There are few things that irritate me more than getting “the look” from a Mean Girl. I’m sorry, ladies but this one is all on us because I honestly don’t think men do this to one another. In case you’re male, or you are female and somehow miraculously unaware of what I am speaking — let me paint you a picture…
You are in the grocery store, innocently roaming the aisles and minding your business when your path crosses with that of another woman. You look at her face as you pass. Perhaps you were going to nod or smile in recognition or simply keep on walking, when she does something that (if you’re anything remotely like me) causes your blood to boil.
As you are looking at her face, initiating eye contact… You witness her looking at you very slowly, her icy gaze passing thoroughly over you from head to toe. She never smiles at you, never nods. Instead, after she is finished with her visual feast, she walks on by with her nose in the air. You have officially been sized-up by what I like to call… a Mean Girl. Visually accosted for no other reason than you happened to be in cat food aisle at the very same time.
And somehow, this brief encounter with the likes of her makes you begin to entertain all sorts of luscious thoughts about doing harm to the offending female. Suddenly, tossing a few rolls of pressurized pop-and-fresh dough in front of her cart causing her to collide in a panic with a Campbell’s soup display thus sustaining some mild injuries… seems VERY attractive.
Mean Girls come in all shapes, sizes and ages. And I have, throughout my 30-odd years, encountered younger ones, older ones, fatter ones and thinner ones. So apparently there are no sociological or generational parameters on this extremely vexing behavior. Anyone who’s anyone has the potential to be that girl.
Naturally, from time to time I wonder if I have ever been “that girl.” I honest-to-goodness hope that I have never been. There is a tiny seed of doubt, however, because I am a woman who does venture out in public. These seem to be the only two qualifications absolutely necessary for the commitment of this societal sin.
Therefore, I am going on the record and giving you Readers absolute carte blanche when it comes to holding me accountable. If you EVER see me out in public or pass me in the grocery store and I am that Mean Girl who glares and seemingly sizes you up before proceeding on my merry way… I give you full permission to throw some rolls of pop-and-fresh dough in front of my cart. Not only would I deserve it, the unsuspecting collision with some Campbell’s soup cans would most likely do me and my attitude A LOT of good.
Woman In Thrisis 
Great post! I’m always smiling at women (even men) whose paths I cross and whom I meet eye contact with (it’s just polite!), and I hate when what I get in response is the look equivalent of the middle finger. What angers me even more is the solid glance accompanied by an eye roll. That’s brutal, too.
Ah yes… the eye roll. That’s a rough one. It make me want to do even more awful things 😉
I too am a smiler. But I keep mine in reserve because you can tell those ‘mean girls’ a ‘smile away’ Oops! sorry for pun. They don’t even look like they know they are ‘alive’ they have this intense far away look in those glass like eyes. It is these women’s persona’s that make me think maybe they are robots, put out by aliens……well, they certainly are alien to me. Smile & the whole world smiles with you, but these women are not part of
our world. So keep smiling I bet it rattles them …,
Yes, smiling is probably a great way to rattle them… Especially if it is a deranged type of smile! haha
Aw. You know what? People who do this after high school are pretty pathetic. (It’s not cool in high school either, but I tend to give people a bit more leeway there, since high school sucks and you do what you need to do to get through it. Even if what you need to do becomes something you regret in later years.) And I think everyone knows this. So I don’t think many people do it intentionally.
The ones who do are sad. Don’t be mad at them. Feel sorry for them. And let it go. Clearly they have shittier lives than you do.
OR… you could just start something in the supermarket and give people a show: “What are YOU looking at, wench?” See where it goes. Then come report back.
HA! I love it! I’ll let you know if I ever get up the nerve to try it out!
Ha! – Great Post – we all need that self-checking at times for sure. I have had this happen a few times now at the gym in the women’s locker room – WEIRD! Have a Beautiful Day:)
“Thank you Renee, and you do the same”… she says with a BIG grin!
I like Stephanie’s response. Their life must be pathetic if they can’t be nice. WHen I now pass people like that, I keep walking and say to the air, ” You have a nice day too.”
Yes, we do enjoy saying that to one another about “those people” don’t we, Mother? haha 😉
I take heart in knowing that those mean girls we encounter in places like the cat food aisle will likely spend their later years in the company of only their cats.
Good one. I will take comfort in that too the next time it happens 😉
It is peculiar how we can let a complete stranger upset us for some reason or another. It’s happened to me a few times.
The throwing the nose up in the air part reminds me of these feral cats I fed for about six months. There were three of them. One — I named her Joey — would often slowly come toward her food and then suddenly throw her nose up in the air and walk away.
I’m a cat and a dog person. I wasn’t a cat lover until I met those stray cats. Then I began to admire them.
Ahhh cats. Love them or not… you HAVE to respect their “cool” demeanor. I myself am a cat and dog person too. Well, I am an animal person altogether but I like them for their differences. WIsh I could say the same about people. I tend to like animals more than people — Especially around election/debate season. 😉
Speaking of cats; this is quite the video.
Too funny! One of the many reasons I love them.
I shared this on Facebook it is soooo funny! Thanks Don!
I didn’t realize they were THAT agile. I thought she was in big trouble when she was upside down — and that OH Crud! look on her face. 🙂
They are amazing at what they can do. They get into jams from time to time but eventually figure it out. Once she was upright in the jar I knew all she would do was pop her head up and crawl out. But yes, the face was priceless! Thank you for sharing that!
I always try to smile at everyone. What makes me the most mad is too get that look from a teenager! I want to smack them in the face. I even got that look from a lady working behind the counter in a thrift store of all places!
I almost understand the teen thing. I mean, I don’t understand it or condone it… but I get that they act like idiots. It’s the adults that really bug me! ANd yes… my blood would be boiling if it were a clerk at a store where I just spent money!