Just Your Standard Bigoted Double-Standard

I’m a woman, and I work for a construction contractor. I’m in the office making photocopies when two male installer leads came in.

Male #1: “I almost flipped the f*** out.”

Male #2: “F****** [slur]-a** d**k-suckers.”

They stop talking for a second upon seeing me.

Male #1: “[My Name], if you saw two dudes making out at [Theme Park], what would you do?”

Me: “Keep walking.”

Male #1: “P****. I reported them to security for being perverts, and then security said they’re allowed!”

Male #2: “I would have punched the f*** out of them.”

Male #1: “[My Name], come on. Tell me you don’t think it’s f***ed up.”

Me: *With a heavily sarcastic tone* “Yeah, girls making out is awful. How can anyone allow that at [Theme Park]?”

Male #1: “No, two dudes, not two chicks.”

Me: “Gay is gay, right? It’s all offensive.”

Male #2: “No. Two girls can do whatever they want. It’s the [slur]s that need to stop being f****** gay in public.”

Me: “So, two girls are okay but not two guys?”

Male #2: “Maybe it gets you off to see two dudes going at it, but in a children’s theme park, absolutely not.”

Me: “But again, you would have been fine if they were girls?”

Male #1: “That’s different.”

Me: “Okay, clearly, there’s a double standard here and I’m not going to engage it. Do whatever you came in here to do and go back to work.”

Male #1: “Why? We aren’t even talking to you. Mind your f****** business.”

Me: “You just asked me a direct question, so yes, you are talking to me. So shut the f*** up or get out.”

They stood watching me go about my work for a few minutes before leaving.

I was later called into Human Resources for my “girls making out is awful” comment and threatened with termination. After I explained the whole conversation, I ended up with no reprimands, and the two men were ejected from the site.