The College Fix

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer seems to have a gift for controversy. She began her tenure by taking maternity leave while telling Yahoo’s large contingent of work-from-home moms that they could no longer work from home. (Nor could they, presumably, build nurseries next to their offices at Yahoo! HQ like she did.)

Many feminists were quick to label her a hypocrite. Mayer, for her part, never seemed too bothered by the criticism, but gave the impression that, essentially, as CEO, she is more concerned what’s best for Yahoo! than what’s best for women, or for the women’s movement.

Now Mayer is catching heat for her (hot?) photo spread in the latest issue of Vogue magazine. Lounging flirtatiously on a milky white chaise, wearing a 1-2-3 knock-out combo of red lipstick, stilettos, and a come-hither stare, Mayer looks like no CEO I’ve ever seen.

And that’s what seems to be getting many of her critics upset all over again. Instead of leaning in, she’s laying back. She’s reinforcing negative female stereotypes, etc, etc, etc…

The most vicious reactions, predictably, have come from other women.

For others though, Mayer’s form-fitting dress in royal blue proclaims her status as the fashionable queen of Silicon Valley. She’s powerful, comfortable with herself, doesn’t feel the need to conform to the male CEO paradigm, etc, etc. For them, she’s the ultimate symbol of women’s progress and female empowerment.

For my part, I’m not sure whether this Vogue spread is good for Yahoo! or not. I can see why some folks don’t like it.

Then again, it’s nice to see powerful women, like Marissa Mayer or Kate Middleton, say, who don’t view femininity as a form of weakness.

This post is adapted from a longer article at Ricochet.com.

Nathan Harden is editor of The College Fix and author of the book SEX & GOD AT YALE: Porn, Political Correctness, and a Good Education Gone Bad.

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