Work trouble

In the past one of my co-workers has said comments in the past that bother me. I've dated a little bit but never had a relationship. They know this because they haven't seen me with a girlfriend. Every now and then she will poke fun at me. Sometimes at work they will be talking about relationships and she will tell me to put on ear muffs. Just recently I grew a full beard when I came back from Europe with two friends. When I was at work they said, "I hope you sewed your oats while you were over there". Also she said, "don't let the beard fool you he's still a boy. Everyone laughed including myself. When I get mad I bottle up and don't say much. The next day I was still mad and she stayed away from me because I think she knew I was mad. I can't stand confrontation and fear that if I tell her to please stop she will pass rumors among co-workers and shared friends. She is also the type if I say anything to forward she will take it as a threat if I warn her to stop. I should I go about this. I'm at a point where I could lose my job over what I want to say to her. Should I pull her aside someday not in front of co-workers or friends and what should I say. Please help.

You’re co-workers may not understand your lack of experience or find it rather odd. You shouldn’t worry about that, as long as you are happy about the way your life is. The thing you need to worry about is how you want to handle this. Option 1: Are you the only one who is joked on? Obviously ignoring the jokes isn’t sitting well with you. So, you have to make it so the ball is in your court whenever something is said about you. There are ways to do that indirectly. When something is said about you, say something back. Or, talk about yourself to others before someone else does. There are many things you can say that get the point across and can help ease the tension a bit. Here are some ideas of what to say when a joke is said about you. The responses you use will depend on your personality: “Now, I may not know much about relationships, but you don’t need to draw me a diagram or anything…” “I may not know much about relationships, but I know how to navigate the waters if you get my drift.” “Having many partners doesn’t make you an expert, ok. You could be playing Monopoly when you should be playing Chess. Now, if you guys want to know how it should be done, let me know. I do have advice to give. “ “Well, I just won’t go out with just anyone. I’ll have a relationship when I feel like it.” “I think my lack of experience is just fine, thank you very much.” “Is there something you would like to ask me, because you keep mentioning my lack of experience. I mean, I can’t help I’m attractive.” “Is there something you would like to ask me? Are you writing a book or something? (Are you teaching a class? Are you handing out pamphlets?)” “Well, when I need to know about relationships, I’ll let you know. Until that time, I think I can manage.” “Well, I can’t help it that you wrote the encyclopedia on relationships before I could.” Option 2: If you want to talk in private, you could say “Look, I don’t mind jokes about me once in a while, but is there a reason you are joking a lot about me?” Let me know if these suggestions work for you. TILES