Thinking like a girl

I had someone accuse me the other day of "thinking like a girl." I admit I throw like a girl, but think like a girl? I'm not sure what that means. What she meant was that I wasn't thinking big enough or confidently enough, I wasn't being bold. Is that how girls think? Small and quiet? Maybe. But I guess it is situationally dependent. In some circumstances I have seen girls, and women, think quite big, take on jobs that any boy would imagine daunting.

I think "thinking like a girl" in this case was very career specific. Girls maybe are not ambitious enough, too willing to do the grunt work, rather than the glory work. Sometimes I think the grunt work is more rewarding. It can be closer to the people (think of doctor versus nurse), it can be more immediately satisfying. Does the lack of glory make the work worth less? Of course not, we have all had enough feminist training to understand the value of "invisible work," or the ways in which "women's work" has been marginalized. But is the answer to "think like a boy?" Or is it to take "glory jobs" and still think like a girl.....