Working with Men

[Chuckie]

I worked at a union company for 23 years, and was one woman in hundreds of men.
I learned what was serious and what wasn't. I learned to handle myself when I was targeted at the blunt end of a joke. I learned that I could not over react, or they would be walking big circles around me. To never act shocked, or act like they got me.
Some men wanted a reaction from the other guys, and I always had to respond back according to the situation, but I kept it on the funny side, when I was a hit. I never got mad or nasty about it, I just kept things in check.

One night I walked into the break room to get a Coke, and there were so many guys in there. There was an older man, "Rosehill," I was good friends with, but he always had the best joke and was very capable of entertaining others. They had given the name "Chicken Patty" on the CB radio.

When I came through the door, he said, "Hey "Chicken Patty," if I show you mine will you show me yours?" Everyone got silent and looked at me waiting for my embarrassment. I turned to him and said, "I didn't bring my magnifying glass with me." Everyone howled at him, and his face turned so red. But he was laughing. :lol2: Of course he never let me live that one down.

 

[Nesikep]

Need more ladies like you around... This insane PC group makes anyone scared of saying anything.. I think that as long as something is truly meant as a joke, it should only be taken as such.

one of my coworkers and I razzed each other all the time... he was a real homophobe, and I got him good once by saying "Sucking pecker will make you go deaf" quitely, of course he responded with "What?".
There were hundreds of other instances of us bugging each other, and i wish I could remember them all... it sure made boring days in a warehouse go by faster though

 

[inyati13]

Need more ladies like you around... This insane PC group makes anyone scared of saying anything.. I think that as long as something is truly meant as a joke, it should only be taken as such.

one of my coworkers and I razzed each other all the time... he was a real homophobe, and I got him good once by saying "Sucking pecker will make you go deaf" quitely, of course he responded with "What?".
There were hundreds of other instances of us bugging each other, and i wish I could remember them all... it sure made boring days in a warehouse go by faster though

I agree. I got a good laugh out of that one, Nesikep. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[lavacarancher]

I worked at a union company for 23 years, and was one woman in hundreds of men.
I learned what was serious and what wasn't. I learned to handle myself when I was targeted at the blunt end of a joke. I learned that I could not over react, or they would be walking big circles around me. To never act shocked, or act like they got me.
Some men wanted a reaction from the other guys, and I always had to respond back according to the situation, but I kept it on the funny side, when I was a hit. I never got mad or nasty about it, I just kept things in check.

One night I walked into the break room to get a Coke, and there were so many guys in there. There was an older man, "Rosehill," I was good friends with, but he always had the best joke and was very capable of entertaining others. They had given the name "Chicken Patty" on the CB radio.

When I came through the door, he said, "Hey "Chicken Patty," if I show you mine will you show me yours?" Everyone got silent and looked at me waiting for my embarrassment. I turned to him and said, "I didn't bring my magnifying glass with me." Everyone howled at him, and his face turned so red. But he was laughing. :lol2: Of course he never let me live that one down.

You handled this very well. I have worked with ladies all my career and we've always had a good time kidding each other back and forth. Once, however, there was a young lady who was looking for a fight. She was a guard at the plant. I always came to work at least an hour early and was walking down the hall to my office and passed her on the way. I said "good morning, sweetheart" and I thought she was going to take me down right then and there. I thought for sure I was going to get turned in for sexual harassment but nothing ever happened. Some folks just can't take a joke and some folks are looking for a nice big check. And then there are those men who cross the line with bad taste. In this case all I was trying to do was provide a nice greeting early in the morning.

 

[Chuckie]

It is most likely going to happen anytime you have men and women mixed. Some women want the remarks and some can't hanlde it as they have something to prove.
We had one girl that had filed against a few of the men for making less than "Hi" remarks. So, no one would talk to her at all.
I have had men come pick me up when I was standing on the dollies between two trailers, and I did not like it, but I did not fuss.
Then I had one man come up behind me in front of a few guys and start hunching on me while I was at a water fountain, and I reacted much stronger and said "Get off me you drunk Bast--d! What's wrong with you? He had been drinking, as I could smell it on him. That or he had been drinking heavy the night before and still smelled like it. It never happened again.

But I would not have filed on it.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

"Working with men" is probably where you got your sense of humor Chuckie! !

You are a Crack up!!!!!

My lovely wife works with me, concrete construction. She can deal with it also.

Not to mention everything else she does.

 

[Nesikep]

Chuckie, exactly... Like with the guy who picked you up, I think saying "Mitts off" (perhaps accompanied by a slap) certainly would get the point across. If some guy is obtuse and doesn't take a hint, well then it's time to escalate it. I always hate making things formal, but having a talk with a higher-up and just saying 'this behavior has to stop' would be my choice before officially 'filing' a complaint.

I don't joke around with 'risky' material unless I'm sure the person is going to take it the right way.. In other words, they always get the first laugh.

 

[inyati13]

It is most likely going to happen anytime you have men and women mixed. Some women want the remarks and some can't hanlde it as they have something to prove.
We had one girl that had filed against a few of the men for making less than "Hi" remarks. So, no one would talk to her at all.
I have had men come pick me up when I was standing on the dollies between two trailers, and I did not like it, but I did not fuss.
Then I had one man come up behind me in front of a few guys and start hunching on me while I was at a water fountain, and I reacted much stronger and said "Get off me you drunk Bast--d! What's wrong with you? He had been drinking, as I could smell it on him. That or he had been drinking heavy the night before and still smelled like it. It never happened again.

But I would not have filed on it.

I worked in an office in Denver in 1980. We had a minority secretary. The supervisor was an older guy from Texas. Easy going guy and kind of simple. Everyone liked him. One day, I was asking the minority secretary to do a job that was clearly in her job description. She flat told me that was not something she did. I went in and explained the details to Red (his nickname was Red. In his youth he had red hair). Red came out, put his hand on this ladies' back (she was a tall, very fit, atheletic african american woman from DC) and started to talk. She slapped his hand away. Got into his face and let him know real quick she was going to file a sexual harrassment grievance against him. Red never challenged her again. All she ever did after that day was sit at her desk and paint her finger nails.

 

[lavacarancher]

It is most likely going to happen anytime you have men and women mixed. Some women want the remarks and some can't hanlde it as they have something to prove.
We had one girl that had filed against a few of the men for making less than "Hi" remarks. So, no one would talk to her at all.
I have had men come pick me up when I was standing on the dollies between two trailers, and I did not like it, but I did not fuss.
Then I had one man come up behind me in front of a few guys and start hunching on me while I was at a water fountain, and I reacted much stronger and said "Get off me you drunk Bast--d! What's wrong with you? He had been drinking, as I could smell it on him. That or he had been drinking heavy the night before and still smelled like it. It never happened again.

But I would not have filed on it.

I worked in an office in Denver in 1980. We had a minority secretary. The supervisor was an older guy from Texas. Easy going guy and kind of simple. Everyone liked him. One day, I was asking the minority secretary to do a job that was clearly in her job description. She flat told me that was not something she did. I went in and explained the details to Red (his nickname was Red. In his youth he had red hair). Red came out, put his hand on this ladies' back (she was a tall, very fit, atheletic african american woman from DC) and started to talk. She slapped his hand away. Got into his face and let him know real quick she was going to file a sexual harrassment grievance against him. Red never challenged her again. All she ever did after that day was sit at her desk and paint her finger nails.

This is the time you start the documentation process in preparing for a dismissal. Had to do this three time in my working life and not all were minority or women. After the case was built not one of them successfully sued.

 

[Chuckie]

There was a woman that came to work where I was employed, and I knew her from years before. I was not a close acquaintance with her, but knew who she was. When I first knew her, she looked like a 10 year old boy, body wise as far as figure. From behind, if she had of had her hair cut short, you would know she was a boy. I knew that she was a jealous person, and was on the angry side with other women. She had a pretty face, but kept an angered look.

When she re-appeared 20 years later, with major plastic surgery applied to her chest. I can't imagine where they got the skin to add this much volume to her anatomy. She was extremely short, with wider shoulders and a wide rib cage. She had no waist, and her butt was flatter than an ironing board. I found out that she had borrowed the money to have the surgery years before.
She felt that what she had added was the meaning of her life, and everything revolved around it. The clothing she wore left nothing to the imagination. She wore shirts unbuttoned down as far as she could get by with. I kept waiting for the bosses to tell her to cover up, but they didn't for a long time.
When she would talk to men sitting down, she would lean across them dragging the wooden hills across their arms and shoulders. She always had to stand behind them to talk and rub across their shoulder when she pointed at things. One of the guys said he hugged her and they had formed so much scar tissue that if felt like wooden croquet balls. :yuck:

She spoke of sex often and more often. She had a very pushy attitude, and I knew where she was headed. She finally filed a sexual discrimination law suit on one of the supervisors. He was fired, after working there for so many years. How stupid can people be? She had set him up before with all of her talk, then carried a recorder in there one day as he talked her talk, and she sat silently.

We then learned that she had worked at KFC, and did the same thing there. And then once before at another job.
Yet, men knowing she had done this, continued to talk nasty back with her, and she continued to wear clothing that showed herself.

I never understood why she was able to continue to get people to talk nasty back with her after her third law suit. Knowing how she was, I could not stand to be around her or the site of her. The law suit was dragging out for a long time and when I retired, it still had not settled.
She finally started showing up at work wearing a uniform type shirt as she was part time office help. I am sure they had to handle her with kid gloves, but she truly sickened me.

She was trying to get hired on full time and worked every management person the best way she knew how. When corporate would come in, there she would sit with major exposure, and she was all over them. She asked them over for wine, and told me that one man came. What in the he// was he thinking???

It never got her hired on full time, and she left the company and went to work somewhere else. I only can imagine what she is putting them through.
But, they saw what they were getting, and it was their choice. Probably some DA hired her thinking she was going to be a potential activity on the side, as she presented herself as such by the way she dressed and her language.

She was hostile towards other women, which made her a joy to be around.
I never did understand how a man with common sense could fall into the trap she was constantly setting. She acted so close to the supervisor that she set up, and then she waited for the big pay day. I would like to know that her past problems, the way she dressed, and the way she talked, caught up with her and she got very little.

 

[backhoeboogie]

We have a really good female engineer in our group. She's a smart cookie. Been married now for about 6 months. I can talk in front of this kid as if she was one of my sisters. We like her. She's a good fit. We're all scared she may get pregnant and leave later on. Or she may get promoted. None of us want to lose her.

No one dares harass her. We got her back. We've had to deal with some kooks thru the years and we'd all like to keep this one.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

Chuckie, should I start my own thread about working with women, or can I just lay it out here? I've worked with mostly women for the past 10 years, and let me tell.... it's been an education. I've walked into conversations on things that would blush Hugh Hefner. I learned to listen carefully before I just barged into break rooms, etc..

 

[Chuckie]

CF, I agree as it can go both ways. The woman that sued her third company didn't have any taboos on any subject. She seemed to thrive on shocking men with her subject matter. I have found that men aren't overly fond of women that have such a nasty mouth.

 

[inyati13]

Chuckie, should I start my own thread about working with women, or can I just lay it out here? I've worked with mostly women for the past 10 years, and let me tell.... it's been an education. I've walked into conversations on things that would blush Hugh Hefner. I learned to listen carefully before I just barged into break rooms, etc..

I agree!

 

[inyati13]

CF, I agree as it can go both ways. The woman that sued her third company didn't have any taboos on any subject. She seemed to thrive on shocking men with her subject matter. I have found that men aren't overly fond of women that have such a nasty mouth.

Chuckie, I have worked with women who communicate with sentences laced with some strong four letter words. It catches you by surprise at first but after a while, they fit right in.

 

[Chuckie]

Women can be just as bad as men, but men usually are better at handling situations like this than women. This is not a man bashing thread at all, as I had rather work with men than a large group of women. I think it is because I only had brothers and I didn't really fit in with other women's interests. Women like to shop, and talk about things that often don't interest me. And yes, I realize that I am the oddball. I like to talk about farming, cattle and farm equipment. So, I can discuss my favorites with men more than I could women. I have always been able to find someone that has the same interest as me where I worked, but it was usually older men. I sat with these fellows.

I used to work in a transformer factory, and in the break room, as women would walk in, the group would start bashing on the people coming in and out of the doors. It was 75% women employed as most of the jobs were tedious. Look at her...... She thinks.....She'll do anybody to get what she wants.......... and it continued on.

Now if I could work with most women here on this forum, it would be great as they would have trouble pulling us apart when break time was over as our interests are so closely knit. :lol2:

 

[backhoeboogie]

Men bash too. Mostly now we bash government, policy, and threats. We bash poor management. 10 minutes ago I was sitting at break listening in on emotions dealing with the latest national developments. Not one person there said anything positive. We get to hear snippets on television but the Commentators give us their spin on the situation. That's what America hears - the news commentators. Anyway, the group was all male this time and there was a lot of bashing going on. I never said much of anything, but I shared their views. It seem we all agree on bashing the current foreign situation.

 

[CottageFarm]

I've worked almost exclusively with men for over 25 years. Mostly have always been treated very respectfully.
There was a concrete products company that I worked for in the early 90's. I was the first woman to work for the company in a non-secretarial position and the first woman ever hired at this branch. For about the 1st month I worked there, I apparently confused several customers on the phone because they thought they had called the wrong number since a woman answered the phone. :lol2:
The guys I worked with were actually very protective and treated me like their little sister. They knew they didn't need to filter themselves around me, as I'm no shrinking violet, but they never crossed 'the line'. There were a very few of the contractors that were never comfortable working with a woman, but most discovered pretty quick that I knew my stuff and it was no big deal. We each had our areas of specialty, and the contractors' worked with whomever was most knowledgeable about what they needed.

I've had mixed success working with women over the years. Had more trouble when I was younger. Had a couple of bosses wives hate my personal guts because they feared their husbands hired me because of the way I looked. Wringles, some grey hair and a few extra pounds has helped that a lot :lol2: .... of course, so has being self employed for 20 years

 

[Chuckie]

At the Union job I had, there were men that felt I was taking a job away from a man. It was something that they already had formed in their mind before they knew me. There were so many people from different states that would go to the hub where I worked. So, it was not the same group of people all the time.

It only took a handful of dummies to make a scene for one woman in hundreds. But the men that I worked around the most, did respect me as well as they knew who I was.
Rosehill just always had to have the best laugh at any cost. I was always ready for him. :lol2:

 

[CottageFarm]

Rosehill just always had to have the best laugh at any cost. I was always ready for him. :lol2:

:lol: Yeah, there are some who just gotta tease ya, whether you're a man or a woman. It's just their nature to razz. It's almost always in fun.
Keeps you on your toes and thinking sharp. There are a lot of women who are easily intimidated and they seem to try to compensate for that insecurity by trying to see everything as an attack or affront by the men around them. I feel bad for them, they're missing out on enjoying the inherent differences (a good thing!) between men and women.