June 06, 2004

Power Trip?

I heard second-hand over the weekend that someone with whom I had a business association considered me to be on a power trip. Now, the situation was not even remotely adversarial to begin with and, as far as I am concerned, was of such a trivial nature that I'm surprised the individual even cared. I can't really discuss my job (as most of you are already aware), but this isn't the first time I've had a tag put on me, most notably, "bitch." In each case, I feel it was because I have what I refer to as a Low Bullshit Tolerance Threshold (LBTT), and the name-caller ended up not in the position they apparently felt they should be in.

But I'm curious to hear from other women (and men too, if you feel like it): do you feel that being a woman in the workplace makes you vulnerable to that kind of thing? Have you been referred to in that way? And if so, do you think the intent behind it was specifically because you are a woman and that it wouldn't have happened to a man?

I ask because I think most people who know me would be pretty hard-pressed to call me a bitch. Because of the above-mentioned LBTT, there are a limited number of chances I will give people (in every situation, be it social, professional, familial, etc.). But I do give chances. Anyway, tell me what your experiences have been.