So what is wrong with the use of "booth babes"
Not necessarily:
Skin is unnecessary, and not business appropriate. It seems the company is then lazy or doesn't have much good they can say about the product if that is their crutch.
Also it tells women, you are not the market.
Here are some quotes from consumers
It encourages encourages / continues some people seeing women as commodities.
Companies sometimes hire women just for looks and they are poorly trained, and unprofessionally dressed.
As a result some men, rude ones, grope or are inappropriate to the sales girls.
There is sometimes a carry over effect of some men assume all women are there to sell not actually participants
alienating some women who are attending.
Examples: women being assumed to be girlfriend, HR, Sales, entertainment instead of someone you can talk to / a participant / another enthusiast. Girls feel they have to dress ugly to be taken seriously. They feel they can't fit in to the professional environment as their gender is a commodity.
Also this just keeps perpetuating some people seeing other people as things, commodities, for their entertainment or ownership not as distinct independent humans with their own autonomy and a right to their own body.
Yes it is bad that people assume the "candy" is not smart and they should not assume that based on gender or dress. However allowing companies to continue to provide people examples to use against people isn't good.
I understand people are afraid of people being the politically correct police, but are scantily clad women really appropriate at a business event? Wouldn't you rather have women feel more comfortable?
It also make it harder for men to avoid blunders, and unintentionally upset women. (Because they are aligning to the expectation / precedent companies have set that women are there to sell.)
No I don't think we should be dictating what anyone wears.
However most people know a bathing suit is not to be worn to the office, some offices require more formality than others, and black tie events have their own norms. As a result a professional event may choose to have an acceptable level of dress.
(i.e. business causal is an accepted standard for many workplaces)
No, I don't think the fault is the people who accept the jobs, yes I feel it is the company hiring. Yes it would be nice to just ignore / not patronize those companies but why should we allow them when it is in some cases discouraging some people from attending? or even increasing microaggressions and driving people out of the profession.
They are employing locals, that's good.
Yes it is good for the local economy. Why not train them and let them wear business appropriate attire?