Only the Photogenic Need Apply

If I weren’t so close to finished with this graduate program, I would have quit after this incident yesterday.
I was contacted about a week ago by a woman in the marketing department of the college. She left a message saying I had been recommended by the department chair of the English graduate program at my college to give a testimonal quote and have my picture taken for their brochure. Naturally, as I have never spoken to the department chair aside from discussing issues I’ve had with the program (complaints about a particularly nasty teacher and sorting through issues with my IRB approval were the only times I had ever spoken to her aside from my entrance interview), I was wondering why she would recommend me to give a positive quote about the program. I sort of just assumed that they asked everyone in the English department, so I didn’t respond right away and just sort of forgot about it.
That was until yesterday. My professor for my class this semester e-mailed me re-issuing the request for a quote and a photo, saying that the marketing people asked the graduate professors for someone photogenic and articulate and person was me, so if I could please respond quickly they would greatly appreciate it.
Um, what? Their criteria for this someone who was articulate and photogenic?! Since when is being photogenic a requirement for giving a marketing person a positive quote about a graduate program? Was being photogenic a requirement for entry that I wasn’t unaware of?
OK, so I was a little taken aback by this, but then I got to thinking. The department chair mentioned my name for this, obviously. It wasn’t just some let’s-ask-everyone sort of thing. And I haven’t talked to the department chair about anything even remotely positive about this program. So why did they ask me? Oh, right, because I’m photogenic. I feel I am relatively articulate, yes, but clearly I was not chosen because I have anything good to say about the program. I don’t. All of my professors and the department chair know this. I can only deduce from this that I was asked based on my looks. (As Tim said later in the evening: “So what this means is that all of your professors have been checking you out as you walk out the door.” Well, probably not that drastic, but both the professors and the marketing people seemed more concerned with looks than, say, interesting projects or positive comments.)
I decided then that I needed to say something to the college about this. It seemed to me that my professor was just relaying the message from the marketing woman and the department chair, so I didn’t say anything to her but that I was uncomfortable participating in this at this time. Then, I called back the marketing woman and left the following voicemail:
“Hello. My name is Ashley. You contacted me a little while ago about providing a statement for your marketing brochure and I wanted to let you know that I do not feel comfortable doing this at this time, and I wanted to let you know why. It was relayed to me that you wanted someone for this that was photogenic, and I find this choice of criteria rephrehensible. You really should be concerned with finding someone who is intelligent, interesting, and has good things to say about this program. I can be all of these things, but the main concern for you was that I was photogenic, and I take offense to that. Therefore, I will not be able to participate at this time.”
I didn’t say it angrily or anything, honestly. I just stated this as a fact and hung up the phone. I felt pretty good about it, until she called me back. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Hello?
Marketing Lady (ML): Ashley. I wanted to call you back to respond to your very angry message.
Me: OK…
ML: I was sort of taken aback by what you had to say. If you have ever even looked at any of our marketing brochures, you would know that we don’t use models for these pictures by any means. We were simply looking for someone who is good in front of a camera.
Me: Well, I don’t know how any of my professors would know that I’m good in front of a camera as they don’t make a habit of taking pictures of me in class.
ML: We asked the department chair for someone who was photogenic and articulate. This means good in front of a camera and has good things to say.
Me: Yes. I do know what those two words mean. However, my department chair and most of my professors know that I have nothing good to say about this program, so I am left to assume that you stressed the need for someone photogenic.
ML: (getting angry) Who contacted you about this? Was it [prof’s name]?
Me: That really isn’t any of your business. You contacted me and you were the one that asked for someone photogenic, so let’s deal with that.
ML: Excuse me?!
Me: I’m offended by your criteria. That is all.
ML: It is a compliment to be considered photogenic.
Me: Not when it outweighs my intelligence as a criterium for participation in anything.
ML: (her sarcasm is coming out) Well, if one student is offended by my use of a word, I suppose I can take pains to use a different word.
Me: (so I was sarcastic right back) Sorry to put you out.
ML: You were the only one we asked!!
Me: Well you should have widened your pool.
ML: (so very angry) You should be honored!
Me: I’m not. My genetics had everything to do with my appearance, and that’s just the luck of the draw. Now, if that’s all…
ML: I don’t want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth about this program.
Me: Well, don’t worry about that. I have had a bad taste in my mouth about this program since your institution lost my application and I had to run around the state collecting copies of letters to meet the deadline. You certainly didn’t help the situation, but don’t lose sleep over it.
WOW. I was fuming after this call. This woman could not believe that I would not take being “photogenic” (in any meaning of the word) as a compliment. And she’s wrong! I do take it as a compliment, but I don’t want any thought about my looks to outweigh my intelligence or the content of what I have to say. I left this conversation thinking that there really are more people in this world that think that being “pretty” is more important than anything, and that made me extremely sad.
So now I’m left not participating in this marketing scheme, as well as having to explain this to my professor (who has undoubtedly heard about this by now) as well as being extremely angry over this woman’s attitude. Could I have handled it better, probably, but I maintain that I was right to call her and tell her this. If I didn’t, and no one else spoke up about, perhaps, chosing people for academic publications of any sorts based on their academic merits, what sort of marketing would we be left with? Nothing good or representative of the campus at all, that’s for sure.

13 replies on “Only the Photogenic Need Apply”

  1. Hi Ashley; I have not left a comment on here before but have been following you on Google Reader for a while and appreciate your blog!

    I also had a bad graduate school experience…I even thought about creating a blog describing the bad stuff that went on in my program.

    I was so impressed with how that call went from your side – I was imagining myself in your place and just wilting under the other woman’s anger. I am just not good at being confrontational and tend to just give in in those situations, or else I get angry back and can get inarticulate. I WISH I could be as confident in difficult situations as you were. I wonder if you have any tips on how to develop that kind of confidence you could share with your readers…

    • Ashley on

      Thanks for commenting! Glad you’re digging the site. I think a series on confidence would be a great idea! I’ll see what I can put together. 🙂

  2. Brava for sharing this experience! Like we discussed, our college (I worked in the university PR dept) always highlighted students who accomplished something great or had an interesting story. Sure, the catalogues had your typical “diverse” pool of students on its cover, but at least it wasn’t insincere. Great job on being an everyday activist and feminist!!

    • Ashley on

      I miss our college for those reasons. And that the student body was really heard and encouraged to make themselves heard. It truly isn’t like that everywhere else.

  3. Ugh, that’s terrible. It’s disappointing but not surprising that a university’s marketing dept. would do something like that. I think you did the right thing, Ashley, by both refusing to participate and calling her out on the offense in a calm and direct way.

  4. Good for you for refusing and making the woman realize how wrong this is.

    I’m linking to this in my Link Love today.

    But I feel for you. When I attended grad school at UMaryland it was SO sexist and racist that my Asian friend and I almost wanted to write a book about grad school and the trials that women and women of color face. BU ended up being a bit different.

    • Ashley on

      You should write a book about that. It’s horrifying to me that we see such rampant racism & sexism in a place where we should all be educated and enlightened.

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