13 Subtle Behaviors That Instantly Kill Your Credibility—Are You Guilty of These Condescending Moves?
4. Saying “Take it easy”
For women in particular, being told to “Take it easy” is peak patronizing. Adjacent, equally aggravating directives include “Chill out,” “Calm down,” and “Relax!” No matter who you’re speaking to, when you tell someone to “Take it easy,” you’re suggesting that their excitement, concern or general response to something is either excessive or invalid. People are entitled to their feelings and their reactions.
Men might get this sort of response on occasion, but it happens a lot to women. Most women have had a man tell her to “relax” because he perceives her reaction as inappropriately emotional-when in fact, she doesn’t feel she’s responding emotionally at all. Research has shown time and again that men tend to perceive more “shrillness” and emotion in women’s voices. A Fortune study found that women were 17 times more likely than men to be described as abrasive. So when someone tells a woman to “Take it easy,” she’ll likely feel like that person is saying she’s “over the top” or “dramatic.” This minimizes her experience and casts her response as petty.
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