Grrl Power #406 – Peanut gallery
Obviously there’s no way I could have a team of super ladies at a construction site without a bunch of construction workers doing what they do best. If this was a slightly darker comic, I could have had Max take offence, but it’s a fair bet she didn’t hear them.
Max, like all women (or just anyone who gets harassed on the street) has to continually decide whether to 1) confront and get called a humorless bitch behind her back, (or sometimes to her face if the guy in question has a real lack of self-preservation skills) 2) let it slide so as not to develop such a reputation or simply because engaging isn’t worth her time, 3) skulk away cause it’s not worth the confrontation, or 4) fire back and give as good as she gets. Max is obviously not a skulker. The big difference between her and most women is that it’s basically impossible for her to be remotely physically intimidated by a guy, and once she got her powers it understandably happened less and less to her within earshot. She used to confront people and get in their face, since cat calling from up on some scaffolding isn’t exactly an obstacle for her, but someone pointed out it was the equivalent of threatening a baby with a tank.
Now she usually either ignores it in a real “acknowledging your existence is beneath me” way, but sometimes she does like to fire back a few withering comments. The kind that tends to get the insecure sort of guys who do stuff like that angry and defensive. Again, not a problem for Max, but in the real world that sort of tactic can go awry. Well, it can go awry for Max as well. If she lays into a guy so hard he tries taking a swing at her, and he busts his hand on her face, a butt hurt loser like that might try to sue her for whatever he can come up with. Hurt feelings, lost wages, assault via tricking him into assaulting her. There’s probably a legal term for that, like “too much testosterone.”
Without meaning to, I put all the recruits in field dress and everyone else is basically ready for a picnic. Really, doing PR work like this on team time, they should all be in field dress, but 1) Arianna wants them to quickly establish their casual style and public personas, not that Max is heavily swayed by such arguments, but also 2) Max is obviously not a huge stickler for that stuff either. Yes, when enforcing those laws, she requires everyone to be in uniform, but the instructions for today were “stuff you’d paint your house in.” Also 3) I like numbered lists.
Edit: Well, I managed to misspell Ottawa, canoeing, and flotation. I don’t think that’s a record for me, but it’s close.
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Testosterone poisoning is a horrible thing.
Actually, that’s debatable(?), Turns out testosterone makes you more brave, rather than aggressive (?).
Testosterone was found linked to ingroup cooperation(?), turns out the reason for roid rage, along with gynomastia (?); male boobs, is that excess Testosterone is converted to Estrogen.
Ah Sydney, never misses a chance to troll stereotypes.
You realize all Maxima would have to do is fly over to them and ask if any of them would like to try holding the 30 ton girder she has. Dosn’t need to be done in a threatening way, just a simple reminder of how much power she casually wields.. Its the same reason you don’t taunt people with guns, or in tanks.
If Sydney spun her orbs and had them flash in alternating patterns, she’d be like a cop. A sexual harassment cop…. Here to stop idiots from getting a foot in their faces.
And why did all the workers suddenly stand up?
And/or where did their chairs go?
I was wondering the same thing. Or maybe they’re still supposed to be sitting with Sydney floating behind them so it just looks like they’re standing?
” There’s probably a legal term for that”
“Attractive Nuisance”? That’s the closest I could think of from my limited experience with studying Law. Back in High School.
You know…
For my whole life I’ve seen this cliché of construction workers leering at catcalling at women passing on the street… in fiction. EXCLUSIVELY in fiction. I’m 43 years old and have not once seen nor heard of it happening in real life, much less witnessed it personally.
Now, I myself am not a woman (attractive or otherwise), however for the last two years I’ve had a job delivering materials to numerous construction sites in my region. One would think, just by law of averages, I’d observe or hear about it 2nd hand, at least once?
Maybe it has more to do with how many women are working AT a real life construction site? Not that I’m suggesting there’s a lot of them doing the heavy lifting jobs, but Site Supervisors, Inspectors, various administration staff, and salespeople? Sometimes it’s your own company’s secretary, coming to deliver your paycheck. Piss HER off, and you can collect your pay from the bottom of the port-o-john! No one quite that stupid, thank you.
Also when you’re building a neighbourhood, houses don’t go up all at once; a handful are in various stages of construction at any given time, including finished houses with people moved into them at the first opportunity. That means a family with kids might be walking through this half-built neighbourhood at any given time. Teach them any new words and not only will their parents give you an immediate earful… they know how to find that Site Supervisor lady, and regardless of which construction company you’re with, that lady is on a first-name basis with YOUR boss. Danger danger danger!
So like I said, never seen it in real life. Always in fiction, where for some reason it makes “perfect sense” that some people can behave unemployable and still have no fear of losing their jobs.