pipe leaks or weld together heavy metal anytime soon.  
It is truly odd that while we have an entire feminist shit storm brewing about objectification of ‘women in tech’ we get an ad campaign from female CEO’s voluntarily objectifying themselves.
Run hamster run!

References:
http://www.businessinsider.com/dear-kate-ad-shows-female-coders-in-underwear-2014-8