Hysterectomies, boobs and other female talk at work

[petunia_843]

Since I've come to my current job, there is a culture of my workplace where certain women talk all the time about "female" issues - hysterectomies, their breasts and other's breasts, periods, menopause, you name it. Two coworkers in particular like to rattle on about this stuff. Since I've lost a lot of weight, they get into it, too, by talking about my rear and how small it's gotten, and how I have no hips. They talk about their bras, and how their boobs bounce, and how big their butts are. They talk at the drop of a hat about hysterectomies - I guess I never realized how much other women liked to talk about hysterectomies once they've had one - at least these women do. I'm not mortally offended, per se, but I am just mystified at how these topics come up at work. In the last place I worked, which was all women, none of this talk went on.

Does anybody else deal with this kind of prattle on the job?

[intastellaburst]

There is a lot of dieting and wedding-related talk going on in my staffroom at the moment. I have zero interest in either topic.

[daysleeper]

This is making me not want to go back to work. I actually hope I work in a dude-heavy environment. As you've posted before -- there are no boundaries in an all female workplace.

Although if someone made a comment about my ass, be it before or after weight loss, they can expect to be crying shortly after. I did tell a co worker once that if she made one more comment about my weight or body I would humiliate her in a way that would probably make her never come back to work.

When I fight dirty, its real dirty.

In a few of my all female environments we had a lot of laughs.
_________________
Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley

Blog!

[casiep]

Stuff like this makes me kind of glad I work with all men....sometimes. They tend to forget at times that there's a woman in the room and so I hear things I normally wouldn't. Nothing bad or horrible but maybe sometimes kind of gross. My favorite overheard conversations involve them bitching about their wives and girlfriends. When it goes on for a little too long I'll pipe up with something like "Sheesh, women" or "man, wives can be such a pain in the ass can't they?" and that usually shuts them up pretty quick.
_________________
Visit my etsy shop!

[daircroi]

I work with dudes, too, and generally my only objection is to the burping. Ugh. But conversationally we get along. Occasionally they'll ask if I want to join them at the bar "to ogle that one bartender's boobs". Sure I do!
_________________
And it was messy, but we were drunk. Story of my life, I guess? --oohlala

[smalltowngirl]

This could qualify as a hostile work environment. I'm not sure if this is a corporate place or small business or what, but if there is an HR department, they would be HORRIFIED to know this is going on.

Is your supervisor part of this culture or could you talk to her/him about it?

I don't deal with this kind of stuff at work. I mean, we talk about some stuff, but usually at lunch and not to that extent. As open as I am, I'd be really uncomfortable with this at work!

[SlipperyShade]

I'm with smalltowngirl. That stuff is gross. I don't normally want to discuss menses-related things with people, though.
_________________
You can't be giving up sandwiches in the name of style.

[Melmont]

Have you spoken up about it to them? If they talk about it ALL. THE. TIME, it seems unlikely that they'd just stop, but maybe it would help. Saying something like: "Hey, I feel like we talk about this too much, it is really personal, and makes me feel uncomfortable." is really clear, and if they continue doing the same thing and you have to speak with HR, they won't be able to play the "Oh, we didn't know." card. Personal, private, TMI stuff just doesn't belong in the workplace, dominating every conversation.
_________________
http://montgomeryfibrearts.wordpress.com/

[kitchen]

i work in a predominantly female industry - social services.
there is not a single male in my department, though there are males in other departments that are similar to mine but they are very outnumbered by women.

my particular sector of social services is very closely related to the health care industrial complex so theres a lot of open talk about bodies and health, lots of doctors & nurses around. most of the women i work with (id say 90%) are over the age of 45-50. my office is also the de facto "meeting spot" for everyone in my department (oh the joys of being an office manager). i hear a lot about pregnancy, boob growth, and omg hot flashes. i hear about hot flashes at least once a day. i'm glad that because i'm not a front line worker, the front line staff (almost everyone in my dept minus 2-3) talk amongst themselves so i miss out on a lot of the body talk. i'm not squicked or opposed to it. i quite enjoy frank conversations about bodies and health but i'm glad i'm not subjected to the bulk of the body talk, not because it's uncomfortable, but more because i don't really care about my staffs personal lives whatsoever.
_________________
THE MUNDANE IS TO BE CHERISHED