One Woman's "Mad Men School of Seduction" Moment

As Mad Men gears up for a new season, we have a video of most of the pickup lines that sent the second wave of feminism into orbit. I know I’m repeating myself, because writing this story feels familiar to me.

I hit 40 before I clearly understood that two men trying to get a woman into bed at the same time wasn’t as unusual as you might think.

Yes men are possessive but not for a playful romp among friends. Protecting your wife’s reputation and fertility is a matter totally different from a little testosterone release. There’s lots of that MFM innuendo going on in the “Mad Men School of Seduction” video.

The Mad Men School of Seduction

“Mad Men” is before my time, but as a fast-rising woman in the 1970s, I still had my hands full.

Note that men have always advanced my career — more so than women — so I dish out my comments about men in business carefully. There’s nothing worse than a woman who bites the hand that feeds her, and I don’t make a practice of it. 

Most women having my experience would head straight for the EVP of Human Resources, but that’s not how I handled my life. I was traveling with a senior man who had helped my rise with sincerity and salary increases, asking me to be passed over on a promotion for which I was clearly more qualified, with the understanding that a new senior position would be created for me. The men delivered and the less-qualified then me person resigned.

Traveling with one of these Mad Men guys, we had dinner and probably a few too many drinks afterwards in Chicago — at least for him. I always count, unless in a card game. 

Saying good night wasn’t easy, but finally my position was received loud and clear by the Mad Man. 

The following morning I arrived at breakfast, wearing the sleeveless red sheath Bill Blass dress I had bought for this very important marketing presentation. My colleague was horrified, looking at the bruises on my arms. 

Embarrassed in the light of day, contrite but also concerned what people would think, he said “Don’t you have something else to wear? You looked great yesterday.”

“No way,” I replied. “I bought this dress for the presentation, and I’m wearing it.”

“What will people think?” he followed.

“Well, F, I doubt they will think the good fairy left bruises on my arm.” And then I smiled and ordered my coffee. I didn’t put the bruises on my arms, and I wasn’t covering up what were undeniably fingerprints.

This is how I handled my Mad Men moment, and I agree that my colleague’s advances were inappropriate. However, I had more leverage over him by not making a scene.

Lest you think I’m was some contrite pussy cat, I had already experienced a major confrontation with a very senior man — the company’s boy wonder — forcing him to resign over an ethics matter, without my ever making an accusation.

A drunken Mad Men sexual advance is far different from a colleague’s being a crook. Absolutely, unwarranted sexual advances by either gender shouldn’t be tolerated in the workplace, but it’s no reason to declare WWIII in my humble opinion.

Of course, the situation can easily go bad for the aggrieved party, when the advance is rebuffed. Luckily, I was working with one of the good guys. Anne