Who's Got The Dirtier Mouth?

"Hey Honey, want to work this week? It's for [Movie that I've actually heard of for a not too bad rate.]"

I rolled my eyes at the text on my phone. Did I want to work this week? Yes. Do I want to keep up the contact and say I've worked on a show that people might actually see? Yes. Do I particularly want to work for someone who calls me "Honey"? Not particularly, but it's two out of three and being a woman in this business means you have to pick your battles, so I reply, "Sure!"

"Great! I've never had a Show Pony* like you working for me before! It'll be fun bossing you around. LOL."

I roll my eyes at the obnoxiousness of his texts. It's just for a few days. It's a good show. It's good money. And as derogatory as his pet names for me might be, he's higher up in the food chain than I am and I need to be on his good side.

I meet him at the stage the next day to put in new rig for a prison set that was just built and had to endure comments like, "Too bad this isn't a working prison. It'd be fun to watch what happens with a girl like you walking the halls," and "You do know how to lay cable, right? I mean, you've been a Gaffer's toy for a while."

The only thing I could do in response was laugh at his comments and play it like it was a funny joke. Like I said, he landed good jobs and I need the contact. Or at least to stay on his good side since I know people turn to him all the time for recommendations on who to hire. So I grin and bear it until he says, "Hey Princess. It's time for a coffee break. Come sit with us while you file your nails."

I like the other guys he brought in today and haven't seen them in a little while, so instead of pretending to make a few phone calls to get away from him, I follow him to the cooler where everyone else is hanging out and shoot the shit and catch up.

The conversation soon turns to other women we know in this business and someone mentions a friend of mine.

"Ugh," grunts my boss at the sound of her name.
"What?" I ask.
"I'll never hire her."
"Why not?"
"She's got a mouth like a sailor. All the swearing and cussing she does? No thank you."

I stare at him in disbelief. Really?? Out of all the reasons not to hire someone (like being unsafe, unable to follow instructions, always late, always on the phone, just plain stupid, etc.) SWEARING is where he draws the line?? Has he met literally anyone else in this business? It'd be weird if a co-worker didn't drop an f-bomb every once in a while.

Besides, knowing my friend, she only really uses swear words when she's pissed off at something. It's not like every other word out of her mouth needs to be bleeped and I've never heard her say anything derogatory, racist, or hateful. Just the standard four letter words with the occasional "mother" in the beginning with an "er" at the end. Nothing I haven't heard before from pretty much everyone else we work with.

"Anyway, Sweetie. Break time's over. Get back to work!"

Yeah, it's her language that's offensive. Sure.







* Show Pony is what the rigging crew will sometimes refer to a First Unit lamp operator as. It's not exactly a compliment.