No, I’m Not Flirting With You; I Just Want To Keep My Job
Women who work within the service industry often have their kindness mistaken for flirting
“Can you check me out — because I was checking you out,” a voice called.
I glanced up to see a man who looked to be in his 80s or older, holding an overpriced golf shirt. I didn’t say a word; I simply scanned the shirt while the man tried to claim that he’d been joking. I just handed him his receipt and told him to have a nice day. I didn’t tell management, or even another coworker, because he’d already explained his behavior away as a ‘joke.’ The manager would likely take his side or even scold me for making the customer feel uncomfortable.
It wasn’t the first time I’d had a customer make uncomfortable comments directed at me, but I’d mistakenly thought that I’d aged out of them. I was forced to face a sad truth that day, I will never age out of those comments. Maybe they’ll happen less, but as long as I work retail I’m always going to be subject to comments that sometimes make me uncomfortable.
It was worse when I was in my twenties. A man came to my store every day to buy beer. He’d get in my line so that he could ask me on a date. I always declined, despite my coworkers insisting that he was attractive. I simply didn’t…
