Authentic or Not?

au·then·tic
–adjective

1. not false or copied; genuine; real: an authentic antique.

2. having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified: an authentic document of the Middle Ages; an authentic work of the old master.

3. entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy: an authentic report on poverty in Africa.

 

I recently attended a Women's Leadership Conference where much of the content focused on being an authentic leader.  Women, I learned, by their very nature, view the world differently than men and therefore bring a unique perspective to business.  For instance, men tend to be focused on one thing (hunters) and women consider many things at once (gatherers).  We were told not to emulate men but to be authentic, be who we are.  Have high expectations, advocate for other women and be comfortable in our own skin.

 

Sounds good doesn't it?  The only problem is that if I am going to be truly authentic, then the work world needs to change their idea of acceptable business behavior.  Crying when frustrated needs to be allowed, hugging people just because I am happy must be protected by human resources and dressing in sweatpants on 'fat' days must become the norm.  I mean seriously, can a woman really be authentic in the workplace? 

 

I love the idea of authenticism.  By virtue of its definition, it has to be real.  I have been in many meetings where men get angry, pound their fists and use expletives.  This is their manner of telling everyone that they are not happy with some outcome or that whatever is going on must change.  Put a woman in that same position acting the same way and she is instantly labeled as a b*tch.  The problem, as I learned this week, is she needs to stop emulating men and be authentic. OK, Do-Over:  same meeting, same people.  She listens to what is going on and after finally getting everyone's attention (which takes awhile because she doesn't yell, pound or curse and is being authentic) she tells everyone how very disappointed she is and sends everyone to time out! Ha! :)  Just kidding, but essentially she must suppress her emotional outburst while it is fine for the men in the room to express theirs.

 

At this point I feel it is important to specify that I am not a radical feminist or a man hater, nor do I frequent bra burning events.  I love being a woman and I love being treated like one.  I am not opposed to feminism although I believe that just like many other causes the movement gets labeled by the radical activists within it, none of which I can relate to or agree with.  I am angered that women only make .70 to every dollar earned by a man and that only 2% of all fortune 500 companies are run by women, but I still like to have the door opened for me and to be told I smell nice. Am I confused or do I suffer from multiple personalities? I don't think so.  I think I am just being authentic.