Feminism and a world designed for men

[polly]

(My office has clever ergonomic ones that are about £500 each and are incredibly comfy even after a long day. And a load of silly ones in breakout areas)

Probably a bit of a minor point (because not all women have babies and those that do are only pregnant for nine months-ish), but kind of relevant: we had those too, but they killed me when I was pregnant. I phoned Occupational Health and the man brought up this shitty, battered old office chair and said, we keep these for the pregnant women because those fancy chairs were not designed with them in mind.

Not sure how much it's changed in the decade since I started doing school runs...there seems to be more dads taking their kids but it's still overwhelmingly mums. I haven't asked the dads if they get the "oh wows". Maybe I should.

This is not something I've noticed, though I'm a woman so perhaps it goes over my head. But the people doing school runs at my kids' school are roughly 35:65 male to female, and no one seems to bat an eyelid. My husband does it once a week and no one talks to him at all Which is progress

 

[chilango]

I'm going to put this on the "male experience of patriarchy" thread that chilango has started, but when my daughter was little I was the one who stopped working to look after her in the day. Several times I had conversations on the school run about great it was I was managing two children on said journey, how wonderful it was to see etc, the odd exclamation of surprise I could do a decent ponytail...sometimes by women doing exactly what I was doing. I even laughed it off a couple of times with "I'm only doing the same as everyone else here" which was met with hilarity as if I wasn't. Maybe because of their partners not doing that stuff, or no partner, or not the norm. It was nice to have it commented on but felt a bit undeserved.

Not sure how much it's changed in the decade since I started doing school runs...there seems to be more dads taking their kids but it's still overwhelmingly mums. I haven't asked the dads if they get the "oh wows". Maybe I should.

If like to talk more about this on the other thread. But in short. I got, and get, no "wows".

As a sahd I faced being ignored mostly but with a fair dose of suspicion and even hostility at times, and was excluded from from both Mums' things and Dads' things.

I loved, and love, being able to spend so much more time with my daughter than many dads can, but socially it was a brutal experience.

But this is all for the other thread.

 

[quimcunx]

not sure if this is the right place. I just googled guide to successful coparenting. It only brought up results for divorcees. So when a couple divorces men have to suddenly consider the split in childcaring responsibilities. A guide to successful coparenting might be useful before couples have kids, build up resentment then split up.

 

[Pickman's model]

..

 

[Manter]

..

Yes she is going to write one and become enormously rich

 

[chainsawjob]

I'm changing the battery on this and the release buttons either side are just a bit far apart for me to grip them and apply pressure easily. Lots of tools etc are designed with larger hands than mine in mind, and my hands are by no means small. They're designed for 'man-size' hands

 

[weepiper]

View attachment 174157

I'm changing the battery on this and the release buttons either side are just a bit far apart for me to grip them and apply pressure easily. Lots of tools etc are designed with larger hands than mine in mind, and my hands are by no means small. They're designed for 'man-size' hands

The sales manager at my work bought all the workshops some new tools recently. I wrote a wishlist and got most of it, he also got us a couple of things I didn't ask for because he thought they were good including a tool which is for removing the cassette sprockets on a rear bike wheel. Usually you use a thing called a chain whip for this


The tool he was excited about and thought we should all have is called chain whip pliers and looks like this



He was disappointed to find it's basically useless for me as I can't hold it closed with enough force to use it successfully because it's designed for a much bigger hand span.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Liked for the interesting tool stuff, not the fact you can't bloody well use one!

 

[friendofdorothy]

I keep hearing from women of a certain age how difficult it is to get a job.

I know there is a lot of ageism in the job market in general - but I wonder if there is any gender inbalance here too. Does anyone know where I can look for reliable source of stats on this?

 

[mango5]

At the Longevity Forum in London last month, Professor Lynda Gratton said that ageism at work began at 40 for women and 45 for men.

from here Ageism in the workplace ‘starts at 40’ for women | Financial Times - but I can't tell where she gets the info from.

This is a good and detailed report about the UK with lots of gender comparisons.

In this report, we consider and discuss extended working life (EWL) policies in light of current academic research. We start by presenting statistical data on UK employment rates, in order to outline the trends in age, gender and employment in recent decades. We then discuss six policy areas related to extending working life. First, we compare women and men’s participation in the labour market over the life-course. Second, policy changes related to age are discussed, including age discrimination legislation and changes to State Pension age. Third, we consider changes to social security benefits. Fourth, we provide an overview of the UK pensions system, including recent changes to the system, the introduction of occupational pensions and autoenrolment, and opportunities for combining pensions and working. Fifth, we discuss policies related to family and caring (including grandparents’ leave). Sixth, we consider flexible work policies in the context of later-life working. The report concludes with a discussion on the potential gaps in research on extending working lives in the UK national context.

https://www.lives-nccr.ch/sites/default/files/pdf/publication/lives_wp_77.3_daisie_uk_format_ah.pdf

European picture here Ageism and gender

Also try this (rather dense, more general research and analysis than stats as such, but still...) Multiple Marginalizations Based on Age: Gendered Ageism and Beyond

 

[friendofdorothy]

Thanks mango5 will check those out.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Met another woman yesterday who has been caught up in the moving the pension age trap. 64 years old ill /diabetic with no IT skills and still being hassled by the job centre - it is so depressing.

Women have been majorly shafted by the short notice in moving the retirement age to make it the same as men. As well having earned a lot less in there lifetimes than the average man and less NI contributions and having much smaller pensions.

I know the previous higher age for men was unfair to men but to change the systen so quickly has been a real disadvantage to women who had suddenly had to work and extra 5 years.

 

[friendofdorothy]

from Ageism and gender

Key facts
40% Gender pension gap
28% Share of older women have experienced some kind of violence or abuse in the previous 12 months
19% Share of women that mention care responsibilities among the reasons for inactivity (2% of men)

 

[mango5]

from Ageism and gender

I'm not sure how those figures break down by country. Things like the pension age changes will complicate things. I know someone who resents her sister because she now has a pension and my mate - who is 18 months younger - has to wait an extra 5 years the resentment dates back to when the changes were announced.

I remember being encouraged to set a retirement age of 50 years ago when employer contributions were introduced. I expect to have to do paid work until I'm 70, assuming suitable jobs are available and older women are more valued in the workforce in the future. If not, I may be too grumpy to be employable

 

[pengaleng]

designed for men?? it's designed for able people tbh, I think this is just whining.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Today I went to lift weights on THE MANSTRENGTH EQUIPMENTS

Because I got fat on antidepressants (and women get the prescribed more than men) I decided the best way to boost my metabolism + loose body fat is to weightlift and swim.

Those machines are not made for my physique.

While the weights are adequate I feel like a CHILD sitting in it, and it actually fucks up my posture more than just free weights. Because they are designed for MEN.

I am a healthy 5'6 (so your "short man" size)

(Short men obviously are also not gym goers in the design of weightlifting equipment.)

 

[pengaleng]

designed for men?? it's designed for able people tbh, I think this is just whining.

yeah I think it's just whining, yer right.

 

[JudithB]

I'm not sure how those figures break down by country. Things like the pension age changes will complicate things. I know someone who resents her sister because she now has a pension and my mate - who is 18 months younger - has to wait an extra 5 years the resentment dates back to when the changes were announced.

I remember being encouraged to set a retirement age of 50 years ago when employer contributions were introduced. I expect to have to do paid work until I'm 70, assuming suitable jobs are available and older women are more valued in the workforce in the future. If not, I may be too grumpy to be employable

We all know we will be living in a commune for grumpy older women moaning that we cannot reach the tops shelves

 

[mango5]

Not me. I'll be fitting my own kitchen and spending time with as diverse a range of folk as I can

 

[eoin_k]

designed for men?? it's designed for able people tbh, I think this is just whining.

yeah I think it's just whining, yer right.

You might need to get a sock-puppet account.

 

[eoin_k]

You might need to get a sock-puppet account.

Well said! I couldn't have put it better myself.

 

[pengaleng]

I hope thinking that up gave you a good dose of dopamine

 

[Manter]

Woman who lost unborn child after being shot in stomach charged with manslaughter

This entire fucking story.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Woman who lost unborn child after being shot in stomach charged with manslaughter

This entire fucking story.

Jesus Christ, that's fucking horrific.

 

[Manter]

Jesus Christ, that's fucking horrific.

Everything about it. The world has gone insane

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Perhaps we should put that story on the World Politics forum.

 

[Manter]

Perhaps we should put that story on the World Politics forum.

Can do. But I think it’s all about feminism. Control of women’s bodies, control of women’s behaviour, male violence against women, state violence against women. That’s all stuff that shows feminism has a looooong way to go before we can relax

 

[friendofdorothy]

Read about this today Read an extract from Hormonal by Eleanor Morgan

Hormonal by Eleanor Morgan explores everything from contraception to PMS, in relation to anxiety, depression and taboos about hysteria and the ‘hormonal’ woman. It is a compelling portrait of the modern landscape of women and health, showing us how to navigate stigma and misinformation.

Combining her own experiences with extensive research and expert contributions, Eleanor Morgan explores the relationship between the female body, the female mind and the ways in which women’s bodies are being medicalised. As Morgan argues, we’ve gotten better at talking about mental health, but we still shy away from discussing periods, miscarriage, endometriosis and menopause. That results in a lack of vital understanding for women, particularly as those processes are inextricably connected to our mental health; by exploring women’s bodies in conjunction with our minds, Morgan urges for new thinking about our health.

From the Metro's review today -
apparently 'its estimated 90% of women suffer PMS, yet researches conduct 5 times as many studies into erectile dysfunction which affects only 19% of men'.
also
'women are given fewer painkillers than men when they present in hospital and are offen given seditives instead'

 

[mango5]

See also regular articles over the last 50+ years asking why we don't yet have a socially functional male contraceptive pill (or equivalent) when the medical science is within close reach.

 

[weltweit]

See also regular articles over the last 50+ years asking why we don't yet have a socially functional male contraceptive pill (or equivalent) when the medical science is within close reach.

Would you as a woman trust that they had remembered to take it?

I suppose you could put it in their beer