I came across this bit in a travel magazine recently about rooms for female travelers at the Movenpick Hotel in Hanoi. Sounded interesting. I have traveled enough on work and been alone at enough hotels in strange towns to know what feels like to hear that random knock on the door in the middle of the night. Perhaps there is some extra comfort, security, convenience – something – in these rooms for women. And so I read on.
So what do these rooms ‘revamped exclusively for women who travel on business’ offer? They come with extra make-up mirror, high-powered hair dryers and make-up removal kits.
And in one stroke, the needs of a bunch of ambitious, intelligent achievers who happen to be women have got equated to putting on and taking off make-up? It bothers me that any discussion on working women does not seem to move beyond the marriage-motherhood-makeup prism.
blah. I can understand if they worked on the safety angle (more female attendants for e.g. or female chaffeured cabs) or even simply talked about having more women travellers around, but make-up?!! I must say though, didn’t get the “marriage-motherhood-makeup prism” – the first two are genuine issues for most people, and shouldn’t be clubbed with make-up na?
🙂 Well I think it could have read : Extra security, managed only by ladies for the ladies, served by ladies… something that would empower the womenfolk..
Now how would extra make up mirror help us.. we already get all of it and more in the regular rooms..
Maybe it was a publicity stunt.. for all ya know.. 🙂