A Woman in Labor; Giving Birth to Feminism in Construction

 Sounds like a fantastically comedic show, no? This wouldn't be the first time I've considered how to turn my job into a sitcom or a play, but the fact of the matter is that the antics would be the only source of amusement. It isn't like a barista job where there are wacky new flavors on their chalkboards or a restaurant where the wait staff has witty banter with their customers. We sometimes rarely see our "customers" and when we do we generally ignore each other because there is nothing a customer can do but distract from the task at hand. But conceptualizing an electrician themed performance was not what I came here to do (wait... Tim Allen's Home Improvement... how much of that tackled actual repair work?). The program I am a part of is considered "indoor" electric work. This is not necessarily the case. I AM lucky to be currently working indoors as the season grows colder, and I acknowledge that the cold I've endured thus far is barely a whi...

 I have to say that I doubt my blogging on this topic will follow any clear path or train of thought. I write as I ponder. So as is the case in just about all corporate working environments that employ at least 10 people, the construction industry really digs in to training when it comes to sexual harassment. I realize this makes sense as it is clearly stated in my page info paragraph that women make up less than 10% of construction employees and are thereby "minorities" in the trade. As humans should have noticed by now, those who are not classified as belonging to the dominant social group of an organization or culture face much higher instances of discrimination. I cannot strictly call it a representation of the pecking order because those who get pecked are not necessarily weaker or subservient (like chickens), but I digress. The point is that construction workers have the stereotype and history of being catcalling, vulgar, arrogant men, therefore they require more repeti...

I have already alluded to the lack of emotional depth displayed by men in construction, so it's not a long shot to connect this behavior to that of the insincere compliment. The insincere compliment is usually meant to soften the previous avalanche of insults, or as they call it in the business, "ball busting". I do not have balls, so I'm going to assume this does not apply to me and I will call an insult an insult. I suppose the insincere compliment is also a means of continuing the manly bluster with a different tone. Even construction workers get tired of the same schtick, so to add some flavor to the day a "no kidding, dumbass" will be twisted into a sarcastically awestruck "you're so smart".  Now I understand that these things are said in jest, but I also firmly believe that every "I was just kidding" contains a hint of truth. Does that mean the sarcastic "you're so smart" is a partial compliment? Well now I've ...

 Here we are! A fresh new blog to welcome in a fresh new president in a fresh new decade. This is especially meaningful as I work as an apprentice electrician and am therefore surrounded by union construction laborers who inexplicably love political candidates who strive to dismantle the very system that ensures their livelihood. I realize this is a controversial subject; I stand by my statement and will now move on. Disclosure: Just a reminder that this blog is a representation of my experience. As a fallible human I am apt to use generalizations in the spirit of simplicity and humor. However I know the world to be full of intricate, complex people from all walks of life and my goal is not to influence or encourage a culture that promotes stereotyping individuals. We are not stock characters in a commedia dell'arte performance. My goal is to exorcise my professional demons in an occasionally comedic, slice of life format. I'm sure you can relate. Also, these are construction w...