"Queen Bee"

[ritaxis]

When you assert that a woman gets away with a behavior because she has a "queen bee thing" going on, what are you saying about her? What is the equivalent language you would use for talking about a man? Is there an equivalent concept? If so, why can't I think of it? If not, why?

Context is, as James Nicoll says, for the weak.

Comments

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I was unclear. The person isn'ty justifying the other person's behavior, he's amplifying the accusation of bad behavior by saying that others won't ciritcize it because of her queen bee status. So it's more like the usage you're talking about, though it's less about the practical running of things than merely being deferred to, I think.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

No, actually, I was being unclear because "justify" wasn't the right word but I couldn't think of the right one and let it slide.

In my usage, the group don't necessarily agree that the queen bee is in fact the queen and therefore don't necessarily defer, though I could see that in some situations they may do. But then I've noticed that I tend never to get near the centre of any group, especially cliquey groups. I'm always on the fringes and it has been known for me to be a member of two groups, the leaders and the core members of which dislike one another but I flit happily between them, never getting deeply involved with either.