Don’t Talk To Grown Women As If They Were Little Girls
Spare me your condescension
I recently took issue with a man who counseled me to “Be a good girl.”
He uttered these words after calling me “pretty one” and telling me that I must make my boyfriend proud.
My answer? Simply, I wrote “ok…”
How else could I answer this advice and compliment? Sure, I could have just not answered or blocked the person. Often, I do. However, sometimes I am feeling more charitable. Sometimes, I am feeling like verbally castrating a man.
I am flighty like that.
He questioned exactly what I meant by my answer. I explained that I felt his comment was condescending (because it is).
He suggested that I should be careful with that chip on my shoulder. He was offended that I ignored his compliment. Furthermore, he thought I should be grateful that he respected my existing relationship.
There is just so much to unpack here.
I have had no prior interaction with this man. We happen to both belong to the same social media group. He wrote to tell me that he liked my writing and found my photos attractive.
Rather than giving him a gold star, I thanked him instead.
