A change in Jonathan?
Jonathan Willis explains how being the only male in his department caused him to change certain things about himself...
"Have you ever thought what it must be like to be the odd man out? Never fitting in, being a lone crusader in a hostile environment fighting for truth, freedom and the right for a man to be free? This is my story...
Before I came to work here, I did what I wanted to do, said what I wanted to say, dressed as I wanted to dress. But they soon changed all that...
You don't notice it at first but looking back I can see how it started.; Ties! I have tons of them - all novelty - Mickey, Bugsy, Taz... even Snoopy. I loved them! They laughed, sniggered and pointed. They said they were "so last season". So the ties were the first to go. Then there were the shirts...
White, I thought, was practical. I mean, anything goes with white but I was wrong. In came the colours with matching ties; trendy patterns and contrasting shades. I even got a matching mug! But I still had a lot to learn...
"Ooh, it looks like a jay cloth." "No! It's like one of those freezer bags from Tesco!"
The change was gradual...next was the hair. It was replaced by a short waxed style which I was assured was 'in'. Then the glasses went! Vanity, vanity, all was vanity!
They encouraged me to go out to the pub at lunch times on Fridays but even though I had changed outwardly, inside I was still struggling to understand what the hell they were talking about! And if I tried to join in, I was confronted by a chorus of "what?" "Yeah right" and "go back to sleep."
I did try to fight back... honestly I did. But the sheer number of them made it impossible.
I was a lonely male in a female dominated world.
I'm happier now though. I understand what they were trying to do - make me take a pride in myself, consider my appearance. I know I have a long way to go but I'm getting there."
Jonathan Willis
