Incurably Romantic by Alexandros Vasmoulakis
So…I have been at my current job for about 6 months now.
I work for white men. Republican white men. Patronizing, condescending white men.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think this about all white men, but I am definitely starting to develop a complex of some sort.
Our Property Manager quit on Monday because she was tired of the patriarchal bullshit, among other things, I’m sure. I liked having her around because she was real and she was my ally in a way. But she was my boss too.
With her departure I was told that I needed to step it up. WTF. I’m a leasing agent, not a property manager. I don’t get paid enough to step it up. I also don’t get paid enough to have these men speak to me in condescending manners or talk shit about me behind my back to other employees. Yeah…I hear all about it. They don’t have legit reasons to talk shit about me. Well, they do when it comes to me being frustrated with my job. I’m tired of being told that I am “easy on the eyes.” That borders on sexual harrassment.
I admit that I am inexperienced when it comes to this business. I worked in retail for 7 years before this. At the same time, I am over qualified for my job. I could be doing much better, more interesting tasks with my brain power and education. Yet, the place where I work is a total clique. The white men boss me around while I answer the phones and do all the other office work/customer service type stuff. The latinos work in maintenance. So, I’m the colored girl that plays secretary. I am the one they make the snide remarks to. And some how, what I do is never good enough.
I can see why she quit. If I were in her position and I had some sort of support system, I’d walk out too. But I can’t. People say that I am attractive, so that automatically means that I am not smart. I am still trying to gain experience in my new field and that means that I am not working as hard as I should. I’m only 25 so that means everyone can talk down to me. I hate my job.
Some of you may be saying, “Find a new job.” Sure…..like it’s that easy. I have a psychology degree that is basically worthless. So, it will be hard to find a job that will pay all my bills with a worthless degree and 7 years of retail experience. I would not be able to afford my apartment if the company I worked for was not giving me a discount.
But working for these people goes against everything I believe in. At the same time, I have to support myself. I have no family or friends to lean on. I only have me and I have to find a way to survive in this white, male dominated world.
I do not have all the answers. This is getting more and more frustrating and depressing. So, I’m looking for some good advice? I know someone out there can give me some feedback on how I can survive this situation without killing my spirit in the process.
