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Just to throw in my two cents, I have never had a problem with the
ditzy or bitchy dichotomy. I am neither, and I have never been
treated like either. I am friendly, and feminine in my manner and
style of dress, but also a little Seven-of-Nine-ish in my manner of
dealing SMEs sometimes ("You have information that I require. Comply
with my request for data!").
If I ever get stereotyped, it's usually about my age. I'm 28, and it
doesn't seem that young to me, but I get a lot of "oh aren't you cute
and naive about the ways of the world"-themed comments, which is
strange to me, but there it is. Still, I'm usually treated as
competent, and never treated as threatening. I am occasionally treated
like a dancing bear ("Oh, isn't that amazing, she has an English degree
and is trying to understand the physics behind CT-scanning, awww..."),
but more often I'm treated as surprising, for a short time, and then
accepted for what I can do, rather than what I studied ("You mean
you're not an engineer? Really?").
That's so far. So far, I've worked with largely under-50 people, who
don't seem to have that "bitch/airhead" dichotomy emblazoned on their
brains, like some older people do. I'd say it's dying out.
Kirsten Salmon Zerbinis
(so totally loving the freelance thing, today at least)
On Thursday, May 29, 2003, at 03:41 PM,
eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com wrote:
Is the stereotype/complaint really true? Is it really impossible for a
woman to
be assertive in the workplace without being labeled bitchy? Seems to
me the
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