PAX Surveys Alternatives to Its Booth Babe Ban

Booth babes are a staple of many games expositions, but not Penny Arcade’s. Still, Some scanty-pants booth reps have made it into recent shows and caught PAX organizers’ attentions. Before they put their foot down, they want some community feedback.

“Our definition of a “booth babe” has been a model (male or female) that has been hired to stand/sit in skimpy clothing to market the product. If that person knows the product inside and out then it’s less of an issue,” writes Robert Khoo, Penny Arcade’s president of business development, in the online survey he posted today at the Penny Arcade forums. “A company representative that can interact with attendees in a way that provides value as opposed to ‘hey stare at my body’ is something that we encourage whether or not that representative is physically attractive or not.

“Over the past few years, I’ve heard both sides plead with me to change/enforce it one way or the other,” “So I thought it would be helpful to actually hear from the community on this,” Khoo writes.

The survey asks folks how they feel, generally speaking, about the PAX booth babe ban, and then what kind of alternative policies they might support as opposed to an outright ban. Answers range from “No bikini bottoms,” and “no low-cut tops” to, uh, lower standards like “shirt required.” Respondents are also asked to give their gender.

Me? I’m thinking “pants required” is a pretty reasonable start.

The Booth Babe Policy [Penny Arcade]