…and I’m a Martian. No no, I don’t want to be a man. But, I’ve come to the conclusion that I generally prefer the company of men. And a few special gals who don’t fit the typical mold.
I realize that I’m taking the liberty of drastically generalizing here, but why is it that women seem to be so threatened by each other? We are constantly measuring our self-worth by the yardstick of other women’s attributes and achievements. And we care so dratted much about how we measure up to these other women’s standards.
Women are masters of the subtle jab, and they take plenty at each other. We are naturally suspicious creatures, prone to imagining other women harboring secret grudges….oh but wait, but perhaps it’s not always our imagination. Often, the grudges are real enough.
If you are a woman, you never really know how you stand with most other women. And their opinion of you could change as quickly as you can do something–anything–to become a perceived threat to them.
I’m still generalizing…but, women can be so damn catty in the workplace. Put your typical man and your typical woman in the same confrontational situation with a coworker of equal rank and of the same sex, and you get two completely different scenarios. Your typical man will confront said coworker directly and to-the-point. Confrontation will occur. Confrontation will then come to completion. Thirty seconds later, confrontation is forgotten and life is back to normal. Insert your typical woman into this equation, and the scenario is far different. The woman will dance around the issue, sugar-coating it to the coworker. Then she will let the argument fester, silently. She will discuss the issue to death with anyone who will lend her an ear, save for that person with whom she has the disagreement. However, her subtle rudenesses and strategic comments to this person will ensure that they are aware that all is not well.
Don’t get me wrong, men have their faults, too. Many have an internal enemy known as EGO. However, at least men’s faults are usually fairly straightforward. I get men. Women are just too damn complicated.
And so, I’ve decided that I’ve been in workplaces with predominantly female coworkers for too many jobs, too many years. It’s time for a change. Nothing personal ladies, I promise!
Aspiring Alverna 
I’ve thought about this a lot. I wonder if it’s the way we’re socialized. Standards are so different for women – men succeed by just being themselves, by being men, but women have so many double standards thrust on them from all different sides. But still, there seems to be that inherent competition in most women that comes out as catty, abusive, stupid behavior.