[TenTec] My earlier post -- my last word (I promise!)

[Steve Ellington]

Yawn.....

Steve Ellington N4LQ.
----- 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 8:29 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
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