Over protecting our female qualities

On Wednesday I worked in the plant, a office women asked me if I could help her out with a stuck file drawer. I love walking through the office all the office ladies dressed so nice so much different then working out in the field and its tights season my favourite. I went to her cubicle, I don't know how 8hrs goes by working in those cubicles, but anyway I was straighting out the desk and I didn't notice she was pulling on the drawer and bang, the drawer hit me in the calve. OMG almost like I was shot I dropped whatever was in my hands and I instantly grabbed my leg and raised my pants exsposing my bare leg to see if there was a cut or scare. There was nothing and I guess the way I reacted she made some fun comments about if I wanted her to call HR and fill out a accident report or maybe I may need some time off work. I walked away fake laughing and waving my hand teller her she's welcome for the great job I did, she yelled out "by the way nice smooth leg you got there".
Well at that point I realized I'm a little over protective of my female qualities, am I alone here? I don't think so.

I really don't think about it that way because I'm not hiding anything.
I may have said something like oh thats going to leave a bruise.

I fell down last summer and skinned my knee pretty badly, so I was POd at myself for messing up my legs. Recently I broke 3 fingernails which was really annoying as well, so I know what you mean about trying to protect yourself.

Sandi

I don't know of any female qualities I have that need protecting..

I try to always wear gloves when doing DIY or gardening jobs around the home. Nothing more annoying than rough skin snagging your hose.

Marie, if you mean your shaved legs, I don't protect them at all. I shave my legs and wear shorts from April to October. Just don't care.

Ouch!!! Glad there was no damage done. A cut or bruise on the shin might take weeks to heal and fade.

One part of me I cannot do anything about is that some years ago I had an accident with a high speed table saw! result? half of my right forefinger gone the second triangulated at the end and the third one a bit chewed off the side! but despite this nobody seems to notice this defect? and by the way about three weeks later I found the rest of my finger in my workshop!!

Somebody has come up with a system that stops the saw within a few milliseconds of contact with flesh, Bobbi. If you're still interested in woodworking, the trade name is SawStop.

I once closed a filing cabinet drawer when my fingers were slightly overlapping the top edge of the drawer and neatly clipped off two 3/4" long acrylic nails in one swift move. Had to hide my hand in my pocket for a couple of days until I could get to the salon to have them repaired! I'm much more careful around office furniture (and power tools) now.

I'm also the picture of grace and femininity (not!) when trying to cross an icy parking lot in spike heels. Somehow the urge to wear them overrides any common sense concern about broken bones and skinned knees.

- Diane

I'm will not pretend I understand your theory, but I will say that your coworker yelling (your word) about your legs in the workplace was highly inappropriate. How appropriate would it be if you made a comment about her legs in a similar fashion?

I think it would be appropriate for you to put some distance between that person and yourself for the time being.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patience

I will say that your coworker yelling (your word) about your legs in the workplace was highly inappropriate. How appropriate would it be if you made a comment about her legs in a similar fashion?

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This might be one of those things that eventually fixes itself in a few generations' time as people increasingly express themselves all over the spectrum throughout their lifetimes, and it becomes increasingly woven into the fabric of how people live that expression would no longer require process. ( Except transitioning. That will always require process, or at least, one would hope so for health reasons. Unless a nano bot could do it :thinking:. You just swallow a M2F nano chip and J/D! :gorgeous:. But then, if, on your bachelor party, your best friend thinks it would be funny to put one into your chips :waiting:... But then, I guess taking a F2M nanobot afterwards would cancel it out(?).. Or maybe UV within 24 hrs would flash its BIOS :thinking: ).

I digress.

Something like that smooth-leg comment coming from a woman would either become a free-for-all in all directions or absolute zero tolerance. I'm inclined to think the latter as each subsequent generation increasingly takes over and installs directives to protect themselves against the remnants of impropriety in outgoing generations.

It could also help towards real gender equality if there is high visibility at all points between the binaries as well. Although race has that, gender probably wouldn't end up the same way as race because the two binaries that would constitute the majority would not be ready-made allies, and I struggle to imagine that women en masse would hurry to make the deal with the devil, so-to-speak, after everything they have taken.

We shall see.

..Or maybe not because we'll all be long in the ground, heh!

- L.

I can't comment on her motivation; perhaps it was just friendly or sarcastic. In any event I would have just smiled and thanked her. Sometimes the best defense is no offense.

As a guy, doing a guy job, I came home many days with cuts and bruises. Cut finger, wrap a paper towel around it, secure it with electrical tape and continue working. A bruise from a file cabinet couldn't have been that bad.

The woman should have at least thanked you though.

I try to keep my nails a little long. I have nice fingernails amd hands in general. I do work a maint type of job though, so it is really difficult not breaking my nails.

Honestly I dont understand all this story and the only thing I can say is that you made it just to say everybody here yo iut shave your legs.
I start transitioning around 15 years ago without even knowing what that was. I star waxing my legs after being saving them.for around 15 years before.
Never ever I received any comment from a woman or a man a out my legs.

I would resist the temptation, though it would difficult to bite my tongue, ?My legs are naturally bald. Sorry about yours.? No need to start a war over a silly comment. I would be more worried about a bruise that takes weeks to disappear or a cut that takes months for the scar to fade. Or a shattered nail, hand or foot.