Feminism

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:53 pm

how do you define feminism? men's and women's comments wanted! what's strictly the purview of women, or of men? or is it all blended now? i know this...once my profession was male-dominated and women had to work hard and prove themselves to win respect that would have been automatic for males.

minks · Post by **minks** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:59 pm

lady cop wrote: how do you define feminism? men's and women's comments wanted! what's strictly the purview of women, or of men? or is it all blended now? i know this...once my profession was male-dominated and women had to work hard and prove themselves to win respect that would have been automatic for males.

My profession is still very male dominated, tis a long struggle to gain the respect in the redneck world of the oil and gas business. But hey it gives us women goals.

Feminism persay, I dunno I guess the big R is the be all end all Respect. Respect us women, know we are capable of so much yet we still like to be helped. I have no issues with the man who holds the door open for me, even a stranger, each one earns a sincere thank you from me. I also have no problem holding the door as I pass through for the man behind me. Respect.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:19 am

Production Management is still male dominated. I am the only female production manager where i work...ther wasn't one before me and I can't see there being one in the future. We have NO female engineers....only because no ladies ever apply for vacancies. We run an appretice scheme for engineers....NO girls ever apply.

In these historically male dominated jobs, I think women have to work doubly hard as there are plenty out there scrutinising every thing you do.

One good thing where I work....all the team leaders used to be guys....we now have 8 female Team leaders out of 14 which i am proud of.

THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES for girls/women if they are determined enough.

You don't have to butch and masculine to work in a 'mans' world, just have the ability and the drive.

I prefer working with guys actually....and there I'll end my post

minks · Post by **minks** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:00 am

Bez wrote: Production Management is still male dominated. I am the only female production manager where i work...ther wasn't one before me and I can't see there being one in the future. We have NO female engineers....only because no ladies ever apply for vacancies. We run an appretice scheme for engineers....NO girls ever apply.

In these historically male dominated jobs, I think women have to work doubly hard as there are plenty out there scrutinising every thing you do.

One good thing where I work....all the team leaders used to be guys....we now have 8 female Team leaders out of 14 which i am proud of.

THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES for girls/women if they are determined enough.

You don't have to butch and masculine to work in a 'mans' world, just have the ability and the drive.

I prefer working with guys actually....and there I'll end my post

I would have to agree with you there Bez, and same with me Men co-workers are great. In my past life as a bank teller I worked with all women and it was a bunch of clucking hens, they made me mental. Lunch and coffee breaks were a tear down of which ever co-worker was absent that day. Ugly really. I usually walked out on them.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:56 am

I live in a male dominant lifestyle. I have a job that requires me to be a bit of a hard-ass. Between those two major forces in my life, I have gotten a rather blurred view of what feminism is, was, or should be. I'm just me. No frills, no games, just plain and simple and sometimes in-your-face, ME. So....have we figured out this feminism thing yet? :yh_giggle

St Ives · Post by **St Ives** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:09 am

I have worked in hospitality for over 30 years, mainly in the UK. I have been paid less than a bloke doing the exact same job! The last job I had was manager of a large site for a contract caterer. They knew I would be leaving and so gave me a trainee to bring up to speed before I left so he could take over on my departure. He was half my age with much less experience and qualification - a trainee. He earned the same as I did as the manager of 4 years (I didnt learn this until after I had left). Equality mmmmmmmmmmm I dont think so.

There are some things we gals cannot do as well as men can, but by the same token there are things we do better. In this instance the gender made no difference what so ever.

I dont think I am a feminist - no I didnt burn my bra (thankfully, gravity causes enough problems without aiding and abetting it) but I do believe in respect. That respect can take different forms - yes I will offer my seat to someone older than myself, male or female, yes I hold doors open again for both. I was taught respect as a child - always call someone who was grown up Mr............. or Mrs.......... until they told me to do different, not to interrupt conversations, to listen, to be polite, that kind of thing was kind of standard for the time. I think it is quite sad that respect seems to have got side tracked these days. To hear some of the things kids say to their parents - blimey my mom would have knocked me into next week. Some things seemed to have been taken too far - politically correct and all that. For heavens sake what is wrong with having black coffee! It is not disrespectful it is what it says it is. It is not white coffee because it has no milk or cream.

I bought flowers and chocs for my best friend - a male, because I knew he liked them and would cheer up the hospital room he was in. He bought me a tool kit when I moved into my house after I seperated from my husband.

At the end of the day we are all human beings we each have our own gifts, strenghts, weaknesses and qualities. Lets consentrate on that rather than scoring points off each other. Perhaps we could live in more harmony then.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:57 pm

Far i hear you...but there were NO differences in what i had to do and what the men had to do, in academy and/or qualification we do 4 times a year. it's all the same. in PT, in firearms, in defensive tactics. i had to ground-fight some monster guy. i pinned him too. i was NOT going to give up.

(but only after i snatched his balls, hey, anything goes.:wah: ) the best part was my instructor said "i would NOT want to get in a fight with HER". i'd rather die than lose. is that a guy thing? and just for the record, i am not some diesel-dyke type, i am feminine to the core.

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:47 am

SnoozeControl wrote: Hey girlfriend, have you ever been in a situation where a man was chosen over you in a promotion, merely because he's male? Funny? I don't think so.
Is your "Hey girlfriend" aimed at me, or elsewhere? Are we talking about the political side of feminism here or are we talking about *being* feminine? One topic interests me, the other doesn't.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:36 am

First off, if anybody I'm fighting with grabs my balls, I'm lettin' 'em win! If they squeeze hard, I'll even help them look good by screaming and sweating profusely.

This thread points out the danger of applying general characteristics to individuals. It's a natural thing to do. The responsible person will make the effort to verify whether those characteristics are accurate before making a decision about someone.

I support any woman who wants to be a firefighter, as long as she can hoist me over her shoulder and carry me out of a burning building. One of the world's foremost runway model coach is a man ... well, he's male anyway. But he's the best at what he does & God bless 'im.

Equal pay for equal work. Equal standard regardless of background.

Let's value and appreciate what each individual brings to the table.