Frosties!

[littlewashu]

The VP of my company bought a whole bunch of mini Frosties from Wendy's. Chocolate. Crystal and I ate ours outside and talked about boys and getting jobs as teachers, because of all the time off we'd have during summer.

Ha, and get this -- we're discussing this, with James, this dude at work (I think he's 24). And we're talking about how kickass it would be to have the whole summer off, and James makes it about money a little bit, by saying that you can have a seasonal job during the summer and make mad loot. He says how his friend is a teacher, and then has a contracting business during the summer, building decks and whatnot, and pulls in another $20K just doing that, and then he says, and I sort of to the best of my memory quote, "but that's more of a guy thing, but a girl could do something else." Crystal and I bust out laughing, me so that I won't bust out James' face instead. And then he sort of tried to defend himself, can you believe that? Something like "oh, what, so a girl is going to be . . . " oh I don't remember what the fuck he said. Something about lugging things around. But I said, "uh, yeah, why not?" I mean okay, perhaps it's more LIKELY that a dude would do that, but what exactly precludes a female from having a contractor business? From building a freaking deck? Just cuz I'm a terrible hammerer doesn't mean we all are. Man, from the stupid old veteran who sends around "patriotic" e/pops I can take it (not really, but expect it, at least), but from the guy my age? Come on, man.

This post was supposed to be about how nice it was to sit outside and eat a chocolate frostie and then come back in and have the computer screen be real bright again, not about my stupid sexist co-worker! Oh well.

I guess I have to start a contracting business now, just to show him what for.

Comments

[greatmonkeygod.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait -- or was the sexist part the implication that a girl could do something different?

Though I still defend that reasoning. Maybe if we were in an alternate world where female contractors was already commonplace, the majority of females would consider contracting to be an enjoyable working environment, but in this world, any female who decides to join a crew or start one on her own is going to find herself in the vast minority, and most would be happier elsewhere.

I am, of course, defending a generalization, here, but I believe that it's generally true, which is why I side with Joe Bob Briggs on this one.

[littlewashu.livejournal.com]

Norm.

First of all, don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of generalizations. Huge.

However, that is different from looking at two girls -- one of whom is an engineer, the other of whom is a drafter -- and saying "oh, well, but you know, that's more of a guy thing, but a girl could do something else." He meant that he was telling a possible scenario for HIM, not us. I'm not making an assumption here, because when we both reacted to what he said, he came back with "oh, like a girl is going to be lugging around buckets of nails" or whatever the fuck he said. If I said to him "hey do you think contracting is more of a guy thing or a girl thing?" then that would be fine but that was NOT the situation. The situation was that the three of us were daydreaming about different careers from the ones we currently have, and he dismissed us from HIS scenario because we are female. I'm not making any assumptions, I swear. That's what he meant.

Again, I'll reiterate what I said a few months ago in regards to racism: it's one thing to hold that opinion. But to not realize that your audience might object to it is fucking ridiculous, and I think less of this kid now. He does not think I would be interested/able to run/work for a contracting business, when in fact? Next to catering? That is most what I would like to do. Every time I see my cousin who runs a contracting business, I say something to him about how maybe I should come work for him, but then I wuss out.

Are YOU going to tell me that's a guy thing, and I should find something different? No. Didn't think so.

[greatmonkeygod.livejournal.com]

For the record, here:

I AM going to say that as of March 27, 2003, it's a guy thing. That said, who cares? Follow your dreams.


HOWEVER -- what about guys being given cautionery warnings against attending, for instance, Baby Showers? Or the movie "Erin Brockavich?" (Although I admit that I, personally, have been giving out the last one) Should we be getting offended?

[littlewashu.livejournal.com]

You're missing the point. The point is not "construction is a guy thing". The point is that James looked at me and Crystal and said that the scenario he had just described WOULDN'T REALLY be an option for us because we are girls. For me, and for Crystal. Not for females in general. Not for "most girls". For Crystal. And for me.

[greatmonkeygod.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Okay, my apologies.

[prettykate.livejournal.com]

I know you are talking to Washu, but I think if someone tell you that you wouldn't like a movie just because you are a man, then that's stupid. For real. I hate when people tell me what I would or wouldn't like based on my gender and not who I am, which I THINK is the point of this post.