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It's all about money, honey, and it helps to have you pretty babies around if for the aesthetic value. OK, you probably understand the money business, but what the hell, where do you stand if you don't have those inches in the right place and legs that launch a thousand fantasies? Our pulses rise and fall with the crazy swoops in the Nasdaq as CNBC's Maria Bartiromo takes the floor. Frankly, one of the friends forgot to take stock, pun intended, of the IT scrip's wild behaviour as Maria with her brunette mop filled in the TV screen.

So you see, we support, secretly though, because we daren't divulge it to my Lib-type colleagues, that Bunny-lover Hugh Hefner is on the right track. He is man of imagination and spunk, no doubt about it. By now, you all know about the poll to select `Wall Street's sexiest sirens'' from among the hottest financial reporters (female, of course). His offer is not bad either. Cash to pose for the popular bare-all page in his ``Playboy'' magazine. Aha! That will be the day! I can visualise how the mostly-men financial market will react. Blood pressure will soar, for a change not due to the downward journey of the graph line. Brilliant man, this 75 year old Playboy with seven consorts hanging to his tailcoat. Just the right idea to brighten up the depressive scene with the market constantly going on a tailspin. Nothing like a bit of titillation to perk up the spirit, he understands.

You women accuse that we boys haven't changed at all after three decades of campaigns, feminist rallies, `equal-opportunity' glib talks, etc. etc. We have, we have. See how we adjust to the little ladies, out there themselves in the competitive world. See how we `even' change nappies and pose for `family value' ads. We even `allow' our wives/girlfriends to take separate holidays and accept that some girls are even bright. But come on, give us a break! It helps if the brainy ones have looks to match. Come to think of it, we prefer the latter any day.

See, as it is, life is not easy what with having to cope with all this competition in the globalised economy (don't catch us critising it though). Today , not only do we have to deal with this thorny issue of an achiever wife/girlfriend, but have to face competition from them in the sacred Wall Street too. Everybody knows how specialised this field is. After all, making serious money is not like budgeting the home accounts. To put salt to the wound, in walks women like Maria Bertiromo, Willow Bay, Jennifer Westhoven with Ivy League degrees to brew up a storm. As for Maria, we know she is the first journalist to report live from the `Floor' of The New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. Secretly, we also envy her how she covers `breaking news' from CNBC's "pre-game" financial show, "Squawk Box."

But..., yes but. There must be catch somewhere. Don't smirk that we feel insecure. We buddies have discussed it threadbare and there's an almost unanimous consensus that Maria's looks, oh, do I need to go on, have definitely helped. Helped her, we mean. How come she got a break like that? How come CNN, BBC et al have these ravishing beauties as anchors in the rarified atmosphere of big time financial market? We didn't see very many women `financiers' before, did we? Look now, there seems to be a floodgate. In one of the office parties we had tentatively broached the subject of patronage with a few `understanding' women colleagues. Being plain, they would perhaps sympathise. So we thought. On hindsight, maybe we had one too many and talked too much. One of the firebrands, the female boss rather, somehow came to hear about it. The next morning, in the weekly meeting she discussed the diamond market. With a definite gleam in her eyes, she opened with the line immortalised by Zsa Zsa Gabor ``Diamonds are a girl's best friend, and a dog is a man's best friend. Now you know which sex is smarter.'' The nerve!

OK, we've stepped into the 21st century. But there were roles ordained when God created Adam and Eve. Frankly, the world was a much happier place when these lovely creatures kept us guys happy, caring and looking after the house when we pursued the serious business of making money. But once the women stepped out, they stayed put. May be we are also to blame, fighting all those world wars and letting them work outside. Maybe we have been a little complacent. But who could have foreseen the 70s, with all these women chanting and walking on the street with placards? Now they tell us on the face, ``Macho does not prove mucho.'' That blasted Gabor woman again!

It rankles, believe me, to see the world change this way, to overhaul beliefs long-cherished. Gentlemen prefer blondes. Period. We were brought up believing that the brainy ones wear glasses, pore over books, and generally are people not high on the `dating' list. But out comes these women, anchors, reporters, scientists, what have you, looking good enough to eat, and who prefer to be recognised for their grey cells. What's the use of the hour-glass figure and arched eyebrows then?

Don't call it a `Backlash' a la Susan Faludi. We really think the financial anchor contest is a good idea. Come to think of it, these high-fliers will be secretly happy too, their sex appeal measured and ranked by people who matter. Isn't that the bottomline, after all?

Credits:This article was published at- http://www.thestatesmen.net

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