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A Story About A Girl
Sep. 20th, 2012 10:02 amFirst of all, for those of you following the story so far, I finished the proposal that was giving me keyboard impressions on my face. I'm actually incredibly happy with it now, having killed my darlings, the enemy, and listened very carefully to what SF grandmistress Eleanor Arnason said when she explained that my story needed to be more "skiffy."
I have the best friends/writers' group. Ever.
Now, I must relate the sad story of sexism and how it strangely still exists in the year 2012. Sit back and prepare to be baffled and confused, possibly even shocked and horrified.
Go on, pop the popcorn. I'll wait.
Okay, so I was at Walgreen's picking up perscriptions and whatnot, and I was being checked out (in the cashier way) by a young, twenty-something young lady. The guy at the other register picked up the phone and answered it, "Walgreen's, at the Corner of Happy and Healthy!" or some other phrase the corprate office required empolyees to say when they interacted with customers. I turned to the woman taking care of me and said, "Wow, that's annoying. It reminds me of when I had to say 'Cheetah Pizza, Special Delivery' when I was delivering pizzas." She gave me a very shocked look and said, "Women can do that?" I said, "I'm sorry, what?" "Oh," she said, "I didn't know women could do that job--delivering pizzas--I thought there was some unwritten rule that it could only be guys." I blinked at her for a long moment, and I said, "Women can have whatever jobs they want, as long as they're qualified. To deliver pizza, I only needed a valid driver's license and a car." She seemed kind of impressed. "Wow," she said.
I walked away, thinking, "WHAT??!!"
Okay, if she'de been sixty or seventy, I would have shrugged it off. This young lady was no more than 20. I.. okay, maybe it's true that pizza delivery is one of those jobs men tend to drift toward, but it's not like it's particularly physically demanding, like, say, being a long-haul truck driver, a police officer, or a fire-fighter. AND WOMEN CAN DO ALL THOSE JOBS TOO.
Stunned. I've been stunned since that interaction.
I have the best friends/writers' group. Ever.
Now, I must relate the sad story of sexism and how it strangely still exists in the year 2012. Sit back and prepare to be baffled and confused, possibly even shocked and horrified.
Go on, pop the popcorn. I'll wait.
Okay, so I was at Walgreen's picking up perscriptions and whatnot, and I was being checked out (in the cashier way) by a young, twenty-something young lady. The guy at the other register picked up the phone and answered it, "Walgreen's, at the Corner of Happy and Healthy!" or some other phrase the corprate office required empolyees to say when they interacted with customers. I turned to the woman taking care of me and said, "Wow, that's annoying. It reminds me of when I had to say 'Cheetah Pizza, Special Delivery' when I was delivering pizzas." She gave me a very shocked look and said, "Women can do that?" I said, "I'm sorry, what?" "Oh," she said, "I didn't know women could do that job--delivering pizzas--I thought there was some unwritten rule that it could only be guys." I blinked at her for a long moment, and I said, "Women can have whatever jobs they want, as long as they're qualified. To deliver pizza, I only needed a valid driver's license and a car." She seemed kind of impressed. "Wow," she said.
I walked away, thinking, "WHAT??!!"
Okay, if she'de been sixty or seventy, I would have shrugged it off. This young lady was no more than 20. I.. okay, maybe it's true that pizza delivery is one of those jobs men tend to drift toward, but it's not like it's particularly physically demanding, like, say, being a long-haul truck driver, a police officer, or a fire-fighter. AND WOMEN CAN DO ALL THOSE JOBS TOO.
Stunned. I've been stunned since that interaction.