You never did say if you were single ;)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Caitlyn Martin" <ku4qd@earthlink.net>
To: "Gary Hoffman" <ghoffman@spacetech.com>
Cc: <maxmoon@umn.edu>; <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 7:29 PM
Subject: [TenTec] My earlier post -- my last word (I promise!)
> Hi, Gary,
> >
> > Speaking for myself, I love female hams !!
> >
> > We need more.
>
> OK. This is off topic for the reflector so I won't get into a debate
> here, but... have you ever considered why there are so few women in ham
> radio?
>
> Here is some food for thought:
>
> Ham radio isn't marketed to women. Look at ham magazines. If
> you ask most men what is so great about the hobby they'll talk about
> building and fixing radios, morse code, contests to work as many people
> in as short a period of time as possible without actually talking to
> them, and so on. None of that appeals to me nor most women I know. If
> these same guys took a few minutes to look around at the women they do
> know in the hobby and ask them what is appealing about it *to them* they
> would have no problem encouraging women.
>
> Most women I know who are active hams are into public service work and
> emergency communications, which is a form of helping the community.
> Many like getting on the air and meeting people and making friends.
> There seem to be a very decent percentage of women involved in working
> QRP. That tends to tie back into emergency communication. Women seem
> to be disproportionately involved in mentoring and educating. Now, the
> majority of people who do these things are men. Somehow, though, they
> never manage to communicate the wonderful sense of community, of
> helping, of cooperation that can come out of a ham radio license to the
> wider non-ham world. Hence the lack of female participation.
> >
> > ((by the way...you single ? will you marry me??))
> >
> > Just kidding of course. :)
>
> I know you are kidding. OTOH, I have been hit on at almost every
> hamfest I have ever gone to, and I am neither young nor beautiful.
>
> I don't believe for a minute Max was trying to exclude women by using
> the word "gents" or that there was any deliberate slight on his part.
> There is simply an assumption that ham=male that is made by most
> everyone. My point was to make everyone (not just Max) aware that it
> gets perpetuated and it is neither right nor fair. I don't think Max is
> sexist in the least. I think his choice of language was unfortunate.
>
> It's not the one word "gents". I can point out four or five posts in
> the last few days that were worse. Max had the bad luck to write the
> post that broke the proverbial camel's back. Poor guy. I don't mean to
> pick on you, really.
>
> I work in a very male dominated profession and I happen to also have a
> male dominated hobby. That's fine. I'm comfortable with that. Many
> women wouldn't be. The effect of unintended sexism, though, is to make
> many women feel uncomfortable. We are socialized as girls to defer and
> not to make an issue. So... rather than be uncomfortable we stay away.
>
> I hang out in enough women's technical groups (both online and IRL) to
> know the impact of this sort of language. Most men don't see it as a
> problem and don't realize the impact. Many men then decry the fact that
> its so very hard to get women into the hobby. Well... if you (plural,
> not you personally) don't even realize how you're making it
> uncomfortable for some women then things won't change.
>
> Being hit on by some guy I've never even talked to except maybe once or
> twice on the air is way more uncomfortable than poor choice of language,
> BTW :)
>
> If you want to discuss this let's take it off list and leave the
> discussion here to Ten Tec radios. I hope this post puts the on-list
> discussion to bed.
>
> My post did do one good thing: it sure made a lot of y'all think :)
>
> 73,
> Caity
> KU4QD
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
|