I am a woman. My right to vote, and numerous feminist movements suggest I am equal to men - surprise! This means I have a brain that isn’t sub-human - who knew? And knowledge about electronics isn’t incomprehensible to me - go figure.

I thought all this was common knowledge, but I guess not… because people still seem to think I am incapable of comprehending even the simplest concept pertaining to technology. I’m including other females in this reference because apparently some of us still have no faith in our abilities. This makes things more depressing than they should be, and every time I think about it, I want to do something radical, perhaps blow up the entire planet and start over. Just joking! Sort of. 

Here are a few instances where I have come in contact with customers who have dragged my sorry retail-working, millennial ass back to the past.

An old man I approached, ready to answer any inquiries, because he was looking questioningly at a laptop: “No, you are useless!”

He continued by saying that I would be incapable of selling him a computer, to which I wished him luck and walked off. In my head I was thinking of a whopper ageist comeback. 

A younger male looking for instructions on how to use a Chromecast: “I know you’re a woman but….”

This blatant attitude comes from his magical power of acquiring a wife from the 50s, possibly retrieved through the use of a secret time machine. I hope he at least compliments her on her meatloaf.

A woman looking for a gaming headset for her son to whom I supplied information: “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.”

I followed by finding a male employee, who repeated the exact same information I already gave her. Apparently only men speak the truth. Also, that woman is why our gender gets a bad rap.

A man walking into the store that I simply said hello to: “You look lost here!” 

He was of a larger stature, so in my head my comeback was… not repeatable.

A gentleman on the phone looking for information about a computer monitor, but got accidentally transferred to the home-theatre department where all the employees happen to be male: “No thank you, if that’s my only option I’ll just figure it out myself.”

The “that” he is referring to is me and he was very lucky I wasn’t physically present at the the time.

A young fella looking for a waterproof camera (of which we sell very few in store, and all of which are pretty much identical except for the colours and the number of megapixels): “You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about, even I can read the [product information] cards! I would rather talk to him.”

He then pointed to the “him,” apparently his mom never taught him that pointing is rude.

Then there’s the onslaught of customers who answer my inquiry of whether I can help them with a "no" and walk directly towards the male employee standing right beside me to ask for their help.

If I didn’t think people were idiots, I would say they were doing me a favour by allowing me to fully sympathize with my suffragette ancestors. However, it is blatantly obvious there are no silver linings to any of these sentiments, and these people are inconsiderate donkey butts. So sorry to disappoint: I am a strong, independent woman, and I’m not the only one.

Caitlin Graham

Caitlin Graham prides herself on saying she graduated university without debt, after working up to six part-time jobs at a time. However, she can be classified as a glass-half-empty person with a tendency to be straightforward. She hopes to become a glass-refillable person after grasping a stable career. 

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