Mmmn, I don't think a 'woman's only' space, would be helpful really.
If I want to speak to women only, I've got other places on the web to do that, or I can set up a private group chat here.
It would be nice if a few of the guys on here could think more about the way they phrase things, when they talk about women, and the issues that women specifically encounter.
And how they address the women discussing them.
Remembering that men can have a tendency to take over spaces, perhaps without even realising, they're doing it
(if more women being here really is the goal
)
It comes across as dismissive, or worse sometimes.
Violence against women, isn't really. a 'women's issue' is it?
It's very rarely women doing violence to women.
A more general example from the forum..
- I can't remember the detail of the thread, but someone was asking for information about a female specific saddle for his daughter, a little while back.
Another poster said something along the lines of.
"Oh, I was going to make a joke, about this, but it didn't seem appropriate as its about your daughter"
Which made me cringe, more than a bit.
If it wasn't appropriate because of someones daughter, why would it be appropriate with other women reading it.?
We're all someone's daughter- why would we want to read that stuff ??
As a woman, I wouldn't make a joke about a potentially sensitive area of male anatomy, that was causing bother.
That would just seem rude.
Of course I know, some guys wouldn't mind.
Others would mind 'a lot' .
If in doubt, leave it out..?
TBH there's stuff said to women on here, and with regard to women, that has had made me think about quitting on several occasions.
Is that intended? I don't know.
I'm used to working, and playing in 'trad male' environments, and spend a lot of time with men, so I'm not unused to their company, or ways of speaking.
Maybe it's the anonymity of t'internet that emboldens people to say stuff here they might not elsewhere, to real life people.?
IDK.
If anything, I'm the reverse, there are things I definitely wouldn't say here (jokes, or other stuff ) because without people knowing the whole person who's saying those things.
Or the context, in which they're offered, they could easily be misconstrued.
- I'm sure i've managed to give offence in my turn, anyhow.
In which case... Sorreee... I didn't mean it.
- Unless you had it coming
I'm not sure I would recommend CC to all my cycling friends, particularly not the younger ones.
Of any gender.
I suspect they'd find some of the slightly outdated attitudes on here a bit hard to swallow. Find it tricky to resist challenging them - and then probs get leapt on for being 'PC gawn mad' or whatever.
I'm not even going to ask my boyfriend what
he thinks about the way some guys address women on here, he'd probs have to get the duelling pistols out
Personally I find that 'unreconstructed' side of things quite interesting, from an anthropological pov.
Can take
most of it, with a pinch of salt, or at the very least a resigned sigh..
Having said all that, the
vast majority of people seem absolutely fine, and freindly, most of the time.
(Or at least no more bizarre than the rest of the world)
Even
if we disagree.
I've learnt lots.. (Most of it,
not about bikes, I'm fairly well genned up on that stuff)
CC no doubt provides a
mainly freindly,, highly diverse. sometimes even
funny, forum for all things cycling and besides.
The 'besides' part - in addition to helmets- must create a nightmare for the mods - well done to them.
Hope they get
something out of it.
All hail, the unsung admin staff, as ever.
