First of all, I am very pleased to announce that S4 had a baby boy today. He is her third child and the 14th grandchild in my family. Everyone is happy and healthy. Yay!
Now I'd like to share two observations about life in a female-dominated lab. I've said before that the lab I'm in is something like 70% women. Since I've always been part of very woman heavy labs, I don't have personal experience with which to compare them to male dominated labs. Lately I've been trying to imagine what the little differences might be.
Our lab has several rather sensitive personalities. They aren't cry babies or difficult people, they are people who are always concerned with how their words and behaviors might be perceived by others and who carefully interpret the words and actions of others so as to fully understand their complete meaning and intent. I recently had a chance to work with a wider group of scientists from my institution as part of a new collaborative effort. We were literally working all together at a table for a whole day. As we worked, one of the technicians in my lab asked, "what is this thing?" I answered, "it's an X and it does function Y." She said, "I know it does Y but I didn't know Xs looked like this." I said, "oh, okay." No big deal. The entire exchange took less than a minute. Then the tech added, "Sorry to be short with you" and I replied, "You weren't and I hope I didn't sound condescending". The men at the table were mildly aghast. I think they thought we were walking on eggshells with each other but really it was just a normal interaction, at least among people who are used to sensitive types.
Is this representative of how women interact professionally as a result of socialization or is it because of the particular personalities that have shaped our lab culture?
Next observation. I have said before that I hate pooping (although I think butts are hilarious). It is the worst part of my day. If I have to Go while at work, I try to be as discreet as possible, even timing my bathroom visit when there are no other women in there. There is a man who works in my vicinity who goes to the bathroom every day with reading material tucked under his arm, clearly headed off to take a shit. Ewww. There have been other men at my work who regularly announce their #2 events. I have never heard a woman in our lab group do that.
Again, is this an example of how gender socialization drives lab culture or is it just individual quirks (i.e. that I am grossed out by the idea of anyone at all making #2 and it just happens that none of the women ever announce it in my presence)?
12 comments:
You wouldn't do well with unisex bathrooms, I'm assuming...
My dorms at school had unisex bathrooms. I could pee fine, but if there was a pair of big shoes in the stall next to me, we'd have this weird standoff waiting for the other person to go first so we could poop in peace. Invariably someone would give up and leave, then come back in a few minutes to find...another (person of the other sex) in the bathroom!
I feel like I could have written this post, even down to the newspaper carrying pooper. If you were in my field, I would be worried that you were one of my lab mates. Then I would read every single one of your old posts to see if you said anything about me. Then I would insist that I am not one of the sensitive ones. Really, I'm not!
In our building the bathrooms on even-numbered floors (like mine) are self-contained single rooms - I love it! Although there are only 2 of them (both unisex) and people from the adjacent odd-numbered floors (that have multi-stalled bathrooms) often come to use ours when they need, um, privacy. So there is often a wait.
I have mostly worked in 50-50 mixed labs (although my department in my industry job was 100% female until my last couple of months there, when we hired a gay man). That breeds its own problems, such as the love square (more complicated than a triangle) that developed among the postdocs in Glasgow. Female Postdoc A dated Male Postdoc A, then Male Postdoc B, who left her for Female Postdoc B, who then dumped him and married Male Postdoc A.
I think women do tend to be more careful of how their words effect the other person. I am not sure if its a bad thing. I have have worked in both mixed, predominately male, and predominately female environments. I prefer the female environments.
I once bumped into a female colleague who had been reading in the bathroom (though I don't think it was a regular habit in work). I often read in the bathroom at home but I was a bit horrified that day - in work! Even if I agree that the particular thing she was reading must have been prone to bowel activity...
Short geologist, I would have been mortified by unisex bathrooms. I remember sort of getting over it by the end of my 2.5 years in dorms, but I really like my privacy.
Tina, it's funny that I'm not the only one! The sensitive ones really are good people to work with, so I have no complaints about them. It just changes the dynamic a little.
Cath, I would LOVE single room bathrooms. One of ours has just one stall but it's a big room so people wait. They just wait right on the other side of the stall half-wall and are staring at you when you come out. Ick. Also ick for a love square. I'm so thankful that there is absolutely no sexual tension in my lab whatsoever. It really reduces the day-to-day stress as well as, of course, the gossip.
sientistmother, I agree that it's nice in some ways. Many problems are nipped in the bud.
Stepwise, I agree that it's nice to read on the pot at home, but I just wouldn't ever do it at work. Eeeew.
There are 3 stalls in the ladies room that I use at work- the last one is up against a window and has a long ledge as a window sill of sorts. Lately, someone has been leaving various female-oriented magazines (Vogue, Parenting, etc) on the ledge. I love it! I always go in that stall now when I have to Go.
But yes, I still get kind of embarrassed. Other women come in and out, and I'm in there reading a magazine that other women have touched while they've been in the shitter. Oh well. No one knows me unless they recognize my shoes.
I used to be much more sensitive about the Going thing when younger, and would even usually take the farthest stall in a long row (like in a movie theatre). Or wait!
Now, it's the nearest one. I'm glad at work that there are male and female bathrooms, and two stalls in ours (haven't looked in theirs!). And that there is air-freshener spray on the floor between the two stalls.
I'm pretty used to working in male-dominated offices and field settings, but have mostly hired women for field assistants, though. There are plusses and minuses in both situations, I think. I've been in some female-dominated (I mean by abundance) situations where there was just too much negative gossip by people who were then sensitive if you said anything back. It seemed confusing to me.
Great for your S4 and baby!
My coworker (female) and I used to talk about pooping all the time. Okay, so not *all* the time, but when you have people with food allergies it just "comes out" (no pun intended) a little bit more naturally in conversation than with other people.
No, we didn't go into gory details, but if one of us went to the bathroom a little longer than normal we each knew what was up! :)
Males are obsessed about poop. Working in mostly male environment (about 1 woman to 10 men, so
I am frequently the only woman in the room), if I didn't nip it in the butt, I would have to hear about poop all the time.
On another note, while at a women's conference last week, all male bathrooms were converted to female bathrooms. I overheard someone saying they would try using a urinal if they were wearing a skirt, but I don't think anyone actually tried.
congrats to S4!
and wow, i am always in awe at people who are able to broadcast their poops, with papers in arm, etc. also, i wonder, if it takes you so long to poop that you have time to read, how hard is it to poop? maybe we all need more fiber...
Laughing here. I have to say any sensitivities I ever had about popping went out the window after living too long in Africa - it's a topic of discussion like the weather is other places. That said I don't announce or make it obvious, but hey we all do it.
As for the male/ female thing. I used to be the only female on every field crew and then suddenly I got a job where there were more women then men and it sure confused me because the premise of conversations does change. I found with men generally I knew exactly where I stood with them. And with women it is a much more complicated dance. I like a balance best.
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