Tales from the Frontlines (and a Click Moment): ‘It’s So HOT When You Get Angry!’
From Rosie, an Orange County social worker:
I have been a feminist since birth. I grew up in Seattle, and my parents were both self-proclaimed feminists. I was in the local newspaper at a week old, with a story about my father’s struggle for paternity leave from his job as a public bus driver, to bond with his new daughter. But I do have a “click” moment in my professional life. I was a psychology major, and my first job out of college was at a substance abuse treatment center for teenagers. It involved a lot of rule setting and enforcing, and trying to discipline teenage drug addicts to behave. One afternoon, I was sternly telling a 14 year-old boy that his behavior was completely inappropriate, in the exact same language and tone of voice that many of my male co-workers used every single day. One of these male counselors walked by, heard me, and said, “REOWR! (the angry female cat voice) It is so HOT when you get all angry!” It was so condescending and blatantly sexist. And it ruined any shred of credibility I had with any of the adolescent clients within earshot.
Readers: We want to hear from you. When did you know you were a feminist? What have you experienced in the workplace? Want advice? To vent? Email us.
And please share your own Tales from the Frontlines.
