Am I sexist...?

[Spinney]

In the thread on marketing cycling to women, Linford posted this pic:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/is-cycling-marketed-for-women-in-the-wrong-way.139469/post-2647589

My first thought was, gosh, a bloke has decorated his bike with flowers! Assuming that anyone racing a motorcycle is bound to be male.

On the other hand would it have been any less sexist to have thought 'must be a woman, there's flowers on it' ?

I suppose the ideal would just be to see everyone as 'a person'...

Discuss....

 

[Glow worm]

Irrespective of gender- it just looks like a mid-life crisis on wheels to me!

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Racist! Why wouldnt you think its a man? Most motorbikeraderspeople are male. So What

 

[hopless500]

I have a bike licence (sadly no bike at the mo). My sister has a bike licence. And a friend from the pub (f). There are more of us than you think
I wouldn't cover it in flowers, but have to confess to flower stickers on my kayak though

 

[Spinney]

@Peter Armstrong
So What....
There is a serious point to this. It is these inbuilt assumptions that can lead to all sorts of other assumptions (you don't want to be an engineer, petal, that's a man's job.....)

 

[Spinney]

I have a bike licence (sadly no bike at the mo). My sister has a bike licence. And a friend from the pub (f). There are more of us than you think
I wouldn't cover it in flowers, but have to confess to flower stickers on my kayak though

I also have a bike licence, but haven't owned a bike for nearly 30 years. Never tempted to race it though. And yet still my first assumption was...

 

[hopless500]

@Peter Armstrong
So What....
There is a serious point to this. It is these inbuilt assumptions that can lead to all sorts of other assumptions (you don't want to be an engineer, petal, that's a man's job.....)

I also have a friend (female again) who is a structural engineer.......

 

[Spinney]

I also have a friend (female again) who is a structural engineer.......

I was an aeronautical engineer for 10 years, and luckily no-one ever tried that line I quoted on me. But when I was teaching there were plenty of girls who had brains (not that they used them much), who were more interested in being a hairdresser etc, because that's what girls do...

And before anyone jumps on that, let me say that there's nothing inherently wrong with being a hairdresser, but it would be nice to know that the people choosing that profession have done so without any pressure to discard some career choices because of their sex.

 

[hopless500]

I also have a bike licence, but haven't owned a bike for nearly 30 years. Never tempted to race it though. And yet still my first assumptions was...

Yeah, I know. Quite a few years ago in Nottingham I had a moment akin to forgetting to unclip - stopped at traffic lights and forgot to put my feet down (like you do). All the traffic drove round me. I picked the bugger up (amazing the strength embarrassment can provide). Just as I had almost got it upright a bloke dashed over from the other side of the road and said, "are you alright mate?". <visor up>, "oooohhhhh - not mate!"

 

[Peter Armstrong]

@Peter Armstrong
So What....
There is a serious point to this. It is these inbuilt assumptions that can lead to all sorts of other assumptions (you don't want to be an engineer, petal, that's a man's job.....)

This is stupid. If a job or sport is dominated by one gender then you may presume their sex, it doesn’t make you sexist.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

I look at that picutre and think, most moterbike riders or racers are male, so I would presume that its a man, regardless of its colour or flowers etc.

 

[RedRider]

@Peter Armstrong
So What....
There is a serious point to this. It is these inbuilt assumptions that can lead to all sorts of other assumptions (you don't want to be an engineer, petal, that's a man's job.....)

Agreed. I suspect all humans have a tendency to make assumptions and work off prejudice. If we don't want to be slaves to our nature/nurture then being self-aware, thoughtful and critical is a good start. A lot of people won't think it's worth the effort, particularly if they benefit from other people's prejudices.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

In the thread on marketing cycling to women, Linford posted this pic:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/is-cycling-marketed-for-women-in-the-wrong-way.139469/post-2647589

My first thought was, gosh, a bloke has decorated his bike with flowers! Assuming that anyone racing a motorcycle is bound to be male.

On the other hand would it have been any less sexist to ...

Unless you are manifesting some prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour to the detriment of the other person, I don't think you can describe a reasonable assumption as sexism.
The problem with 'isms' these days is that the mere mention of a gender or racial category in a sentence is viewed as discriminatory when it's nothing of the kind.

GC

 

[michaelcycle]

No, I don't think you are sexist.

Her leathers should have been pink or at least a rather fetching shade of mauve if she wanted to be identified as a woman. The nerve of it!

We all broadly stereotype based on trends initially. I think there wouldn't be enough hours in the day to lead your life otherwise. However, how we then deal with information which shows the stereotype to be wrong on an individual basis will be key.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Agreed. I suspect all humans have a tendency to make assumptions and work off prejudice. If we don't want to be slaves to our nature/nurture then being self-aware, thoughtful and critical is a good start. A lot of people won't think it's worth the effort, particularly if they benefit from other people's prejudices.

Its not prejudice jebusss! it just a presumption. You not saying its NOT a girl becuase girls dont or shouldnt ride motorbikes!

This is the problem nowdays everys quick to shout, sexist, racist, prejudice, blar blar.