one of the best things about AMC has got to be the tv show Mad Men. it focuses on the lives and careers of men and women working in an ad agency during that late 50s/early 60s. while i was immediately sucked in by the storylines, the one thing that always caused me to cringe - repeatedly - was the blatant sexism. the things which happen to the women in this show at the hands of bosses, lovers, and husbands is horrifying in it's matter-of-fact brutality. It's not enough that your husband calls your psychiatrist to find out what you've been talking about during your sessions? that's okay; how about he cheat on you with everything in a skirt in the meantime?
your boss stringing you along with lies that he's going to leave his wife starting to get under your skin? no problem! how about your brand new fiance rapes you on your bosses floor and then asks you to freshen up before dinner?
no, this show is not simply a study in the nightmare that was american society prior to sexual harassment training and feminism thumped it into everyones heads that you can't get away with this shit. and don't get me wrong: the men are interesting and complex as well. but for me, the show is about the women. while it may be called Mad Men, anyone who's watched the show can tell you it's the women who are REALLY pissed.
in The Times, there is an outstanding piece called Mad Men: the real Mad women on women who really worked in advertising agencies during this same time frame. and while the stories are peppered with anecdotes of blatant male on female bastardness that are (please, God?) unheard of for the most part in today's workplace, there were also some bits that amazed me in terms of how women related to one another on the job.
Per Charlotte Beers:
“I remember a colleague doing a devastating impression of me,” she says. “I went to see her afterwards and said I'm not leaving your office until we work out how to present a united front to the men. She roared with laughter and took me to lunch. I didn't go back to the office that day.”
now, here's a really interesting concept. facing workplace caca head-on instead of allowing the men to step back and enjoy the catfight. I don't think I've ever had a job where the women haven't been more than willing to throw each other under the bus to curry preceived favor from the manager. and while i get that for some, that's called being competitive in the workplace, i also know women are much more inclined to use bullying tactics to freeze a colleague out when feeling threatened.
the one thing i really admire about the women in this article is that they understood to what degree they needed the men in the workplace and they figured out how to use them and/or work around them to reach career success.
SOMETIMES IN A MINI-SKIRT!
remember that the next time you want to call in because you have cramps, candy-ass!
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