First, I wrote an angry malicious post, banging away at the keyboard with a very accusative 'you' throughout. Then, after some of my anger subsided, the general idea remained with less hellfire and more contemplation. I still need to click publish to for that complete release and so here I am--writing a more thoughtful post.

The dynamic between men and women is a precarious one that seems to be it's most explosive in the workplace. It's in the workplace that men and women have no choice to work together, stress each other out, and ultimately grit teeth and get elbows deep in dirty work together regardless of how much two people may resent each other.
It's natural that co-workers may take up a harmless flirtation with one another. Whether or not it remains harmless... that's another story. But it's easy for relations of some sort to blossom when you're forced to stick by someone through thick and thin because the money's good. Hey, it happens.

However, despite all this there are some things about the male/female dynamic in the workforce I can't help but resent. These are the things that keep women paid thirty cents less for every dollar a man makes. These are the things that teach men women can not be taken seriously as a co-worker and compatriot. These are the things that undo the hard work generations of feminists and activists have sought to reconcile.

These 'things' are what I and my friends refer to as the office hoe.

She's that woman with absolutely no skills. She's not truly interested in learning. She wears the 'smutty' office attire. Yeah, she's got on that tight button-up, not quite buttoned above her breasts. Her skirts are just a smidgen too tight in the rear. She always has on those hooker heels. And, sadly, she's not even that attractive. She probably has a horse-face and a blank look in her eye, but her boobs are big and she bends over a lot.

And there you are. Well-educated, classy, willing to learn. A hard worker to boot. You do the work of three people in half the time it takes one of them to say, "Huh?" Yet somehow, you're always spinning in that hamster wheel. Office hoe is tramping about in hooker heels jet-setting with the big boss. WTG, I bet you feel like your hard work has paid off. Especially when the economy goes bad and the company has to lay some people off. You didn't flash your titties enough, so you're out.

A lot of female employees (or former employees!) have been there. Granted, most of us get scooped up pretty quickly because someone realizes what a commodity was lost by our former employer. However, dealing with that stress while we are in-between isn't fun. Ever. And we had to go through it in the first place due to the office hoe. And when we get to our new establishment, we will go through it again because there will always be an office hoe. When does it end?

Honestly, I don't have an answer. I've had it suggested on numerous occasions by male colleagues, "If you can't beat them, join them." But, seriously... isn't that just adding to a self-perpetrating cycle? Sure, if I played the same game, I could probably win. I know I could. Half of the problem with the office hoe is she picks a target to eliminate and she picks the female coworker who could beat her at her own game. By continuously picking me, she's marked me as the largest potential threat she recognizes. So, I guess all of us that have been targeted should be flattered. But we're not.

Personally, I'm infuriated. I'm angry that the office hoe game can work. I'm angry that it's allowed to continue. I'm angry that any woman would participate in it. I'm just angry. Angry that regardless of how hard I work, the biggest reward will always go to the office hoe while I stress and cry over how to make ends meet.

Maybe I should give in, but that's just not my modus operandi. Don't know what that means or how to find the answer...? You're probably the office hoe I'm talking about.