Today, I go to eat with one of my good guy friends. It was going to be great, he's a fun guy. We run into my boyfriend and his guy friends, so why not eat with them? My boyfriend leaves to get more food and is gone for this interaction.
We are sitting at a table and I want to sit in a spot making the sides even. Three people on one side of the table three on the other. No big deal, right? Wrong.
I put my stuff down, the boy next to me moves my food across the table. "No, Sit there, not by me"
I laugh and slide my food right back to its original spot. This interaction happens two more times. I get up and say jokingly move my stuff again and say I'll spit in your food for a year if you move my stuff again. I'm smiling through this whole thing. I smile when I'm mad.
I put my stuff where I want to sit and proceed to enjoy my meal. But, the boy sticks his leg under the table to block me from comfortably sitting. I am so confused about why this is happening.
After a short period he moves his leg. I'm glad that awkward situation is over. But, NO, it's not. He gets up, and moves to the head of the table.
I wanted to speak up, yell, leave, but I didn't. As the only girl at the table I didn't want to be seen as a bitch. The girl who makes waves, who can't take a joke.
We talked in class about women being passive and not wanting to come across as aggressive.
What was that boy "just being a boy" and joking?
Do you think the whole "I'm just joking" is more of a male thing to do, a female, or equal?
I think the "joking" thing happens in both genders but in very different ways. Guys are more about intimidation and physical displays of aggression such as moving away, moving your stuff, blocking how you sit at the table. Women, I feel, tend to use verbal tactics to "just kid around." There is nothing that makes me cringe like hearing women call other women "bitch," "slut," and other mean names.
ReplyDeleteBoth are immature and, in my opinion, not funny.