Female DOORMAT

Interesting subject. I'm rather tall (5'9") and thought in general, that people are less intimidated by women, regardless of their size. I never thought that being petite stands for doormat.

Debra, don't you think that your filling in for your man
at the store and having had these intimidating experiences with customers, is a matter of gender as opposed to size?

Strangely enough, the petite women I know are all feisty
and can hold their own. One of them is my elderly neighbor
who had gotten into an argument with some city construction
workers. They started working before 7 am
and apparently her beauty sleep was interrupted and she
came charging out of the house with her robe and uncombed
hair shouting at the workers. They of course were quite
amused by her attire and foul language, and just laughed
it off. "Drop dead" she yelled at them and went back into
the house.

I can tell you, no one takes her for a ride.

LOL

I just find it so incredible -- in order to avoid confrontation with some people who try to beat me down on prices (or whatever the situation may be) -- that I have to invoke the power of my man to get them off my back.

We bought thousands and thousands of pieces of excess and returned jewelry. We received an amazing bargain -- so we can pass huge savings on to the customer. We offer a large variety of name-brand jewelry that originally cost (on an average) $40-$100 at a fancy department store for only $2.00, $3.00, or $5.00 at our store.

Of course, it's selling like hotcakes. We're making money and our customers are ecstatic! One woman spent about a half hour culling through the jewelry and selected several pieces for a total of $20 or maybe a little more. She came to me and asked if I would take $10.

I told her, "No. It's priced as marked."

She became angry; she glared at me; and she announced, "I spend a lot of money in this store."

I wanted to tell her: SO WHAT? Lots of people spend a lot of money here, but they don't walk in and demand half price on the jewelry.

Instead, I said, "If you want a discount, you will have to talk to _______ (my man's name)."

She tapped her foot while she glared at me, then she tossed the jewelry back onto the table and proclaimed, "I'll pass."

I'm not suited for the retail world! LOL Thank goodness I don't have to do this very often. People don't treat me like that when I wear my lawyer suit . . . tending the store has been a rude awakening for me.

I just wanted to say Debra: You come across so secure
and determined, I always thought, no one would ever question you, and when put into your lawyer chair, I'm sure you radiance
authority and knowledge.

Maybe because the store is not your domain, you feel somewhat
insecure, thus more vulnerable to the clients.

Things can be just as bad, if not worse among men. Our logic astounds me.

If you are shorter I can pick on you 'cause you are weak, and if you are taller then I'll pick on you to prove that I am just as strong. ^^'


Seriously though, this happens to everyone. We're the proverbial hunters, taking advantage of our prey's weaknesses. It's one of our more primal instincts to see smaller individuals as less of a threat.
I am not really sure how the interaction between women occurs, since I am not really a woman, ^^' but I think it happens to everyone to a certain degree wether you are male or female.

Debra, the kid with the sword you talked about earlier was a good example. No, he would probably not snarl at your man. Why? Because the man snarling like a dog was a coward. There are many of them in the world, and they jump on even the tinyest weakness in others to prove to themselves (falsely) that they are not cowards. This, of course, proves them to be even more cowardly. Disregard such people. They are not worth the effort of getting agitated.

"I musn't dissapoint the tallest."
"Your leaders are just taller than everyone else?"
- Invader Zim.

One day we may judge people on the content of their character (Thanks M.L.) rather than their external characteristics. Somehow I doubt it though.

Calamityjane wrote:



That's just it. If you radiate strength weaker people will gang up on you in fear of their own reputation being lessened by you example. Jeff Buckley says it so well in the song "the sky is a landfill":

This way of life is so devised
To snuff out the mind that moves
Moving with grace the men despise
And women have learned to lose

Great piece of lyrics. This piece ends: Throw off your shame or be a slave to the system.