Office Sissy

Part 1

I knew it was coming eventually, but that didn't make it any easier when it did happen. I walked into the office on Friday morning and everything seemed normal enough. But first one of my male coworkers, then another, then another, were called into a conference room, where they sat for a few minutes. Then they emerged, and with nothing more than a meaningful glance at the rest of us men, grabbed their personal effects and left the office. The same thing had been happening in offices all over the country, and this being a female-dominated workplace to begin with, about three quarters of the employees at our marketing company, including most of management, being women, we had all been expecting it. The office grew quiet as the number of men dwindled, and the smiles on the women's faces grew wider. By the time Matt, my best friend at work, was called in, I had stopped working altogether, knowing there was no point. He didn't even make eye contact with me as he left. The men were being called in order of seniority, and as one of the more recent hires, I was one of the last. Katelynn, one of the junior execs, walked up to where I sat among the other copywriters. "Come with me, please, Nick," she said. I tried to speak but didn't know what to say, so I just nodded my head and gulped down some water as I stood up. Katelynn was a pretty brunette, just two or three years older than me, and she had a superior smirk on her face as she looked at me. I couldn't meet her gaze and looked down instead, which only made her smile wider as she turned and started walking towards the conference room. I followed, unable to look at anything but her feet. I entered the room and Katelynn closed the door behind me, then walked around the table and took a seat. She was one of five women sitting at one end of the long table, eyes fixed on me. A single chair sat empty at the other end. "Sit down, Nick," said Christine. She was the vice president and the highest-ranking person in the room, an attractive blonde in her forties. I sat without a word. "I'm sure you've figured out what's going on here today, Nick," began Christine. I just nodded, still unable to find my voice. "David, our CEO, has been removed and this is now a female-led, female-only company. As such, your position has been eliminated, effective immediately." She paused, apparently waiting for me to say something. All I could think of was the truth: "Please, I really need this job." I saw a flicker of a smile on the women's faces, and Christine replied, "I'm sure you do, but there will be no exceptions. All remnants of the patriarchy are being removed from this office, and you understand that, as one of our junior copywriters, your role is far from essential." It was an unkind thing to say, if not exactly untrue. "However," she went on, "there is a way for you to remain with the company." I knew there was a chance this was coming, and I'd been thinking about it for the past few hours as I awaited my turn. "We are prepared to offer you a new job as office sissy. I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with what that role entails, it's common enough these days. You can think it over this weekend, and if you decide you'd like to accept the offer, you should come in at 4 p.m. on Monday to sign your new contract." *****

I made no eye contact with anyone as I walked out of the office, into the elevator and out into the street. I decided to walk the two miles home to gather my thoughts. The anti-patriarchal wave had made events like what had happened today increasingly common, and the sight of office sissies no longer raised eyebrows. Throughout the country, and especially in big coastal cities, more and more males were seen, wearing skirts or dresses and heels of varying heights, commuting to and from their office jobs, where they carried out an array of secretarial and service tasks for the women who ran the workplace. Most men resisted as much as possible, making the switch to some kind of manual labor or jumping to businesses that had not yet eliminated male management. But others didn't have much of a choice, and I was afraid that I was in the latter category. At 25, this was my first full-time job out of college. It didn't pay much, and my parents, who lived thousands of miles away, couldn't afford to support me financially anyway. Being unemployed for any length of time would seriously compromise my ability to pay my rent. When I got home, I flopped down on the sofa, and that's where my roommate, Alex, found me when he arrived from his own job a couple of hours later. He worked in finance at a much larger company that didn't seem to be in danger of facing the same fate as mine. He saw the look on my face and knew something was up. "You okay?" he inquired. "It happened," I replied simply. We had discussed my suspicion that this was coming a few times in recent months. "Shit," he said. "What are you gonna do? Did they offer you..." "Yes," I said. "Office sissy. I have till Monday to decide." "Well," he replied. "I'm not gonna tell you to take it, but you know..." "I know," I said. "I have to be able to make rent." Alex's girlfriend Brooke came over later that evening, after her shift at the hospital, where she was a nurse. She was sympathetic when she learned of my plight. "You know," she said, "if you do decide to take the offer, I can help you out, with makeup and clothes and stuff." "Thanks," I said unenthusiastically. *****