Am I a Whiner?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Though I realize the tactic of 'slinging it right back' to the guys is intended to be helpful, I think in the long term it just encourages them to go further and further with their inappropriate remarks and behavior.
It's like little boys being as bad as they can be, forever searching for where the boundaries are, testing to find the limits of their parents' permissiveness.

In the beginning of this thread you expressed that you were uncomfortable with how the guys at work were picking on you and teasing you. Doing it back to them seems to me to merely encourage more of the same behavior from them, while encouraging them to go further and further. It becomes a competition of who can shock the most and push the envelope the furthest. I think they need to grow up a little.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but- this whole workplace dance situation you describe is starting to sound pretty immature. I realize this stuff is fairly common in workplaces. But is this the way YOU want to behave?- that's the real question. We can't control how others behave, we can only control our own behavior. Others then treat us in response to our behavior. You have the right to behave in a way that is true to yourself and comfortable if you so choose.

Out of the workplace, we have more ability to avoid people and behavior we don't enjoy. In the work environment you are stuck with dealing with the same people day after day. It's a rather artificial environment that can so easily become unpleasant and really effect our daily mental attitude and moods. I once quit a job where the husband/boss was subtly emotionally abusive towards his wife who also worked there. No one did a thing to me and I loved that job, but being around that demeaning atmosphere made me feel yucky all day. I told them both honestly why I was quitting, too. Not saying you should quit, just relating one example of how workplace environment/mood effects us in our daily lives.

In any case, enough rambling on my part...it's of course your decision how you want to handle yourself.
Maybe the give-the crap-right-back-to-them technique is working well for you at the moment and might truly be a good option, I don't really know your situation in detail. Just giving my own biased opinion. As I've gotten older, I've found that being up front about my boundaries has worked better for me in the long run in most all situations that beg for change.

[Selkie]

Bleecker, I agree 100%.

There is no way I'd put up with that sort of behavior in the workplace, either as an employee or a manager. The management there needs to put an end to it asap. It's a hostile work environment, at a minimum, and from what the OP has described, sexual harassment seems acceptable there.

I don't care if the "guys" are immature and are supposedly being "playful." That sort of thing can be a not-so-subtle way for misogynists to put down women. It really ticks me off.

It's up to the OP to either accept the situation or do something about it.

[smurfalicious]

This and the reference to the old guy who keeps coming up to talk to you, makes thing of borderline harassment. You might think about that.

Oh, I should have prefaced this because out of context it sounds awful. I was mentioning that I wanted to go hear him talk. He was joking about what a perv Roll was and that I should watch out for him. That sentence was more of a, "But hey, if that's what you're into." I don't mind that stuff, really. Honestly the fact that we can say things like that without everyone getting butthurt is rather relaxing. I've worked in bars and restaurants all my life and even in the fancy ones there was a lot off color joking. It's the digs at me that bug me.

Though I realize the tactic of 'slinging it right back' to the guys is intended to be helpful, I think in the long term it just encourages them to go further and further with their inappropriate remarks and behavior.
It's like little boys being as bad as they can be, forever searching for where the boundaries are, testing to find the limits of their parents' permissiveness.

Hmmms, maybe I phrased that wrong. I've decided that rather than ignoring it, or getting butthurt I'm going to calmly turn it around. Like the jersey thing. I was still playful but I think Shaine got the message that he could make fun of it all day and I was still going to wear it. That his barbs had no impact on the pride I felt in that jersey. And the Hodge thing, I think if I joke about it, it becomes a whole lot less fun for them because it doesn't rile me up.

I still hold a lot of ancient customer service secrets in me after 4 years at T-Mobile. If I can diffuse livid customers and leave them smiling I can certainly tell them I think they're being jerks without saying it or stooping to their level.

Thanks for all the advice ladies. I think it's really helped to put it in perspective. And the other day a good friend suggested that maybe I am being a touch sensitive. She said the same thing when I said I wanted a BMX bike, "What the h*ll do you want that for?" Because I wanna be 10 again, duh!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hmmms, maybe I phrased that wrong. I've decided that rather than ignoring it, or getting butthurt I'm going to calmly turn it around.

"butthurt"

Is this a new word, what does it mean?? Sounds painful and unpleasant!