Round hips sink ships!

Why is it that so many "compliments" to a woman's appearance revolve around her unsuitability for the workplace?

All right, that's a bit of a rhetorical question. I could provide some answers easily enough. Because women are supposed to be passive objects, not active workers. Because sexism requires compliments to women to always have a bit of a sting in their tail (keep them down even when you're being nice). I could go on, really.

The usual is this one: "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be doing a tough job like this!"

But the other day, I got a different one. I got: "How can anyone work with such a pretty girl? She's too distracting!" And, when he thought I couldn't hear: "That girl's so hot, I wouldn't be able to work with her."

(This was particularly charming as, on the day in question, I was rather under the weather with a cold and actually looking rather sunken-eyed and wan. Buuuut, on account of warm weather, I was wearing a low-cut shirt. So I had a bit of a guarantee there that what made me so hot wasn't even my face--it was my T&A.)

So that's yet another angle to come at it from--not only must we compliment working women by reminding them of their inherent unsuitability for the workplace, but we can additionally remind them that their mere existence makes things difficult for the poor menfolk!

I wonder how many more angles this particular delightful shape has?

Assumptions make you and me very confused.

So I was at work when a sales rep who was helping us out with the holiday rush invited me to the following party:



...yeah. A Christmas party, labeled "Holiday Hookups," with interlocking Mars/Venus symbols below it.

I stare at it blankly for a few moments, then go after the rep. I tap meaningfully at the symbols: "This isn't my kind of party." He looks at me. Tap, tap, tap. Finally he says, "Oh, you don't have to hook up with anybody if you don't want."

Whoosh. No, I'm not part of your group.

I look at the back of the card. The party starts at 11 pm and goes to "???", it says. "Donations in advance" are $30 for guys and $10 for girls (and, I have no doubt, if this was questioned, someone would talk about how much easier and more advantageous it makes things for girls). It's in one of the biggest and most dangerous cities in the state.

But hey, it's got an open bar all night! What could possibly go wrong?

Me, I think I'll be playing City of Heroes or Super Mario Galaxy instead. I'm sure there's a happy medium between the two options somewhere, but for now, this helps me feel more secure about my extreme...