Overheard between two single, mid-20s coworkers at my office building today:

[ ... random conversation ... ] Average Guy: "It's cool that [our boss] lets us wear business casual except at important meetings." Woman: "That's bullshit. Us women have to worry about what's in style, what makes us look fat, what kind of shoes to wear. Until you start wearing a suit every day, you don't get to talk about clothes." Average Guy: "..."

The dialog was that discontinuous. Woman heard "us", imputed tribalism ("men") to Average Guy, and then went off into the deep end. In one stroke, she assumed victim status and publicly shamed the man for some perceived privilege.

PUNCHLINE #1: Woman quoted above is a military officer. She wears the same utility uniform every single workday. Even if a double standard in workplace dress existed, it could have no effect whatsoever on her personally.

Of course, no double standard exists in our workplace. Women are well-represented including two who were within earshot:

  • A feminine woman who modulates attire and ornamentation on a lunar cycle
  • A butch (descriptive, not derogatory) woman who wears cargo pants, polo shirts, and tennis shoes every day

Both are happy and productive. They dress how they want to dress in compliance with our broad rules. Our team had no interest in adversarial nonsense, but now the men keep their distance. Our corporate-political climate is way too sensitive to risk a sexual harassment accusation.

This woman is totally irrational.

Epilogue: Average Guy made the best move and immediately walked away from the situation. PUNCHLINE #2: 30 minutes later, Woman is complaining loudly about a lack of quality men to date.

It sucks to keep your guard up all the damn time.