9.10.2003
librarians are pissed off, apparently.
so, remember the librarian action figure? this one?according to my dad, who's the director of the traverse de sioux library system, in southern minnesota, many librarians, especially women, are upset.
here's our (abridged) e-mail exchange:
ME: "yo, dad. maybe you could model for the male version of this:
http://www.mcphee.com/laf/"
DAD: "Well, probably not. This has raised quite a furor among librarians. Some see it as a major slap in the face, but the person who modeled for the doll (a real live librarian in Seattle) is unrepentant."
ME: "seems like it might be a bit more controversial if she were wearing a bikini or something. stereotypes are annoying, but do the librarians really take themselves so seriously that a tongue-in-cheek action figure is offensive?"
DAD: "You would be surprised how seriously most female librarians take something like this. Every time a new television ad features a stereotypical librarian, the professional journals are full of letters and editorials. We're a very self-conscious and insecure lot."
so there you have it.
i was surprised, to say the least, because my dad laughed his ass off when i played him the library cop episode of seinfeld.