Now, I love my job for the most part...but there are these little moments that I can't help but be bugged by. The main staff consists of seven guys and three girls. Not a big deal, since that's pretty much the ratio I got used to in school...but there are times when it's obvious the guys consider themselves more important. And the impression I get is that it isn't always intentional, but I'm becoming more and more aware of how much information is passed between all of the guys in the office but somehow it fails to reach either Kelly or me.
That puts us at a disadvantage when we go to meetings like the one we had this morning to discuss the games that we have coming up and share ideas. I hadn't even heard of half the games we discussed and ended up just sitting there and listening through most of it. This one game that I did know about was a flower-themed game. I spent some time coming up with sketches and ideas for games that could be pitched to florists (because I was ASKED to). I came up with something similar to one on orisinal.com...it was an e-card sort of thing where you could create your own bouquets of flowers and send them, along with a personalized message, to a friend. Simple, sweet, and--yes---feminine. It's the sort of thing I've done in the past and would do again, along with other women I know who would just like to brighten up somebody's day. I was actually looking forward to doing it.
Come to find out today, the guys at the meeting on Wednesday (that I missed because I was sick) all agreed that they "didn't get it" and pretty much brushed it aside. The boss even went so far as to try and turn it into some sort of dating game, where you try getting a girl to date you by giving her flowers. Or something like that. And on top of that? They gave that game, along with about 8-10 others, to the other illustrator to draw up some concept sketches for the meeting today. Of all of the games James had to do, he neglected to even TRY tackling the flower one, saying something along the lines of "Yeah, I didn't even know what to do with that one".
Through my conversations with Kelly over the past few weeks, I've started taking a closer look at the dynamics of this office. It's true that the women are left out on a lot of information. It's true that our opinion, even if offered, is rarely heard. And it's starting to irritate me a little.
I showed two of the guys the Orisinal site a while ago because of all of the interesting games they had on there. Granted, the look is very soft and almost ethereal...these aren't COMPETE COMPETE COMPETE games...these are relaxing, enjoyable games. You know the only comment I really got from Jim was? "Well, you can tell it was done by a girl, that's all I'm saying." Like it was a bad thing? What the hell? That's the sort of comment that's making me wonder if, possibly, I'm not getting the more prominent games to illustrate because they're afraid I'll make the graphics look too "girly". And the fact that I have that small anxiety in the back of my head is irritating to me as well.
These guys need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize they have three more coworkers that are just as able to provide valuable feedback and produce quality work.
(oh, not to mention the fact that these guys are the same ones that ditched me in the office about a month ago without even considering inviting me along)
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