"Here I am with all the pleasures of the first world laid out before me, who am I to break down?" - You Me and the Bourgeoisie by the Submarines
Rule #1: Never make eye contact with another woman (Rule #1.1 Never smile at a woman you don't know)
The first thing I learned while working for a giant corporation is never to make eye contact with another female in the office. I believe this applies only to female-to-female eye contact, but cannot be certain as I am a female and have never been a male (although I've been called "Nan the man" many times...we're so mature in grade school). Being a generally pleasant person and coming from much smaller work environments, when I walk, I walk with my head up, which leads to making eye contact with other people and, occasionally, dogs. During my first week at work, I found it odd that almost every time I made eye contact with another woman, she would look away immediately or return my glance with a withering look. "Maybe she's having a bad day," I thought. Next time, I told myself, I'll smile or say "Hi." Several smiles and hellos later, I still hadn't gotten much of a response from any of the women I encountered, especially the handful of women who tended to sit in the same area as me. After a few weeks of this, my pluck and hope and willingness to give the benefit of the doubt gave way self-consciousness, doubt, and a bit of anger. I checked my teeth for food. I wondered if some of these women wouldn't smile or even look at me because I wasn't a Six Sigma black belt like them. I began to question whether or not I could make it in big corporate life (not that that's a bad question to ask yourself - in fact, it's probably evidence of your having some semblance of a soul if you struggle with it even just a little). And then anger crept into my mind as I thought about why it's so damn difficult to acknowledge another human being and considered if it was a "women in corporate America" thing.
One woman in particular gave me the most frustration and then the most entertainment. This woman had one of those faces that make it seem like the person is incredibly snooty, constantly smelling something bad, generally unhappy with life, or some combination of the three. We would walk past each other maybe four times a day, nearly every day. Every time we'd make eye contact, and every time she'd look right through me. I upped it to a smile - she would make a point to look at me and then look away. I said, "Hi," which seemed to make her react even more like I didn't exist. This really pissed me off. Were we that immature that we couldn't even say "good morning" to each other? I didn't want to be her best friend, I just wanted some common decency. Were we that threatened by each other as women in a large company that we had to pretend like the other didn't exist? Give me the low income and meager resourcesWhat is the point of equality of the sexes ifof government and non-profit it it means I can
Rule #1: Never make eye contact with another woman (Rule #1.1 Never smile at a woman you don't know)
The first thing I learned while working for a giant corporation is never to make eye contact with another female in the office. I believe this applies only to female-to-female eye contact, but cannot be certain as I am a female and have never been a male (although I've been called "Nan the man" many times...we're so mature in grade school). Being a generally pleasant person and coming from much smaller work environments, when I walk, I walk with my head up, which leads to making eye contact with other people and, occasionally, dogs. During my first week at work, I found it odd that almost every time I made eye contact with another woman, she would look away immediately or return my glance with a withering look. "Maybe she's having a bad day," I thought. Next time, I told myself, I'll smile or say "Hi." Several smiles and hellos later, I still hadn't gotten much of a response from any of the women I encountered, especially the handful of women who tended to sit in the same area as me. After a few weeks of this, my pluck and hope and willingness to give the benefit of the doubt gave way self-consciousness, doubt, and a bit of anger. I checked my teeth for food. I wondered if some of these women wouldn't smile or even look at me because I wasn't a Six Sigma black belt like them. I began to question whether or not I could make it in big corporate life (not that that's a bad question to ask yourself - in fact, it's probably evidence of your having some semblance of a soul if you struggle with it even just a little). And then anger crept into my mind as I thought about why it's so damn difficult to acknowledge another human being and considered if it was a "women in corporate America" thing.
One woman in particular gave me the most frustration and then the most entertainment. This woman had one of those faces that make it seem like the person is incredibly snooty, constantly smelling something bad, generally unhappy with life, or some combination of the three. We would walk past each other maybe four times a day, nearly every day. Every time we'd make eye contact, and every time she'd look right through me. I upped it to a smile - she would make a point to look at me and then look away. I said, "Hi," which seemed to make her react even more like I didn't exist. This really pissed me off. Were we that immature that we couldn't even say "good morning" to each other? I didn't want to be her best friend, I just wanted some common decency. Were we that threatened by each other as women in a large company that we had to pretend like the other didn't exist? Give me the low income and meager resourcesWhat is the point of equality of the sexes ifof government and non-profit it it means I can
