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Calling Women "the Office Bunny"

Today I interrupted a man telling a story when he said, “the Office Bunny wanted to come along.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “What do you mean when you called her the 'Office Bunny'?"

“I didn’t mean anything,” he replied.

“Of course, you did,” I said. "Calling her ‘the Office Bunny’ is pejorative.” Thinking he wouldn’t know what ‘pejorative’ means, I explained, “It’s sexist, derogatory and belittling.”

"Did she hop around the office?" I asked, amused. No, he said.

"Would you call a man 'the Office Bunny'?" No. “I didn’t mean anything.”

“That’s what men always say,” I replied. “’I didn’t mean anything’ or “I was just kidding.’ Your tone-deafness amazes me.”

He hung up on me. Looked it up on Urban Dictionary:

"Office Bunny (noun)

“That female employee, one of which is in every place of employment, in America, who obtained her job because of her killer looks, her outrageous bra size, or her blow job talent as demonstrated on the boss.”

Your thoughts?

LiterateHiker 9 Mar 22
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24 comments

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7

I think you did good, thanks for standing your ground and calling him out.

4

I think it was good that you confronted him on it. If you provoked his mind enough to make him think about the way he thinks, you've made a contribution to society.

@Santanaman9

Thanks. I appreciate it.

4

He's probably so stupid he didn't know what it was...

4

Glad you called him on it. If he continues you could say he is filling that common role of office eunuch. See if he can take as much as he dishes out.

3

Never heard that term before. Sounds like high school.

3

Good on ya for calling him out IN THE MOMENT.
He knew exactly what he was saying, I don't believe his excuses for a second.
He needs to be reported to HR, his and yours, if they're different.
For him to hang up on you is also extremely unprofessional.
I'm sorry you still have to deal with these ignorant asses.

Further, if I knew the woman he was referring to, I'd tell her what he said about her.
I think she's got a right to know what's being said behind her back.
-- But, that's just me. I'd set the place on fire, metaphorically-speaking.

As much as I miss working (sometimes), I REALLY do NOT miss this kind
of bullshit.

@KKGator

This man is an acquaintance who retired from the FBI. At age 65, he's stuck in the 1950s.

@LiterateHiker Oh, that's too bad. He was rude AF for hanging up on you.
In addition to all the trash he talked.

3

I never heard the phrase before. I learn new things all the time here.

@chucklesIII

Great picture. What's in the wastebasket? Carrots?

@SeaGreenEyez , I actually never saw this one before. Looked up office bunny and that showed up 🙂

@SeaGreenEyez, @LiterateHiker & lettuce I think.

3

It is a pejorative term. It is also, very sadly, still a fact of life.

There is, in my workplace (a state prison), an employee who, with zero custody experience, zero experience outside the records office, and a total of three years experience in the Department of Corrections, was put in charge of half a cell block housing 120 prisoners and supervising 6 officers, who had to teach her her job. She had no qualifications whatsoever, except that she needed supervisory experience on her resume and the Warden was willing to oblige her by installing her over a dozen staff who were in line ahead of her. And, how can I put this without offending... she has the looks. Dresses like she's going to the bar even though it's a prison.

We were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but everything since then backed up the initial perception that she was given the spot as a gift, not because she had any skills or talent. She even helped a corrupt supervisor at a higher level destroy the evidence of his misconduct. (Not that his fellow higher-ups investigated what everyone knew was going on.)

Another friend of mine, who is by no means unattractive, has been the "assistant to the warden's assistant" for almost 20 years now, and seen a string of women promoted past her and hired in above her, whom she has had to train to do the job, do the job for them, and get blamed because she didn't do their jobs for them. The current incumbent basically forwards emails from various supervisors to everyone else because she maintains the group email lists, and that's all she does. But she's very good at wearing tight clothes, as was the one before her. And she's great at sitting at a desk while other people do her work.

I had never heard that exact phrase you used, but it is still a thing. As long as horny male executives do their thinking with their gonads, and a few unscrupulous women realize they can use this to get what they want, it will probably be a thing.

I'm against both behaviors. I'm for people being rewarded for their talents, not their genes.

Everything you're saying is true, but so is all the #metoo stuff. Life is full of conflict and lots of it is men v women, or women v men. It's not an excuse to wallow.

@MarkiusMahamius "Wallow"?

I know how many women are harassed, and some use this type of career advancement as their weapon in retaliation. It's their way of getting even with a system that allows men with power to get away with it. It's possible for both sides to be wrong. I don't believe male executives (or female, because I've seen boy-toy assistant managers too) (let's just generalize it to "anybody" ) should be able to get away with their behavior, and I don't believe underlings should be able to trade on looks in lieu of actual job performance.

@Paul4747 we can believe whatever we want

3

Ya, that’s not going to fly these days.....

3

it seems that since he used the term, that he would have known what it means, and therefore used it in an offensive manner.

3

Good for you, K. Right on.

@Healthydoc70

Thank you. I imagine he didn't like being lectured by a feminist.

2

If he said it, and then feigned ignorance, you spent too much time on him. Move on......

2

ughh why do they ASSume that the only reason the woman got the job is cuz of her looks, breasts or sexual favours?! Could it be because in an actual meritocratic hiring process men are losing out on jobs because of BETTER qualified women, and the way to ease their egos is to blame nefarious reasons for the woman being hired? Methinks so.

@demifeministgal

Good point. Thank you.

2

Good for you. People need to be called out on these sorts of things.

2

Men need to be taught. It's just a fact. I'm sorry we are coming from such a deficit. Don't give us a pass. But don't actually spank us.

Woah woah woah. No spanking? So much for my weekend plans.

@1of5

Hilarious!

2

Good for you questioning him on his choice of terms. Hopefully he will not do so again. Yes, I know, I am a bit of a Pollyanna, but maybe he learned something?!?

1

It's sad that guys are still like that (and that there are women who still feel that's the only way to get ahead). Because my first thought was, it sounds like something you'd hear on Mad Men.

1

I had never heard of an office bunny before, but I had some idea of what it meant from raising rabbits and the context. I thought it was referring to intelligence, since "bunnies" are really dim compared to rabbits.

1

I never heard of the office bunny. I though it had something to do with easter.

1

Never heard that. Whether it is pejorative or not depends on her feelings about it. Maybe she thought it was funny, who knows.

1

I wrote a long and thoughtful brilliant reply that has been lost in the ether of the Agnostic/Internet...I guess. Oh well. Trust me, it was wonderful.

@GuyKeith

Darn, I love your thoughtful replies. Please try again.

You know, back when the app 'Lazarus' actually worked, you could recover lost posts. Not anymore.

@LiterateHiker I am too busy grappling with apathy to even try. Just phoo.

1

Thankfully women like you are maybe training men to think. Some can use the help so badly.

1

Whether or not it means something should depend on how something is received as well as how it's intended. According to that definition, it certainly does mean something derogatory and the speaker should be made aware of what he's really saying, if he doesn't know already. And if it made the person who was being referred to feel uncomfortable or if it needed to be said behind her back, that should be a sign that it does mean something. I'm glad you spoke up.

1

I refer to rednecks as Bubba sometimes. I guess it's similar.
Frankly, the guy was pretty dumb to use that term to another woman.
Not that it's any better, but a guy is 99% less likely to be offended by it.

But they should be.

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