Friday, January 28, 2005

The women of The Apprentice

I just looked up the bios of the contestants on the latest version of The Apprentice and there's something that caught my eye. I don't know if these descriptions are made up by the producers or the contestants, but there seems to be a pattern in the way the women's personalities have been described.

Team Magna (Book Smarts)
Erin - "She's attractive, bubbly, energetic, and funny"
Kendra - "She may appear to be a bubbly, blue-eyed blonde"
Stephanie - "She is often described as "fun and bouncy""
Verna - this one has no real personality related stuff in her bio.

Team Net Worth (Street Smarts)
Angie - "She has an intimidating presence"
Audrey - "Audrey is outwardly opinionated "
Kristen - " Kristen has a quick, sharp tongue, and confrontational style"
Tana - "She approaches challenges with no fear"
Tara - "Tara can be the life of the party, but no one pushes her around"

Now, I know I am quoting random lines from a page, and there is more about each woman that talks about their accomplishments, strength, etc. But, what really struck me is that the 'book smarts' folks' business acumen is framed in the context of them being cutesy, bubbly, la-di-dah, whereas the 'street smarts' girls are potrayed as all kick-ass toughness.

I'd like to think that this is just marketing spiel to cast the college-educated vs non in opposing lights, but I also wonder, can this be an accurate generalization ? I find that hard to believe because the few (i must admit i have a small sample to work with) women I know who do their own thing are all also nice, fun and, yes, bubbly.

Thoughts ?

Edit: Actually, the entrepreneurial women I know actually have a college education. So, i guess that reduces my sample size to 0. So, now I really don't know.
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