4 ms·

It's depressing that the article has to start with an exposition of her looks and dress. I've never read an article about a male luminary that focuses so much

• sp332 16y ago
  I think they discuss her clothing because it's cool and interesting. I mean, almost every article about Page & Brin mentions their clothing, it just doesn't take as long to communicate "Short-shorts and a t-shirt." Also, the article makes a case that her appearance is relevant: “Marissa is surprisingly pretty in person,” says Valleywag blogger and editor Owen Thomas. “That in itself is a rarity in Silicon Valley, and you’d have to be naïve to think that doesn’t color people’s views of her.”
  • samd 16y ago
    Looks are almost always relevant to people's opinion of you. That's true for men and women, but it's only in articles about women that it seems to be pointed out as if to undermine their accomplishments.
    • sp332 16y ago
      I know it's subtle, but I think this article put those quotes from other publications at the beginning in order to shoot them down. Quotes like this: For gossip websites like Valleywag, Mayer is an easy mark... and (so they say)... uses her looks for publicity. are followed in the next paragraph by: Mayer manages 150 product managers, who direct the efforts of nearly 2,000 software engineers; levels criticism and praise with the same cool gaze; and is an arbiter of much of what goes before Page, cofounder Sergey Brin, and CEO Eric Schmidt, who trust her as their gatekeeper. Just about everything that goes on at the Mountain View company, which is more valuable than the U.S.’s three largest traditional media companies combined... OP seems to be undermining the other publications which were undermining Mayer. The substance of the article refutes the pettiness of Vallywag et al.
• neworbit 16y ago
  People often bring personal appearance up when talking about Larry Ellison, mostly in the context of what a snappy dresser the guy is as compared to the rest of Silicon Valley.