I'd Like Some Testosterone, To Go.

Writing about the Mommy Club experience in Exit, Stage Right got my wheels turning and made we ponder why some women are so, well, mean. Some days it's enough to make me wish I were a man. Yep, you read that right. I had the very good fortune to work at a company with a large group of men and one very lovely lady. What I learned about men while working there amazed me.


The men gossiped, but they did it out in the open, right in front of the person they were talking about. "Hey Ted, heard you and the Mrs. are having trouble, that true?" Wow! The female gossips I've met have never given the person they were gossiping about the chance to refute or clarify a situation. In the course of a day there were differing opinions on everything from work ethic to sports, to how to properly set up a household budget and keep the family happy, and not one man got angry, stormed off or stopped talking to another. Gulp. Can you imagine? There were some moments when arguments were heated, but at the end of the day it was "Nite Ted, see ya in the morning." 


I have this silly idea (since we're all women and we know the heavy loads we carry in our society) that we could support each other with the nurturing instinct that so many of us have in spades. We could disagree, but not judge because we differ. No name calling, no back-biting, and none of this "I'm better than her because..." caca. Oh Utopia! We women wear so many hats (yeah, yeah, I know the men do too, but I'm talking women here), professional, mother, sister, friend, Girl Friday, care-giver, housekeeper, social co-coordinator, and so on. With all we do it's a dirty rotten shame that some women can't stand in one area together without an episode of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” breaking out.  I'm thinking the solution might just be that we just need a little more testosterone in our diets.


How do you handle situations with "mean" women?
Have you ever maliciously gossiped about someone knowing it would hurt them?
Ever felt like you were back in high school all over again?
Let the debate begin.