I'm feeling feminine. I'm in Surabaya now and they gave me one of these "executive ladies rooms with feminine services and facilities". I don't know why they did that. As far as I remember I don't look like a lady. As I enter the room, the TV is on with the hotel info slides rolling and Diana Krall singing "One of Those Things" repeatedly in the background. Then there is this pink pair of pillows. I'm a little disoriented. On the one hand I feel like protesting: What now, as if the world is not enough with "ladies nite" at discos, "ladies first" at elevators, or "ladies parking only" at malls? On the other hand, I think it's cute.
What's the economics of this? Ah, never mind. I'm enjoying this soft scent from the nice potpourri...
Hey cool...they have this now in Indonesia?
ReplyDeleteSupposedly it's to serve female travelers (who usually on business, tend to travel alone) - so more for security and comfort purposes. I read that some hotels even have a whole floor dedicated for this - which I find better-serves the security purpose, instead of 'only' dedicated rooms.
For a woman whose had her fair share of awkward traveling situations, I think the fact that the market is finally attending to this segment is definitely appropriate - if not long overdue :) Though I doubt pink pillows+bolsters serves everyone's taste - certainly not mine ;p
-lmunira
what are you there for, aco?
ReplyDeleteas your good friend, i'm going to overanalyse the situation a little bit here: the girly atmosphere, research has shown, could potentially 'prime' you into thinking and behaving in certain ways without you realising it.
in one randomised experiment, for example, treatment girls who were primed with 'girly' concepts performed worse than control girls in a set of mathematical tasks.
so yes, it's not impossible that you, in the room, could be subconsciously primed (or 'nudged', behavioural economists would say) into thinking and acting in ways that are stereotypically female-ish. (backing off from confrontations more easily would be one example.)
take care, and have a pleasant stay,
dumbfounded psychologist @ australia
lmunira, so you're saying they have this in other places too? I didn't know that! (By the way, yes, they actually designate one entire floor called "executive ladies floor". That made me feel discriminated dizzy, haha)
ReplyDeleteDfP, thank you for analyzing me. I was in Surabaya for a short talk. Nothing fancy. I was more intrigued by an ashtray...
Now I'm back in Jakarta and not feminine anymore :D