Yesterday my professor was giving us a talk on how to act professional in our industry. He said, and I quote, “Ladies, you owe it to your gender to not cry. Once you lose that trust it’s very hard to get back.” Are you kidding me?! In all of the years I have worked in my industry I have never cried on the job, but I have seen girls AND boys cry for an array of reasons.
I agree that we are going into a stressful career that can be cut throat. And yes, if you cry on the job you are looked down upon. That being said he phrased it in the worst way possible and did NOT have to single the girls out.
If one girl cries on the job it does not mean that every single girl is going to cry. We are representatives of ourselves and not the entire gender. If a boy cried others wouldn’t think all boys were going to cry, so don’t think that about the girls. Also, if a guy cried he would be looked at as ‘sensitive’, but the second a girl cries she is ‘too emotional.’
I think this was a very sexist and misogynistic comment that was returned with a very dirty look from me. I do not think that a professor should make statements or be allowed to make statements like this in the classroom.

The first time I moved up to NYC I felt like I was in constant competition with all of the other girls there. Which is ridiculous considering there are millions of other girls and most of them look like, and probably are, actual supermodels. I would buy new clothes that I thought would make me fit in, tried out different styles that were not me, and would never leave without doing my hair and makeup. Needless to say I was miserable, for many other reasons, but this was also a factor. I came home early and swore off NYC and my career.

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