Re: leave it in the locker room

[Glenda Jeffrey <jeffrey -at- LEMOND -dot- HKS -dot- COM>]

Nora wrote:
> I wonder how Glenda (to whom the comment was originally directed) felt about
> it.

Well, since you asked --

I've always made it a habit to laugh along with things like this.
They are generally meant to be humorous (and often are). In this particular
 case,
I took it as a compliment -- after all, Geoff did call me "bright",
as opposed to "pretty" or "young" (both of which would be compliments
also, but far less relevant).

Then again, I'm the type who's just as likely to use this sort of humor
on men as they are to use it on me. Since I work in a mostly male
environment (engineering) and participate in male dominated sports
(bicycling), I've found that being able to give as good as you get
is helpful and lightens the atmosphere. Particularly in the cycling
world (admittedly not a professional environment, at least at my level),
I've found that the men accept having me around a bit more easily
if I'm not easily offended. (It also helps if you can keep up ;-)

Should I have to act like one of them to be accepted? No, certainly
not in the professional world -- but I do find that it helps lighten
the atmosphere if guys know that they don't need to worry about
being accused of harrassment for every little comment. They're more
likely to treat you as a friend, and share information they otherwise
wouldn't.

I've never been inappropriately touched or propositioned, either --
perhaps I would feel differently if I had.

So, with that, let's take this discussion off-line, and get back
to technical writing!

--
Glenda Jeffrey                                     Email: jeffrey -at- hks -dot- com
Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc                  Phone: 401-727-4200
1080 Main St.                                      Fax:   401-727-4208
Pawtucket, RI 02860