On the news recently I saw a segment or two about how one more thing in this world is considered sexist---the temperature in a room, or building. Yes, it was sexist because the men wanted it cooler and the women in the office (or place of business) wanted it warmer. The battle over the thermostat!
When my former spouse and I built our office building, our suite of offices, my office did not have a ceiling fan in it. Not necessary, thanks very much. The others did have fans. I would freeze in my office, the north facing side of the building while the ladies in the front offices were roasting. They would lower the temperature and I would bump it back up. Those ladies were being baked in the sun that came in their south facing windows. One year for Christmas they got me a space heater for under my desk. I still have it, it was a blessing to me, and to them. Somehow those ladies were not doing this to be sexist, nor was I. I simply wanted to be warm.
At Shady Lane it was so hot all the time and we were hustling for extended periods of time. The dish washing room was particularly steamy. The elderly residents needed to be warm. I was not always cold in those days. But at Sprint---yikes! Working in that place forever changed me, reset my personal thermostat. When I first started there we wore attire for business, which meant dresses, skirts, nicer clothes. Layers upon layers, even when wearing pantyhose. At times I even wore my spouse's t-shirts under my clothes just to add another layer. The management's explanation for keeping the rooms so cold was for the good of the machinery. The computers, hundreds of them all running at once, had to be kept cool to keep them healthy. Meanwhile, the employees would freeze, men and women alike. The men at least wore suits, most did, anyway, which helped them. And yet, some of the females wore sleeveless tops, which was unbelievable. But not necessarily sexist.
I remember one time my family picked me up after work and we went to Sam's Club. It was summer and there I was, all bundled up. I looked and felt ridiculous. Sort of like Amy Farah Fowler on "The Big Bang Theory"! Again, not sexist at all keeping the rooms so cold at work, it was for the good of the equipment and kept us awake in the wee hours of the morning!
