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A comment on "Lighten up". Parent comment

Re:"Lighten up" by hythloday on Wednesday March 21, 2012 @07:35PM (#3737406)
I would like a set of instructions about how to talk to women properly

Like you would talk to men. Simple.

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Re:"Lighten up" by burgerbrain on Wednesday March 21, 2012 @10:41PM (#3738091)
No way in hell. HR would slaughter me.
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Re:"Lighten up" by nickolai on Thursday March 22, 2012 @03:43AM (#3738815)
They may consider torturing you first.

"Oh come on, my grandma/dog/goldfish would write better code!!!"

This would be a totally acceptable jab among guys, yet saying this to a female coworker would immediately be misinterpreted as "woman are bad at coding" promptly followed by the full wrath of the HR gender equality team.

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Re:"Lighten up" by hythloday on Thursday March 22, 2012 @06:14AM (#3739122)
Well, my advice stands, though if you're actively working to undermine your male colleague's confidence in their ability you might consider changing that. But if you insist on treating male and female colleagues differently then you spend your entire day saying to women, "you don't belong here and you never will". If you're comfortable with that and your manager's comfortable with that, please give me the name of your company so I can avoid it.
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Re:"Lighten up" by burgerbrain on Thursday March 22, 2012 @03:08PM (#3741402)
"if you're actively working to undermine your male colleague's confidence in their ability"

You don't have a solid grasp on male-to-male communication in the US workplace. Please keep in mind that perhaps your culture is different.

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Re:"Lighten up" by hythloday on Friday March 23, 2012 @04:52AM (#3744220)
This reads to me like "you clearly don't have a solid grasp of how women live in Saudi--of course it's necessary for their dignity to prevent them to drive". Do you see it differently? I definitely don't see that hypothesizing about my inexperience of working in the US (where I worked for 3 months in 2006) answers my point.
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Re:"Lighten up" by burgerbrain on Friday March 23, 2012 @04:20PM (#3747048)
If you think how men treat other men in the US workplace is at all comparable to how men treat women in Saudi, then you are fucking insane. Men poking fun of other men is NOT a human rights issue.

Cheeky insults, (which "my goldfish codes better than you" OBVIOUSLY is) are not attempts to "undermine your male colleague's confidence in their ability". If you think that is not the case, then you are obviously completely out of touch with male to male interaction in the US.

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Re:"Lighten up" by Tichy on Thursday March 22, 2012 @06:00AM (#3739096)
Somebody has to make a move eventually, though, or else no sex, no kids and mankind would die out. I agree the work place does not seem the best starting point, but in the real world it turns out to be (see other posts, 18% of committed couples met at work).
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Re:"Lighten up" by hythloday on Thursday March 22, 2012 @06:19AM (#3739133)
Do you really ask women out by walking up to them with bulging eyes and saying "wow, that top makes your tits look great"? There are sexist and non-sexist ways to ask a woman at work out. The non-sexist ways give her the ability to easily decline and not feel bad--much like you'd treat a man, in fact. "Would you like to go for a drink on Friday" is something you might say to someone of either gender, no?
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Re:"Lighten up" by Tichy on Thursday March 22, 2012 @06:31AM (#3739154)
I wouldn't say it, but to be honest, I would definitely think it. And if you say you wouldn't, I call you a liar. Also, I am lucky because I am in a steady relationship and don't have to worry about dating anymore.

What I am going on about is that the "I want to stare at your tits guy" might not be sexist so much as simply inept at dealing with attraction and dating. Calling him a sexist jerk is not going to resolve the issue.

It is not excusing the behavior, but seeking understanding and solutions.

Of course sexist jerks also do exists and have to be dealt with in another way. Also, believe it or not, but if such things go on at a work place, it might make men feel uncomfortable, too. Personally I don't enjoy sexist jokes.

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