The ESD coat sexism caper.

[VK3DRB]

A few days ago, a friend found a torn pocket on an ESD protective coat at his work. He said he will need to pay someone to fix it. I asked him if his "partner" could sew. He replied that I could be get into serious trouble with the law for asking if she could sew because it is a sexist comment. I was taken back a bit with his reply, because I see absolutely nothing wrong with asking if she could sew. I asked a female friend about this and she said I should never ask if a woman can sew.... it is considered demeaning and sexist and I should have put a male's name in the question as well to be politically correct. My reply was a loud variant of the word  "BULLDUST!"

Gee, at least I didn't ask if his spinster friend could sew, or if his defacto could sew - I could have been gaoled. Sewing is a skill, for goodness sake. 

Am I out of touch with the political correct B.S. cafe latte society we have become?

I am interested to know what fellow (oops, maybe I should not have used that word) electronics enthusiasts, technicians and engineers think, as many of us may not conform to the many norms of what others expect.

Or maybe I am just a grumpy old engineer who refuses comply with the Feminist Militia Act of 1984, section 53 subsection 7b clause (d), risking being arrested by the Thought Police and sentenced to a re-education camp.

In any case, I am NOT a misogynist, even though I admit I dislike bra burning feminists, do-gooder Greenies, and tree hugging money-hungry municipal councils . I like women in general, backyard incinerators and chainsaws .

[8086]

Feminism has got pathetic.

That's all that is at work. It's no longer about rights; it's now about control.

You're only allowed to say this, or do that, etc. And I think it's doubly pathetic how someone being offended (i.e. you not offending, them being) can somehow translate into "misogyny" which is hatred of women! I'm sorry, but if I think you might have a useful skill (albeit based on some outdated stereotypes) how is that hatred? By God.

I actually asked a female friend of mine if she would hem some new trousers for me this last weekend, and there was no cry of sexism. But then, she's not an idiot with an agenda, so.

[kizzap]

How the hell is it a sexist question? You are asking another person if they know how to sew. It would be sexist if you said "you are a woman, all women can sew. Fix this for me", but that is entirely different.

[VK3DRB]

I remember about 20 years ago at IBM there was a member of the feminist militia working there, fortunately working in a department which had nothing to do with engineering. I once handed her a diskette and kindly asked her to copy some data onto it. Her reply was, "You think because I am a woman I have to put the diskette in the diskette drive? You push it in!"

A couple of weeks later this radical had a picture of a topless man at her workstation. Remembering her outburst earlier,  I ordered her to remove it immediately or I would lodge a claim for workplace harassment for displaying offensive sexist photographic material depicting a topless male. She had no choice but to comply.

The outcome was somewhat poetic.

[ConKbot]

I remember about 20 years ago at IBM there was a member of the feminist militia working there, fortunately working in a department which had nothing to do with engineering. I once handed her a diskette and kindly asked her to copy some data onto it. Her reply was, "You think because I am a woman I have to put the diskette in the diskette drive? You push it in!"

A couple of weeks later this radical had a picture of a topless man at her workstation. Remembering her outburst earlier,  I ordered her to remove it immediately or I would lodge a claim for workplace harassment for displaying offensive sexist photographic material depicting a topless male. She had no choice but to comply.

The outcome was somewhat poetic.

If you would have just put it in the drive for her without asking she would have had an outburst about assuming she was incompetent.  Cant win either way, some people are just searching for things to be pissed off about.

[GK]

Your friend is just a moron.



I once had a woman in her 50's giving us a presentation at work (bizarrely, given the topic, loaded with sexual innuendo) walk up besides my seat and vigorously rub my head with both hands while making some uncomplimentary comment about male brains. I have rather thick hair cut #1 all over, and it feels spiky when you rub the palm of your hand over it. Perhaps that was part of the attraction, I dunno.

I found it more amusing than offensive and if she was 25 years younger probably would have quite enjoyed it. To the best of my knowledge she did get reprimanded to some very slight degree, but that was due to complaints to management made by female members of the audience. 

Now just imagine what would happen if I (or any other male) decided (for whatever reason) to walk up randomly to some unknown woman seated in an office to run the fingers of both hands through her hair while exhorting her not to overwork her little girly brain.



   

[peter.mitchell]

Nothin wrong with asking someone if someone knows how to sew.
I know how to sew, how else do you fix holes in work pants, put buttons on, fix up a worn hem ect?
I mean, if you don't know how to sew, and you need someone who can sew to fix something for you, how the heck are you going to find out if they can bloody sew?
If someone gets offended at being asked if they can sew, tell em to eat a cup of cement and harden the f*** up.

[c4757p]

I can almost see a complaint if it were the case that OP didn't know whether the friend himself could sew, and went straight to asking if the wife can. But since the friend already admitted he can't sew by saying he'd have to pay someone to fix it, I have to declare this a case of looking for something to be offended by.

[GK]

I can almost see a complaint if it were the case that OP didn't know whether the friend himself could sew........

"He said he will need to pay someone to fix it."

[con-f-use]

They make every PhD in the university take a gender relations lecture now. You wouldn't believe what I heard there. B.S. has become a science. 

I'm all for equal opportunity and being sensitive not to hurt people if one can avoid it. But asking if a person has a certain skill or not is not offensive. I wouldn't be offended if someone asked me if I could drive a car, speak French, sew or build a pink dollhouse with my painted fingernails while watching grey's anatomy. It's just a question.

Now assuming all women can sew is a bit different. I'd be offended if people just assumed I'm a major geek simply because I'm into electronics. I am a major geek though and like it and I'd still be judgemental.

[c4757p]

I can almost see a complaint if it were the case that OP didn't know whether the friend himself could sew........

"He said he will need to pay someone to fix it."

But since the friend already admitted he can't sew by saying he'd have to pay someone to fix it

[CaptnYellowShirt]

I wonder who his partner would turn to first for help with a flat tire or a dead car battery?

[8086]

Feminism has got pathetic.

No, reactionary morons who believe everything they read in the Daily Mail have got pathetic. Clearly this guy is just an idiot and that has nothing to do with feminism. Or maybe he is just a troll, one who succeed in making you angry and feel hatred towards women, sowing the seeds of suspicion and conspiracy in your mind.

I don't read the Daily Mail.

Nor do I hate women.

Do some research before you start speaking about western feminism in 2014. I guarantee that you have given it no further thought than "feminism is good" and "I know, I'll call him reactionary and suggest he reads the daily fail. That will make me sound smart".

EDIT: In any case, I'll not be going any further into it here, since this is one of the more 'moderate' accounts I have online, and I intend to keep it that way.

[zapta]

Having separate competitions for men and women in the Olympic games is sexist. It's base on the misogynist assumption that women cannot compete with men. I am sure it makes all the feminists mad as hell and they demand equality now.

[8086]

Having separate competitions for men and women in the Olympic games is sexist. It's base on the misogynist assumption that women cannot compete with men. I am sure it makes all the feminists mad as hell and they demand equality now.

It's always entertaining to note where 'equality' is desired and where it is not. 

[CaptnYellowShirt]

Having separate competitions for men and women in the Olympic games is sexist. It's base on the misogynist assumption that women cannot compete with men.

There are physiological differences between men and women.

[N2IXK]

It's always entertaining to note where 'equality' is desired and where it is not. 

I always thought it interesting that women fought for (and earned) the right to serve in combat positions within the US military, but you don't hear any of the feminist organizations demanding that women now be required to register for the draft when they turn 18...

[8086]

It's always entertaining to note where 'equality' is desired and where it is not. 

I always thought it interesting that women fought for (and earned) the right to serve in combat positions within the US military, but you don't hear any of the feminist organizations demanding that women now be required to register for the draft when they turn 18...

Nor do you hear them calling for abolishing the draft altogether. It's like, bullshit².

[dfmischler]

There are physiological differences between men and women.

And it's a good thing, too.

[zapta]

There are physiological differences between men and women.

They don't matter that much these days  ;-)

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/07/260455851/new-law-allows-transgender-students-to-choose-bathrooms-and-sports-teams

[SeanB]

I can sew, not the best, but learnt it years ago.

Though if I want tailoring done I take it to a nice Nigerian immigrant who has a tailors shop near me.

[electronics man]

Is it sexist to ask a man if he can solder as it is as good a skill as sewing, its almost like people look down on people who can sew which may be sexist in its self, its a skill not a nasty sexist comment

[Rerouter]

Another man that can sew,

its funny that i ran into a similar thing asking among some people if any of the women were good at cooking (i was planning to just cook up meat and boil vegetables and thought they might know how to make something nice to go with it, say a sauce) and boy did i get an earful of it about stereotyping, the biggest irony being of 4 women only 1 knew how to turn on a gas barbeque, and by that point there was no luck even trying to be civil with that topic

[Galaxyrise]

I can almost see a complaint if it were the case that OP didn't know whether the friend himself could sew, and went straight to asking if the wife can. But since the friend already admitted he can't sew by saying he'd have to pay someone to fix it, I have to declare this a case of looking for something to be offended by.

That same logic could be used to establish the wife can't sew either (why pay someone to fix it if someone in the household sews?), except the OP still asked about her specifically.  Obviously, I didn't hear the original exchange, but the description of it here does sound like it represented stereotype thinking.  I wouldn't have thought anyone would find it actually offensive, but I haven't ever been on the short end of that stick, either.

its funny that i ran into a similar thing asking among some people if any of the women were good at cooking

Likewise, asking a group if any of the women know how to cook seems to demonstrate a bias as well...  Why not ask the whole group?

[SgtRock]

Greetings EEVBees:

No, reactionary morons who believe everything they read in the Daily Mail have got pathetic. Clearly this guy is just an idiot and that has nothing to do with feminism. Or maybe he is just a troll, one who succeed in making you angry and feel hatred towards women, sowing the seeds of suspicion and conspiracy in your mind.

--Now if the guy is just an idiot, clearly that would have little to do with feminism. If the man were a genius that would have nothing to do with feminism as well, but why mention it, except for the opportunity to insult someone. Clearly someone thinks that all of the folks on this thread who mention similar occurences are liars that hate women, and are seeking to promote suspision and conspiracy in the minds of the easily led. Kind of like Monica Lewinsky was a liar and part of a "vast right wing conspiricy" as HC stated.

--Anyone who thinks that all events like the one mentioned are the malicious fabrications of evil women haters, might want to get out more often. If you want real examples of hatred, just check the media for insults to Palin and family.

""The truth is that even if the allegations are true, the President [Clinton] is not guilty of sexual harassment."
Gloria Steinem 1934 -

Best Regards
Clear Ether