Just kidding! But seriously, I'm really tired of being a small, relatively pretty girl. Let's be honest here, I look significantly younger than I am. The average guess is 15, only 5 years off. I'm small, I'm blonde, I look young, and I am decently attractive. All of this puts me at risk and lowers the respect I get from anyone. Now, let's put this into context, shall we?
I currently work in retail. I actually quite like my job, my boss is usually fantastic, I love my coworkers, it isn't too difficult, but it's usually enough to do that it doesn't get boring, I get to choose the music, and for the most part customers are polite enough. However, I definitely get rude ones much more frequently than anyone else does. I'm not sure if it's because I don't know how to handle them, or if it's because of how I look, but I think it's at least partially because of how I look. When there are multiple of us on the floor, or at the till, if someone has an issue they typically go to someone else to get it solved, or me to complain about it. Indication that they know I'm not all that high up, but am apparently supposed to take abuse? In reality only the store owners are above me in the amount of authority they have there...
That's manageable, though. People suck sometimes. Sometimes that's just how they are, sometimes they've had a bad day and need to take it out on someone, and sometimes there's a genuine frustration with something done within the store. I can deal with that, and I get it. The problem is the harassment. I'm not your "honey", not your "sweetie", you don't get to call me "sexy" unless we're really close, and it sure isn't appropriate to comment on my body or ask for my phone number. It's even less appropriate to try to touch me at all or to ask where I live. These things aren't okay. I have never seen any of these things done to anyone else at my work. But I'm the only one under 30. The only blonde one. The only young-looking one.
I'm told it's advantageous to be attractive, that girls can manipulate people with their looks. Really? I don't think I could manipulate someone if I tried, and I don't try. I don't think there's been any help in me being respected, safe, or comfortable because I'm close to what society sees as attractive in women. It really makes me want to quit. I don't want to deal with the public, and I don't want to be blamed when I don't want to deal with a customer who is treating me inappropriately. It is not my fault that they choose to behave that way, and I do not feel I should have to deal with that.
This is my rant. Monday is dealing with this. And tomorrow is a Sunday off so I can actually go to church for the first time in forever.. Yay!
Doesn't matter what you do, or what you say, she doesn't love you. No way. Maybe next time you'll give your woman a little respect. Then you won't be hearing her say that "you're never gonna get it." ~ Never Gonna Get It (My Lovin') by En Vogue
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