2002-10-24 -

Bossy Chicks

Watching tonight's episode of The West Wing, I was reminded of Julie's contention that I like bossy women. I think she hit hear the mark but not on it. Certainly I like several bossy women, Liralyn not least, but it's not because they're bossy.

Theory born out of idle speculation:

Things seem to be getting better, but generally boys are more encouraged than girls to speak up, offer different ideas, and generally rock the boat. Girls seem to get more encouragement to run with the crowd.

Boys can excel athletically and pick up a certain amount of bogus credibility that allows them to make stupid statements and make a group back them anyway. (I think most high school football teams could offer up some examples.) I don't recall any female athletes picking up that sort of bullying.

So, while stupid men can get away with being bossy, stupid women are discouraged from doing so. If you're a stupid woman and you want to get ahead, you're better off trading on looks or some other aspect of charisma than on assertiveness and razor wits.

So, if you meet a woman who is prone to assertive behavior and giving orders, she's more likely than a comparable man to be genuinely smart and chock-full of good ideas. Accordingly, I'm prone to liking her. Even if, like Mary Louise Parker's character on The West Wing, she's throwing water balloons at my head.

I'm not at all sure if I'm on to something here or totally talking shit, but at this hour of the morning, what's the diff?

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