The sexy librarian
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The sexy librarian is a name given to representations of librarians, where the librarian shows, behind a business-like surface attire, an underlying sexuality.[3][4]
Ashanti White, author of the 2012 book, Not Your Ordinary Librarian: Debunking the Popular Perceptions of Librarians, wrote that the shushing buttoned-down, older librarian was the most common depiction of librarians, in fiction, followed by the sexy librarian stereotype.[1] Ramirose Ilene Attebury, in Library Philosophy and Practice reported she found that the sexy librarian stereotype was more popular than the old maid stereotype, in YouTube videos.[2]
In 2006 Microsoft introduced an early version of what was to become the bing search engine that used over 600 pre-recorded video clips of actor Janina Gavankar, portraying the character of "Ms Dewey", described as a sexy librarian character.[5][6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ashanti White. Not Your Ordinary Librarian: Debunking the Popular Perceptions of Librarians, Elsevier, p. 7-8, 26, 89, 104-105, 141-152, 177. Retrieved on 2017-11-19. “Although the spinster image of librarians persisted, the sexy librarian emerged as a formidable rival. She found her way into advertisements and, surprisingly, into politics with the emergence of Sarah Palin. Conservative yet fashionable in dress, she served as a voice for conventional values. That coupled with her recognizable frames made her an example of what the sexy librarian looks like.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ramirose Ilene Attebury. Perceptions of a Profession: Librarians and Stereotypes in Online Videos, Library Philosophy and Practice, October 2010. Retrieved on 2017-11-19.
- ↑ Gretchen Keer. The Stereotype Stereotype, American Library Association, 2020-10-30.
- ↑ Ice ice baby: Are librarian stereotypes freezing us out of instruction?, In the library with the leadpipe, 2014. Retrieved on 2017-11-27. “In a sense, the long withstanding matron stereotype paired with the newer sexy stereotype could be thought of creating a virgin/whore dichotomy for women librarians, complicating perceptions even further.”
- ↑ Miriam E. Sweeney. Not just a pretty (inter)face: A critical analysis of Microsoft's 'Ms. Dewey', University of Illinois. Retrieved on 2017-11-27. “As one of my co-workers typed in different words and phrases, the “Ms. Dewey” character (pre-recorded film footage of actress, Janina Gavankar) engages in flirtatious banter, sometimes becoming irritated or condescending if too much time passes before entering a search term: “Hellloooo... type something here!””
- ↑ Miriam E. Sweeney. Digital Sociologies, Policy Press, p. 401. Retrieved on 2017-11-27.