A thread of our own- misogyny (Part 1)

I am hoping that the services that do this now have come to this conclusion as well. I can’t imagine that anyone is wanting to stay at this point if they need to reliably provide information to the public

@katin The glass ceiling metaphor doesn’t work here - The whole reason it’s glass is because of the idea that women/poc/other marginalized groups could break through it. Elon’s stupidity is a vibranium ceiling

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No, that’s wrong. The glass ceiling metaphor always meant an invisible barrier preventing women and others from moving upward.

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Originally, but over time it’s sort of become both. You will find lots of writing about about someone “breaking through the glass ceiling”. In fact, I find it kind of disturbing that dictionary.com uses breaking through the glass ceiling as their example sentence, since that does make it sound like a solved problem.

In any case, Elon is irreparably dumb and it is still harder for women/poc/and other marginalized groups to make it into high positions

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Let’s hear from the women who created the term, shall we?

It still about impediments to women and minorities of any gender. One person becoming CEO does not erase these impediments, as it’s often about one individual who is seen as “extraordinary” in talent and “leaning in” to get ahead (often at the expense of other women they work with, in fact). It’s still there if the same culture exists which perpetuates it.

Breaking the glass ceiling is not the same as the glass ceiling. For many many women not nearly enough has changed in the work place, despite there being more women in the C-suites in corporate America.

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Oh yeah, I don’t think much has changed about the ability of women or other marginalized groups to make it to positions of power. That’s why I was kind of shocked that dictionary.com used breaking through the glass ceiling as their example. But the usage of the word does no longer mean an unbreakable invisible barrier, hence my joke about Elon stupidity being an unbreakable barrier. I definitely did not mean to imply that the glass ceiling is not a real thing, or that is a solved problem

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Okay, but you just said yourself it means both… I would argue it doesn’t. I think she used that term precisely it’s something that is real (like glass) but is still invisible - that it can’t be seen. I’d argue that people pinkwashing themselves prefer the “breaking the glass ceiling” which really does elide the original meaning of the term.

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I’m just going by the common usage of the phrase today, which includes it being broken. In the context of someone comparing Elon’s stupidity to it, which makes sense if you go by the original meaning of an unbreakable barrier, but not (I feel) in its current usage. Hence the joke about Elon having a vibranium barrier.

I appreciate the pushback, it definitely gives me cause for consideration

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It should give you cause for consideration, because you’re wrong. As should 'splaining the term to a person – a woman – who may well have faced a glass ceiling herself (whether or not she managed to break through it, an action commonly associated with this noun that is NOT part of the definition of said noun).

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Hard to include something that rarely ever happens.

Nowadays whenever a woman or BIPOC person is ‘the first’ to do something, you can expect a huge temper tantrum-like backlash.

'Splain not, dear comrade; women get more than enough of that shit already.

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That’s it girls the ceiling’s broken all y’all go home now!

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If anything is at work here it’s the “glass floor”, where white cis-het male serial screw-ups are given chance after chance to redeem themselves by people who are deeply invested in the initial hype around them.

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Good analogy - except the ceiling is glass because people below can see through it to where they want to be but are prevented from going.
The fuckwits on the glass floor have no conception there is anything below. It is an entirely opaque floor, to them. :wink:

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I always thought the “glass ceiling” metaphor meant that for some people there was a point in their career where they couldn’t maintain their upward trajectory anymore. Without any apparent/official/reasonable reason. Like an invisible barrier. While still being able to see the goals they never could reach. While others clearly could.

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That’s exactly what it means; you can see the top, but you can’t ever actually get there.

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Maybe you’re thinking of the Peter Principle?

Which is due to one’s own limitations. A glass ceiling is an artificial limitation.

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No.
 

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I think the way it works is that they can’t see the floor at all and assume they must be levitating.

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I moved this discussion over here since me being an asshole is off topic from Elon being an asshole, but but it feels right here

You’re right, as others have stated that is absolutely the meaning of the term.

My understanding of it was deeply flawed. I spent the last day doing a lot of reading* and self-reflection as a result. I really do mean it when I say that it’s gave me calls for consideration.

My sincere apologies to everyone involved - I was wrong and it is not your job to fix that. I really do appreciate being told that I am wrong though.

*Which, as usual when I am wrong about something, has been fascinating. The story of Marilyn Loden originally coming up with the idea, basically on the spot, at a conference where she was filling in for her manager, is very interesting, and I really like her pushback against the whole idea that women should adapt to the workplace as opposed to fixing the workplace.

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Oh my God, we need more of this.

Happy Anniversary GIF by Sesame Street

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