The Damsel in Distress or the Ballsy Woman

There are so many ways in which woman have it a little tough.  We are either weak sappy messes or we are b*tches.  Walking the tight rope between those is often tough.  In an episode of Desperate Housewives, Susan's MIL declared that a woman should be 'a chef in the kitchen, a maid in the house and a whore in the bedroom'.  But I wonder, does that also mean being a 'doormat at the entrance'?  Can you be all of those things and still get the tile you want in the kitchen and not be label as being 'b*tchy'?  How about at work?  Does not wanting to be belittled and walked all over by your coworkers make you 'a control freak' or a 'hurricane'?  What if you have ideas too?  When woman exhibit the same behavior as a man there is a negative connotation.  But the for man, when he is a 'go-getter' or being 'aggressive', those attributes are positive and rewarded.
I have to say though, that working for men is A LOT easier than working with woman.  In woman circles, weak woman are eaten alive.  Professionalism means being stoic, solid.  No place for weakness.  The competitiveness is suffocating and in the end there is only one survivor.  It's like playing basketball with Micheal Jordon, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, etc.  Dream team or not, no one will pass the ball.  While there may not be an 'I' in Team, why does that matter?  Modern woman should do it all.  Take care of the children, clean the house, make the dinners, work 16 hours days and be a whore in the bedroom. 
Time to get back to sisterhood.  While I can play the part of the 'Damsel in Distress', please don't tell me not to 'worry my pretty little head', good ideas are all around us.