Please don’t dump on my pantsuit and I won’t rumple your trousers!
This post is not about politics or fashion. It’s simply about character, progress and respect. I actually don’t own a pantsuit (although I had quite a few groovy ones back in the day, including a safari-style number).
I wasn’t permitted to wear pants to school without a skirt over them until I was about 14 years old. Since that time, women have made some other tremendous strides. We fought for certain rights and our lives are better for them. I’m hoping we don’t backslide.
For example:
- Girls weren’t allowed to take boy’s “shop” classes. I could only take sewing, childcare, and cooking. I always envied those lamps the guys made from popsicle sticks and I bet they wish they had learned to fix that split in the back of their pants.
- In college, I was paid half what the male interns at my Congressional internship were paid. That totally sucked, especially because I did most of the writing that summer.
- I ultimately earned a seat at the top of the corporate ladder, but I had to listen to one of my peers (who happened to be in HR) say, “Women…can’t live without ’em…can’t kill ’em!”
- Companies and lawmakers eventually developed safer systems for speaking up when we are groped, discriminated against, or otherwise belittled at school or in the workplace. (Just to be totally fair, I once heard a woman executive describe a pregnant colleague as “a big fat cow.” Rude and mean know no gender.)
- Having my own business for the past decade, I’ve often had to justify my fees while my male colleagues command (and get) twice the amount. I’ve learned how to compete and state my worth.
I’m not on a feminist soapbox. I’m not a he-woman man-hater. In fact, I like dudes a lot. I had two brothers and a strong father and I’ve worked for some awesome men most of my career. I just always aspire to debate rationally rather than rant. I don’t demand respect…I earn it.
If my granddaughter wants to change a tire in middle school while wearing jeans rathe than bake cinnamon twists while wearing an apron, that’s her choice. And, if you guys want to wear skirts and play with the fake baby, I won’t judge.
Yeah, we’re different. But we’re all human beings. Let’s keep civility trending and wear the pants, panties (or pantsuits) that fit us best!
ABOUT NANCY A. SHENKER
A former big-brand executive (Citibank, MasterCard, Reed Exhibitions) and late-life entrepreneur (CEO of theONswitch marketing), confidently straddles the digital divide.
Innovation only happens when people break rules and question authority.
That’s what I (Nancy A. Shenker aka the “Bad Girl”) have always done. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I wasn’t uber-popular as a kid, so I’m used to it. I’d rather be respected and remembered than revered.
Girls are taught from an early age to be good. But we bad ones — the rule-breakers, the ones who question things, the ones who don’t sit idly by and wait for stuff to happen — have more fun, are more creative, and sometimes invent really cool stuff. We say out loud what’s in other people’s heads. We don’t lean in…we sit up straight.
I also follow trends and jump on new bandwagons. Not because they are perceived as cool, but because taking risks and trying new things can change the game. I learned how to use digital media starting in 2003 and I know as much about useful technology as most 20-somethings (even though I’m now close to 60). I use my mad social media skills to build communities and provide useful tips about marketing and business and life in general.
I’m not mean and I don’t break laws. But I have always marched to the tune of a different drummer. It hasn’t hurt me in life or in business. So come join me in being a little bad. It’ll feel really good!