( CNN ) -- It 's not every day you read about one top-level executive asking another where his balls are . But in the end , former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz lived up to her reputation for `` salty language '' and candid management style . Since Bartz 's very public departure from Yahoo last week , her penchant for blunt , profane language has become recurring themes in discussions of her career , driving conversation about what women can and ca n't be in the workplace . `` It stands out because it 's not expected , '' said Deborah Tannen , a linguistics professor at Georgetown University and author of `` You Just Do n't Understand : Women and Men in Conversation . '' `` We always take notice of what 's unexpected and women are still not expected to curse , so when they do , it 's noticed more . '' Bartz got the ball rolling when she called the board members that fired her a bunch of `` doofuses '' who `` f -- -- - me over '' in her first public comments after the now infamous firing-by-phone . Those statements came two days after Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock called her on her cell phone last Tuesday to deliver the news . In response , she sent an e-mail to Yahoo 's 14,000 colleagues telling them `` I 've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo 's chairman of the board '' and wishing them the best . Since then , tales of her `` characteristically salty language '' and perceived abrasiveness have peppered the post-mortems on her two-year tenure , which many seem to agree ended due to her failure to boost revenue and lack of long-term vision . Even The Wall Street Journal published an amusing compilation of `` Carol Bartz 's Best Quotes , '' a testament to how her `` crude honesty '' and `` blue language '' became part of her brand . `` What do I look for when hiring ? Well , let 's get past the assumption that they can do the job . There has to be a no-a -- -- -- rule , '' she said in a 2010 interview with Esquire titled , `` Hi , I 'm Carol Bartz ... Are You an A -- -- -- ? '' The attention devoted to Bartz 's candor , profane or otherwise , reflects the double-bind faced by women in the business world , especially those in high positions , Tannen said . `` If women talk in ways expected of them or project a feminine demeanor , it 's seen as weak . But if they talk in ways associated with men or bosses , then they 're seen as too aggressive , '' she said . `` Whatever they do violates one or the other expectation , either you 're not talking as you should as a woman or as boss . '' Perhaps unsurprisingly , if you believe women are treated differently than men , Tannen and others think that a dirty-mouthed man would not receive as much attention for his blue language as Bartz has . `` For people to call it 'salty language ' shows how we 're uncomfortable talking about women who swear . I do n't think anyone would describe a rapper 's language as being salty , '' said former Nickelodeon executive Anne Kreamer , whose book , `` It 's Always Personal : Emotions in the New Workplace , '' came out this year . The fact that Bartz was known for swearing , crying and confrontations also reflects the tight-lipped , buttoned-up culture pervading corporate America , Kreamer said . In researching her book , `` Emotions in the Workplace , '' Kreamer said she found that 60 % of employees reported never seeing their bosses get angry or display any kind of unpleasant emotion . `` People are barely keeping it together , and that 's why this becomes a conversation point because everyone wants to be able to publicly flip off the boss one way or another . But you swallow it because you do n't want to lose your job , '' she said . Not everyone considers swearing in the workplace appropriate , said Charles Conine , who runs Consilium , an employee and labor relations consulting service . But standards vary depending on whether the workplace is a corporate office in Silicon Valley or a battlefield in Afghanistan . Yahoo is n't known for its culture of confrontation , which could be why Bartz 's actions -- while at Yahoo and in her public flipping-off of its board -- still has power to shock the public , Kreamer said . `` We go through these Kabuki-like dances of ways to save face in corporate America , '' Kreamer said . `` The way she simply said , ' I 've been fired ' was brilliantly refreshing . She said it as blunt as she did because she was pissed off , and we rarely see that . ''
Profanity , candor are trademarks of Carol Bartz 's management style at Yahoo . `` It stands out because it 's not expected , '' professor says of her tendency to swear . Attention devoted to language reflects `` double-bind '' women face in corporate America . E-mail announcing she was `` fired '' via phone `` brilliantly refreshing , '' author says .