We've all heard how men in the workplace tend to be hierachical,
controlling, and power-hungry.
But what about women? Now that women have established their presence
in the workplace for over a decade, it's time to ask whether they have
fulfilled the promise of making the office a "kinder, gentler" place to
spend 40 hours every week.
First, we need to dispense with the myth that women react to
situations the same as men. If you believe that chestnut, then take a
mouse to work tomorrow morning and let it loose. Observe which of your
co-workers perch themselves on the tops of their chairs.
Over the many years of my career, I have observed that most women have
a Hurt Feelings Memory Bank. This Memory Bank has the uncanny ability to
indelibly record every odd comment that co-workers make, and to recall
this incident in perfect detail many years later.
That comment you made last year about Mary's slacks fitting too tight
-- you probably forgot about that remark long ago, but Mary's Hurt
Feelings Memory Bank has tallied, inventoried, and stored that comment
in its vault.
Afterwards, you can say 100 nice things to Mary, but that one comment
about the tight slacks will never be forgotten or forgiven.
Indeed, any effort by the man to explain the comment may be
interpreted as Insensitivity to the Feelings of Women. This is a
grievous insult, which is of course tallied as a new entry in the
ledger.
Whereas a man's Hurt Feelings Memory Bank may lapse due to inactivity,
a woman's Memory Bank is a high volume account. The same memory may be
withdrawn and redeposited many times in the same day.
Part of the Female Bonding Ritual is to compare and analyze the
contents of their Hurt Feelings Memory Bank with other women.
During the bonding process, the emotions become further embellished.
Soon, the emotions begin to color and crowd out the actual facts of the
situation.
If a man happens to be their supervisor, one of the gals may make the
off-hand comment that he "treats his female employees differently."
Employers are now required to act even on the suspicion of gender
discrimination. As a result, the allegation alone becomes a sufficient
basis to take punitive action against the male supervisor.
A few months ago, Alessandra Eakin wrote an article on
"Using Emotion
as Ammunition" in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ms. Eakin describes how
some women use emotional extortion to achieve their aims:
"Pouting over hurt feelings, throwing temper tantrums and hurling
accusations of meanness gets you what you want....Simply put, women have
run amok. Men are losing their ground as they endure blatant abuse by
women day after day, decade after decade....Somebody please, stop these
women before they ruin our lives."
But men aren't the only ones who are victimized by emotional blackmail
tactics.
It used to be that most women were able to keep their Hurt Feelings
Memory Bank in close check. But radical feminism has succeeded in
convincing women that they are victims of the male conspiracy which they
darkly call "the patriarchy."
This victim message has been repeated so many times that the Hurt
Feelings Memory Bank of some women now predominates over their Factual
Knowlege Logic Board. So these women, who could potentially be a force
for compassion and understanding in the workforce, have instead become
spiteful and vindictive.
That's what radical feminism has done to gender relationships in the
workplace.
