It wasn't a word I'd heard before but I instantly knew what she meant. She had encountered many men who were being purposely difficult, slightly missogynistic, whilst framing everything in humour to remove your right to be offended. We all know a cockwomble or two.
You know how Wombles only appear on Wimbledon Common after dark when there is lots of litter? Well, Cockwombles only appear when your life represents that green patch of London at dusk; when you are tired, ill or grief-stricken.
Obviously, like real Wombles they are there all the time but you just don't notice them or they don't bother you.
"It must be great having your job at this time of year."
"Hmmmm, yes it can be rewarding but end of year performances can be a challenge."
"I bet the kids love it though, just doing a bit of singing."
"Not all of them."
"It's not as if it's hard work is it?"
"Learning four songs in a week, word perfect? No, you're right. After all it's only a bit of singing."
"Yeah, it's not like it's real man's work."
Cockwomble.
You know the men. They suggest that you are less capable than a man would be because of your sex. They joke and you are not sure if they are mysoginistic, stupid or think they are being funny. When they suggest that you should have had training before changing the printer cartridge (actually, why are you changing the printer cartridge on your day off?) you are not sure whether to laugh. Is he joking? You suggest that you'll be fine. He persists. You laugh. He walks away, happy.
Later he points at you and tells another man that he caught, "this one," changing the toner cartridge without training. The other man is torn. He can't decide whether to join the joke, say, "yes, normally I'd agree with you but she's fine," risking insulting you by saying you are a man. You feel like you have been publicly humiliated but know that it's best not to say so. In these situations I have the solution. You say, firmly, whilst laughing, "Oh, you're a cockwomble! How did I not notice before?"
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