Beauty and Brains: They Aren’t Mutually Exclusive
Re: “She Believes in E-Quality” (Sept. 20), Gillian Bonner is a fine example of working women in the ‘90s. Perhaps she considers herself a high-tech bimbo. It’s amazing that this article appears on the front page of a section that promotes literacy for children. By the way, thank you for listing that porno Web site address. How disturbing that many young (and not so young) women find it necessary to expose their bodies to gain recognition in the business world. Bonner seems to be very proud to have all those investors introduce themselves, thus boosting her business. Unfortunately, she had to become a sex object to get their attention. What an inspiring story for young girls.
--ANGELICA
MORONES-SERRANO
Los Angeles
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For a minute I thought my husband had left out one of his antique newspapers. Then I checked the date: Sept. 20, 1999. Incredibly, I was actually reading an article in the morning Times, the lead paragraph of which read: “There’s a general belief that women with brains wish they had beauty and that women who are beautiful wish they had smarts. And that it’s a rare woman who has both, especially if ‘smarts’ include technological savvy.” Where are your editors? Have we learned nothing from the last 30 years of activism? I regret that my daughters had to read that stereotypical drivel even one more time. And written by a woman too. Shame on your paper.
--JANET WALKER
Laguna Niguel
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What on Earth is so remarkable about an attractive woman who is also technologically savvy? Our daughters, sisters and mothers are excelling in business and academe as never before, but why is it newsworthy if they also happen to be beautiful?
In particular, I take issue with the explicit sexism embedded in your opening seven lines, beginning with: “There’s a general belief . . . “
Really? Among whom? The bush dwellers in Borneo?
I rank your “general belief” right up there with one I used to hear in the ‘50s and ‘60s: “Girls don’t do math.”
--VALERIE J. BEHMERWOHLD
San Juan Capistrano
