The women of IT
by Esther Schindler
Lusty, beautiful... and geeky? Several women from Australia have posed for a Screen Goddess Calendar, trying to get across the point that it's possible to be beautiful and know TCP/IP internals, too.
I'm sure that some people will be offended by this calendar, but I'm not among them. In the mid-80s, several women from the high IQ society, Mensa, approached Playboy to suggest a "Women of Mensa" issue. (Same message: smart doesn't mean ugly.) I blushingly refused when my husband suggested I enter. A friend of mine did submit her photo, and she was one of the 12 (if I recall correctly) women in the issue (November '87? something like that, I have it in an unpacked box).
My friend — whose photo didn't do her justice, though she did get to wear Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry from Cleopatra — has gone onto other things. In fact, she has become rather prominent in IT, and I'm quite sure a few of you have interacted with her. I doubt she mentions her Playboy appearance on her resume. She's in her 50s now, and she's still stunningly gorgeous. And, of course, much more brilliant than I.
