A woman who works in a minority women environment might find herself with the status of honorary guy (or "one of the boys"), either from others or self-designated. The term is surely an example of androcentrism - an honour or reward for eschewing the feminine.
Being an honourary guy involves:
- being accorded the respect due to a guy
- not drawing attention to one's female gender with, eg, feminine dress, mannerisms or interests
- allying oneself with men rather than women when there's a conflict of interest (eg laughing at sexist jokes rather than complaining about them)
- sometimes, being "more guy than the guys": drinking the most, making the lewdest jokes
It is not always an advantage for a woman to be an honourary guy because:
- she may feel she is unable to express aspects of herself including opinions and tastes without jeopardising her status
- she may feel the conditional nature of her acceptance constantly
- she may feel that she is compromising feminist principles
- her guy status may be suddenly taken away from her for, for example, getting into a sexual relationship with a man in the circle, or for stating feminist opinions
See also
- Rebellion
- GF.org post - Invisibility or the spotlight?