Like a Girl

[Ernest Jones]

+1. A fun movie (for the whole family) to watch that'll give just a little insight to that.....

Book was pretty good too, not GREAT, but good.

[Moxie Dawn]

As the only girl in the thread so far, I don't think Abu's post was so terribly offensive. I just think he stopped short of asking the question, "why?" Because, historically speaking, he's correct. Men have always been better than women at everything. So, why is that? My argument is that throughout our existence, men have always been pushed and encouraged and even required to do things, explore and discover, invent, etc. I think we've tended to look at the physical superiority of men over women, and falsely equated that to an intellectual superiority as well. And that's basically where we've stayed until the last hundred years or so.

It was 1929 when the first American woman got a PhD in physics. That's only 85 years ago. Harvard Medical School didn't admit women until 1945. And it wasn't until 1980 that men and women in this country enrolled in colleges at an equal rate. So there is your answer to "why?" Men have always been told they can be and do anything they want, while women were generally steered toward either no higher education or to particular career fields. So now that has changed and time to catch up.

[Jeremie Boop]

It is rather interesting that "Like a girl" is a put down and "Like a man" is a compliment.

Now, I will admit that I have used it. Things are much different now than they used to be, even as recently as the 80's and 90's when I was growing up a majority of the girls I knew weren't athletic at all. Heck one school I went to didn't even have a softball team. These days, girls are much more athletic and use proper form/technique when throwing a ball, running, jumping, etc... I taught my ex's girls to throw a baseball/football, and I was guilty of saying "don't throw it like a girl". That was years ago, and I taught them to throw like an athlete not "a boy".

[14ledo81]

I know I am/was guilty of this type of thinking.  I also have 3 beautiful daughters that I love more than just about anything.

When I worked in the field (plumbing and HVAC) I did not run across many women in the workplace.  Now that I work in the office (project managing and estimating) I am in contact with women on a daily basis.  I have found that (depending on the task) women can do a much better job than men.

For example, when we are bidding a commercial project, the architect will have a detailed set of plans and specifications.  Your bid is expected to meet these requirements.  We bid a lot of projects (success rate is far below 50%), that we do not have time to read certain parts of the specs.  One of our suppliers employs a woman who provides us with commercial quotes on plumbing projects.  Not only are here quotes very specific and easy to understand, we have learned (from past history) that the items she includes in her quote meet the project specifications.  She (and IMO most women) does an excellent job of paying attention to detail and taking the extra time necessary to make sure the items are correct.

I also read a letter that my wife wrote recently to some customers (she runs a small, one day a week, pre-school).  It was not something I felt I could have done.  It was to the point, yet friendly and not over-bearing.

In the past, (not proud of this) I have been guilty of saying "anything a girl can do, a guy can do better".  I no longer feel that way.

[GolfLug]

The women in my life are absolute powerhouses. That would be my wife and my 7 and 1/2 year old princess. They are emotionally more stable, organized, effective, 'un-lazy', less whiny and just straight-up wiser than the boys (myself and my 5 1/2 year old son). of course this is in very relative terms. Centuries of lopsided conditioning seems to have had no effect on them. I couldn't be prouder.

[golf-noob-bruce]

From cooking all the way to scientific discoveries to sports and a lot of things in between. What I'm not saying is that every man is better, as there are women better than men specifically, but not in general no.

Not that I need to pile on after the epic beat down that Erik just dealt, but in my experience in the sector I work in this just isn't true. From technical to management, the women I work with are absolutely up to the task. The best manager I ever had is a woman, and I actually believe that some of her traditional female qualities (even though I'm suspicious when people say men or women need to behave in certain ways) made her a better boss than her male counterparts.

The women in my life are absolute powerhouses. That would be my wife and my 7 and 1/2 year old princess. They are emotionally more stable, organized, effective, 'un-lazy', less whiny and just straight-up wiser than the boys (myself and my 5 1/2 year old son). of course this is in very relative terms. Centuries of lopsided conditioning seems to have had no effect on them. I couldn't be prouder.

Sneak edit. In my house too! My wife kicks butt and my daughter is going to be an unstoppable force of nature :)

[jamo]

It is rather interesting that "Like a girl" is a put down and "Like a man" is a compliment. Now, I will admit that I have used it. Things are much different now than they used to be, even as recently as the 80's and 90's when I was growing up a majority of the girls I knew weren't athletic at all. Heck one school I went to didn't even have a softball team. These days, girls are much more athletic and use proper form/technique when throwing a ball, running, jumping, etc... I taught my ex's girls to throw a baseball/football, and I was guilty of saying "don't throw it like a girl". That was years ago, and I taught them to throw like an athlete not "a boy".

"Be a man" is something I don't really say either. Just submit "adult" in there and you get the same point across without implying that women can't be/aren't tough.

[Golfingdad]

"Be a man" is something I don't really say either. Just submit "adult" in there and you get the same point across without implying that women can't be/aren't tough.

Unfortunately, I still say stuff like this sometimes. At least I recognize that I'm an a-hole as soon as it comes out though.  Getting better and better, and things like this or "thats gay" come out of my mouth a lot less frequently now.

My bigger problem nowadays, actually, is saying 'crap' and 'shit' in front of a parroting 5 year old.

[Jeremie Boop]

"Be a man" is something I don't really say either. Just submit "adult" in there and you get the same point across without implying that women can't be/aren't tough.

Funny enough, I don't hear anyone complaining about "man up" being inappropriate though

[Ernest Jones]

Funny enough, I don't hear anyone complaining about "man up" being inappropriate though :-X

...or grow a pair. Although I suppose girls have a "pair" too...

[Shorty]

I know I am/was guilty of this type of thinking.  I also have 3 beautiful daughters that I love more than just about anything.

Seriously?

What do you prefer? :-)

[Ernest Jones]

Seriously? What do you prefer?

I agree with a lot of your tirades but in this instance, you're just being a jerk. Quote it and dump it in the Spelling/Grammar thread and it's funny, but this thread is pretty emotionally charged on several levels so...be a little smarter friend. :-)

[Shorty]

It's amazing how many boys are taught how to throw from the moment they can stand, yet girls are not encouraged to.

Then, twelve years later, when a girl is asked to throw a ball, she can't because she's never been shown or just hasn't done it.

Then.....when they do it awkwardly, people think it's funny.

Here's a test.

Assuming you aren't ambidextrous, try to throw a ball as far as you can with your left hand if you're a right hander and see how natural it feels - and imagine how it looks.

A lot of men are guilty on the golf  course of saying things like "Nice putt, Mary", or "Get your skirt on" after a hitting a putt short.

It's something we should try not to do.

This list appeared in the paper today  - "20 words we only use to describe women": It's worth thinking about.

Airhead

Abrasive

Ambitious

Bolshie

Bossy

Bitchy

Bubbly

Ditzy

Emotional

Feisty

Frigid

Frumpy

Headstrong

Hysterical

High maintenance

Pushy

Sassy

Shrill

Whingeing

[billchao]

As the only girl in the thread so far, I don't think Abu's post was so terribly offensive. I just think he stopped short of asking the question, "why?" Because, historically speaking, he's correct. Men have always been better than women at everything. So, why is that? My argument is that throughout our existence, men have always been pushed and encouraged and even required to do things, explore and discover, invent, etc. I think we've tended to look at the physical superiority of men over women, and falsely equated that to an intellectual superiority as well. And that's basically where we've stayed until the last hundred years or so.

Perhaps that's because we were all raised with some kind of male dominance in our cultural backgrounds, so we tend to value more "masculine" traits and achievements? Even now, women are trying to prove their equality with men by exhibiting traits that men hold in high esteem and becoming successful in things men typically do. In contrast, my wife is a stay at home mother (who is better educated than me, BTW). She is far more nurturing than I am and much more capable of raising our kids than I could ever dream to be. Why would I be "better," just because my skills are more marketable? I'd say she is better at her primary role (raising the kids) than I am at mine (making money). Therefore, I would argue that she is superior to myself. Yea, I'm taller, stronger, faster, better at sports, etc., but what do those traits really mean to me?

[Grndslmhttr3]

Seriously?

What do you prefer? :-)

golf, obviously

[inthehole]

I appreciate the sentiment of the video; however, it must be said ... Westwood and McIlroy each throw like a girl - can't imagine how poorly those guys look when they throw a ball into the crowd (can't hold it against them ... I guess they never learned to play baseball where they grew up as kids) ! Phil on the other hand - he throws a football like Ken Stabler ...

[Golfingdad]

I appreciate the sentiment of the video; however, it must be said ... Westwood and McIlroy each throw like a girl - can't imagine how poorly those guys look when they throw a ball into the crowd (can't hold it against them ... I guess they never learned to play baseball where they grew up as kids) ! Phil on the other hand - he throws a football like Ken Stabler ...

Yeah, ummm, no it really doesn't have to be said.

[Moxie Dawn]

Story. This is about girls doing "guy" stuff.

Couple weeks ago my mother called me on a Saturday morning, and said, "What are you doing?" Whenever I hear that question I know I'm about to be doing something I don't want to do. The last time it was to help her find my grandmother's teeth. Mamaw has dementia and puts her teeth in strange places. But two weeks ago it was, "I need you to come over here and hand me tools while I go under the house and jack up the floor." My parents live in the oldest house in my town, and over the years the floor joists under the dining room have sagged, and she'd had enough. Trouble is, the crawl space is no more than three feet at the highest point and only about two feet at the very small entry point for this task.

I get over there and my dad is throwing a fit. "We're gonna bury your mother if she goes under that house!" and other similar exclamations. The course was clear. It would have to be me who went under the house. So long story short, I tricked mother into letting me go under, and with a car jack and a floor jack, some cinder blocks and 4x4 studs, I jacked up the dining room. Just prior to going under, I texted Zip to tell him what was going on. He asked, "Why isn't there some man doing this?" Later on, while under the house, I sent him a photo of my work in progress. He replied something like "no effing way." I answered back, "And that answers your first question."

I am 100% girl. I love pink. I wear a tiara in the bubble bath. I have pink flower decals all over my car. But so what? Speaking of my car, starting tomorrow I will be replacing my water pump, idler pulley, thermostat and serpentine belt because I will be damned if I pay somebody $450 in labor to put on $140 in parts. I built my front porch myself (tri-level). I've repaired two broken washing machines, installed my dishwasher, replaced numerous light fixtures, and this past winter I got to go under my own house to replace burst plumbing pipes.

So, what exactly is "guy" stuff and "girl" stuff? I submit to you that there is only STUFF, and somebody has to do it. Who cares if the tool belt is pink or blue?