Feminist Pub 14: The Bluestocking, a place for feminist chat and feminists to chat

[YonicScrewdriver]

Welcome!

This is the 14th incarnation of the Pub and is meant as a place to drop by with random thoughts and meandering chats, on feminist or other related themes. Anything you want to mull over but not necessarily start a thread about. Alternatively, flop onto the chaise lounges with some

We have a pub goat, a feminist cannon for firing at crazy sexists and a variety of drinks and snacks. And stools/bar counters at female friendly heights. And a crèche in the back somewhere

Will link the last pub in the next post!

For me, becoming invisible has been a massive relief. Not that I turned heads, but when I was younger I got a lot of unwanted attention in terms of leering, catcalls and sexual harassment (bum pinched in crowded bars and such). I hated it so much.

The only exception was once, sitting in a coffee shop with a friend, a very well dressed older (70s) gentleman walked up to me and said "excuse me, I really don't want to bother you, but I just wanted to say you are beautiful" and walked away before I could close my mouth.

Delurking to say it was lovely to meet you yesterday Annie and good luck for Wednesday.

Hello! It was lovely to meet you too! Please stay de-lurked, it's fantastic in here and you'd fit right in.

Everyone, I'd like you to meet NotAnother. Did I mention she's lovely?

Willkommen!

Pull up a chair and join in. Contrary to popular opinion, we don't bite

Hi, not Another

So ... I am writing reports. Can anyone think of a way to say "I am sure they will have mastered this skill by the end of the year", without using the word mastered ?

I would like a variety of possibilities as I have over 70 reports to write and may need that phrase more than once.

I am sure they will have become proficient
I am sure they will have gained

But I'd like it to imply being better than proficient/gained. I want to say they will be good at something, without using the word good, cos that makes me look ignorant, dunnit.

Wotcha, NotAnother

"Mastered" - understood/comprehended/become skilful in/ adopted completely/ become learned in/know thoroughly

This morning's entertainment. Filling in a form for the DDs to visit Santa at the school fayre on Friday. Gifts will be handed out, so predictably the form has "boy/girl". I filled in "why does it matter?" and directed them to the Let Toys Be Toys website. Oh yes, I am that parent.

How about something like 'up-skilled to the next level', kickass? I have to say something similar for my job which entails rewriting a fucking sales aid, because it is so fucking ridiculous that the sales people can't actually sell from it. But I have said 'refine and evolve the sales aid' . They don't know any different.

"they will be kick-ass awesome at...."?

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/tugce-albayrak-calls-to-grant-posthumous-bravery-award-to-germanys-good-samaritan-student-9894095.html

a brave woman lost through male violence

(apologies if this has already been highlighted on here - i have been rather awol lately)

Hi NotAnother

Annie- pleased to say our form just asks for numbers. They get chocolate I think

Urhh I can't be arsed to return to that Hooters thread. However I am toying with the idea of changing my username to JealousMinger

I am tempted to do a report in 'real' speak rather than teacher talk. So, yes, something along the lines of "right now they dump all their ideas onto the page in one great vomitous lump of irrational, emotional response. However, with a few smacks around the head, I am sure that I can get them to use paragraphs and get rid of words like 'dudes' and 'peeps'. Otherwise, they're a pretty nice kid."
It would be so nice to be able to write reports like that, instead of 60 variants of 'xxx displays a good understanding of the texts, but needs to present their ideas in a more organized fashion."

I have the rest of the day to get the last 28 reports done, but first I shall take dd ice skating with some friends and waste a few hours doing not much at all, then settle down at the last minute and type away like a fiend.

kickass you sound like my lecturer. Today he gave us a 10 minute refresher on grammar as he'd spent the weekend marking second-year essays and they gave him the rage.

I'd love to write reports in real world language rather than teacher speak. I really want to say things like "he could be really good if he just listened to what I say and acts on it instead of writing stupid messages on his whiteboard and doing his best to avoid doing any work at all. Oh and he still doesn't know his times tables despite having been learning them for 6 years and being quite bright. He obviously just doesn't care" That felt good, and could describe quite a lot of my pupils.

kickass your 'real' speak report is why it's probably not a good idea for me to go into teaching children. I think I'd end up writing 2 sets of reports, one in 'acceptable to parents' speak and the other in 'real' speak and then spending far too long worrying that I'd put the wrong one in the envelopes...

Ugh, talking about 'real' speak, rather than the convoluted bullshit I have to come out with, here are some 'real' conversations I would like to have with certain senior managers in the company I am working at:

• Your sales people are shit

• You have completely lost your marketing capabilities and competencies. Marketing is a foreign concept in this company, and bears no resemblance to any marketing I have done, ever

• The CEO and your senior managers have all been promoted well beyond their capabilities

• Don't rely on your customers to tell you what they want, they don't know your business, YOU know your business

• The people who you think are 'stars' in the company can all talk the talk, but they can't walk the walk. Learn to see the difference and hire better people

• Stop offering free fucking stock to your customers!!! You have taught them that all they have to do is say "I'm going elsewhere", and you crumble like a fucking soggy biscuit!

Errm, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Oh and to make it a feminist issue, 11/13 senior managers here are men.

I use real speak at work and I swear to God, many "corporate stars" think I'm a bit thick because I don't talk about blue sky thinking, going forward, leverage, cadence and right sizing.

Well, just took DD and 2 new friends to ice skating and lunch. Their mum and I seemed to get on well, the girls all had a great time, and we all seemed to get to the 'had enough' stage at around the same time. In fact, pretty perfect for a first time get together...

Except for the random spare sock I discovered trapped half way down my jeans leg after the first hour. Why didn't I notice that when I pulled my jeans out of the laundry basket this morning?

That sounds like fun kickass. Did you get your reports written?

I've just had to defriend one of my oldest "friends" from facebook. She posted some utter bollocks about a young woman who was 'cured' of her homosexuality by prayer and faith in God. My 'friend' has become very religious over the past few years and I've been distancing myself but this is the last straw. I just don't recognise her brand of Christianity, she seems set on judging other people rather than helping people who need it. I'm just sad that she's changed so much from the fun-loving young woman I used to know :(

Still. Writing. Reports.

Dragon about your friend.

Been out and about. Even had a big argument about how girls dress.

I miss corporate-speak, it was like learning a new language, absolutely fascinating. I really got into the whole prince 2, six sigma, NLP, who moved my cheese bullshit, it was like playing a fun game . Organisational culture is so interesting. Less interesting when you are bashing your head against a wall trying to get stuff done though.

What's the big thing these days? The last book people were obsessed with in my org before I left (in 2009! years ago now) was Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline (think a new addition came out just before then?) as we were on a journey to become a "learning organisation". What are people into now? [out-of-date feminist emoticon]

The Lean Startup?