Speedo-Shaped Skillset(scottantipa.com) |
Speedo-Shaped Skillset(scottantipa.com) |
You can always overthink a metaphor if you choose to.
Imagine someone saying it in a meeting that includes people other than some homogeneous group that thinks it's funny and clever and appropriate.
If you saw someone else making that mistake, you might have to interrupt them diplomatically.
This even though I myself would not reach for that imagery in that context.
Most people wouldn't complain.
But a lot of people would think this was inappropriate, think a little less of the person doing it, and most of all be bothered if this seemed to be condoned.
I said "diplomatically", because you need to stop the cringe, you need to signal to those bothered that it's one person's brief oops rather than a tone-deaf culture, and you need to help the someone who did an oops be left where they can easily repair any damage.
I'm not an expert, and I'd play it by ear, but in the scenarios I imagine, if the speaker kept going on about it, someone should halt it as delicately as possible. "Sorry, could we change the slide, and summarize the points without the metaphor? Thanks; just an aversion to Speedos, heh."
(Alternatively, you could let the person dig themselves in further, which could easily turn into an acute culture/morale problem, and it could also easily turn into an HR-liability-type problem.)
Surfers are cool. Surfers for the very most part don't wear speedos.