I am woman...

I worked a lovely 16 hour day yesterday. I love love love what I do, and for the most part of have a wonderful staff. But yesterday, I lost it for the first time since- well, since the last time I lost it. I was in a "meeting" with 3 of my cooks, 2 lovely ladies and 1 very headstrong man. I recently lost my kitchen manager, which was a good thing, but now we need a new kitchen manager. The headstrong man was making his case for jumping into that new role himself, while the 2 lovely ladies were freaking out that this was even a possibility. I was doing fine mediating the conversation, until the headstrong man said this:

Man: blah blah blah... I am the only man in the kitchen, so I am stronger and should be in charge.

Me: Head exploded.
Me again: Spit fire.
Me once more: In case you haven't noticed, I am a woman. I am also strong. I am also IN CHARGE. You, on the onther hand are now our new dishwasher. (Ok- I did not make him the new dishwasher, but I REALLY wanted to.) Being a leader has absoluetly nothing to do with whether you are a man or a woman.

Man: I am just trying to make you happy.

Me in my head: Exactly how many men in my lifetime are going to say that to me?
Me out loud: I appreciate that, but you are going to have to do more than just be a man. You actually will have to get along with everyone, work hard, and find a way to motivate and lead a team. (Back to thought about dishwasher)

Now, everything ended up ok, but I am actually feeling slightly guilty for playing the "I am in charge" card. I hate people that do that, and I hated saying it. But it was neccesary- right? I am sometimes waaaay to sensitive about my being a woman in the role that I am in. I am the only female in the Chick-fil-A group in Utah, and have many times in the past been the only woman elsewhere at many meetings, etc. It makes me feel a little on the spot and sometimes defensive. I can't help it. But our new dishwasher deserved it.