If your first thought was: "okay, so you're definitely not a woman, got it." Congrats! You're correct!

Me: I want people to look at me, be confused, and then guess right. Like, I want people to know I’m a man but I want it to take some mental gymnastics to get there.

Big bully man at work called a ‘meeting’ to berate me for sending him a mean text. Said mean text was: ‘hey man please get me this supply for work, unless you don’t want to in which case please tell me who I should request it from instead. Thanks.’

I’ve been hearing rumors for weeks that he’s been talking about how what I do isn’t ‘women’s’ work. He’s been getting in my way since I started this job, telling me I can’t do this or that. Idiot wouldn’t let me drive the tractor for 9 months because he threw a whole tantrum over it every time I tried. Shit hit the fan the other day when he told me I wasn’t allowed to fix the fence and I said ‘actually I can, and I will, but you can help if you want to.’ He tried some threats and left in a huff when that didn’t work, then called the boss. Luckily I’d had the foresight to get her to back me up first. I fixed the fence.

Generally when we need supplies we ask whoever this guy’s favorite worker of the week is, so that he’ll get what we need (otherwise he ignores us, everyone knows he’s petty and mean). So I asked his fave to get us some supplies and apparently she stupidly told him that it was my request. Then I heard he said I should ‘be a real woman’ and ask him directly for the supplies I needed. “Oh I’ll show him a real woman,” I said with flickers of hellfire in my black eyes. I sent him the offending text. Queue another instant meltdown. He dragged my manager and another coworker in to it too, poor things.

Him: I don’t like being talked to like that.

Me: oh you mean the way you’ve talked to me a hundred times over?

Then he went on a spluttering rant about how he wasn’t born yesterday and I said neither was I. He was trying the ‘hate stare’ on me the whole time and I gave it right back. I’ve been stared down by men that could send this guy running with a glance. I didn’t even shake. Meanwhile sweat was pouring off the manager’s face lol, and he was he biggest guy in the room.

I saw the bully man start to say something, think better of it, and go with ‘you need to grow up.’ Which honestly was so stupid I didn’t have a comeback. But I could tell he had the ‘grown woman’ line queued up and couldn’t quite send it. Not standing there in that small room looking up at me.

Hah. Little man. Little man watching me bat his hands away while he tries over and over again to take my power.

That shit doesn’t work on me anymore.

Still considering reaching out to HR to file something official since I don’t think my boss is taking any of this seriously. But you know how useless HR can be when it comes to harassment from male coworkers. We’ll see.