Women who criticise men for not being "practical"

BrianD3

Before Christmas I was at a few social events and on more than one occasion was slagged by women over my job. I am a scientist and apparently that makes me some sort of pansy and nerd and it's "not a practical job".

One of the same women I've previously heard wishing that her husband was a "pharmacist or accountant" rather than a (practical) tradesman.

I think she's missing the days of the building boom when the country was awash with builders and tradesmen who were both practical and well paid so could serve both her financial and DIY needs :rolleyes:

Anyway over Christmas itself I was getting constant grief from female family members about having no mains water for around a week. The fact that the problem was due to -15 temperatures and a frozen supply pipe under the ground made no difference. It was the fault of myself and my Dad that we weren't man enough to get the water flowing.

Thankfully the water is back now. BTW I suspect that not one of these women doing the criticising could wire a plug without making a balls of it.

Galvasean

One of my best friends is a fully qualified plumber. his water is out to...

When these people (I say people as I have encountered this attitude before and it's not gender exclusive) dismiss science as not being 'practical' ask them how they are enjoying that electriciy.

johnr1

Take plenty of no notice there.... Im in the construction industry, used to be a carpenter on tools, now management, and I can tell you, its a huge run factor now in the dating game.
This type of raving is no less silly than women who marry an artist and spend their lives giving out about not having 2 new cars and living in the right area, or the woman who marries a consultant and complains about him being always working.
I have no tolerance in general for misogony of any kind, but I never yet heard a man complain about his wife's occupation....Maybe we complain about different stuff which is equally stupid.

metrovelvet

It's true. My neighbor says 'Nothing worse than a useless man.'

BrianD3

BrianD3 wrote: »

Before Christmas I was at a few social events and on more than one occasion was slagged by women over my job. I am a scientist and apparently that makes me some sort of pansy and nerd and it's "not a practical job".

A little off topic, but that's mad. I never came across that before, in anyone, male or female, old or young, etc.

Not talking about jobs in general, but scientific work. Everyone I know has the utmost respect for anyone working in anything scientific.



Then again, I'd be the kinda person that'd be sitting at the PC, and all of a sudden would start thinking to myself "isn't it amazing that I can communicate with someone on the other side of the world so instantly", and then I'll spend a half an hour pondering about all this stuff and how amazing it is that humanity managed to do it in the first place.


So maybe I'm just a bit old in my thinking (Im 22).

parker kent

I take women who say that about as seriously as I take men who say women should only be working at home.

parker kent

parker kent wrote: »

I take women who say that about as seriously as I take men who say women should only be working at home.

Very seriously?


:pac:

parker kent

Deleted User wrote: »

Very seriously?


:pac:

Ha! Left myself open to that one!

iptba

metrovelvet wrote: »

It's true. My neighbor says 'Nothing worse than a useless man.'

"Useless" is a word I've often heard used by a woman about a man/her partner but much less frequently by a man about a woman/his partner.

BTW, I'm no expert but I would guess on average a scientist might be more practical around the house/good with their hands than somebody who works in an office (businessman/similar).

My sister had frozen pipes last year so she was going into her attic to pour water into the tank. A female work colleague from an eastern country (a muslim but not a devout one is about all I can recall) was shocked by this and kept giving out to her for doing this, saying it was man's work. My sister at that stage was living her own.

metrovelvet

iptba wrote: »

"Useless" is a word I've often heard used by a woman about a man/her partner but much less frequently by a man about a woman/his partner.

BTW, I'm not expert but I would guess on average a scientist might be more practical around the house/good with their hands than somebody who works in an office (businessman/similar).

My mothers side has a bunch of men scientists. THey are all theory, no practise. WIll do lots of equations for you but don't ask them to make a cup of tea.

copacetic

BrianD3 wrote: »

Before Christmas I was at a few social events and on more than one occasion was slagged by women over my job. I am a scientist and apparently that makes me some sort of pansy and nerd and it's "not a practical job".

One of the same women I've previously heard wishing that her husband was a "pharmacist or accountant" rather than a (practical) tradesman.

The problem here is the person, not 'women'. The type of person who criticises everyone, changing the criticism to suit the person.

so one person isn't practical enough, another is too practical, another is neither here nor there etc etc.

This type of person is poison and constantly wants to put other people down not matter what. It's quite common in Ireland from both sexes as can be seen from pretty much any thread on boards. The only real difference is that men generally dress it up as 'banter' or 'slagging' while women can be a bit more cutting and personal about it.

Giselle

My best friend is on the end of the 'useless woman who can't cook' remark sometimes, its equally stupid.

I've sometimes heard girls remark that they'd like a man who can put up shelves or whatever, but never to the guys face.

limklad

Nagging women are just like nagging men, Neither can do things practically therefore they will always complain about things they cannot do for themselves. All bull sh*t comes out of their mouths in their oversize ego's. I usually Take note of what they are complaining about, and refuse to do that particular task along with others, I never rise or verbally attack back. If they say I am useless then I be useless for them deliberately for 24 hours for every minute they nag. The longer they nag the longer, I refuse to do anything they want. They usually will get the message or never demand me to do things for them as I have them blacklisted.

It been a very long time since anybody nagged at me.

iptba

limklad wrote: »

Nagging women are just like nagging men, Neither can do things practically therefore they will always complain about things they cannot do for themselves. All bull sh*t comes out of their mouths in their oversize ego's. I usually Take note of what they are complaining about, and refuse to do that particular task along with others, I never rise or verbally attack back. If they say I am useless then I be useless for them deliberately for 24 hours for every minute they nag. The longer they nag the longer, I refuse to do anything they want. They usually will get the message or never demand me to do things for them as I have them blacklisted.

It been a very long time since anybody nagged at me.

Does this extend to girlfriends/partners i.e. do you talk to them in exactly the same way?

limklad

iptba wrote: »

Does this extend to girlfriends/partners i.e. do you talk to them in exactly the same way?

I don't say anything and Yes, and it works, especially bitchy girlfriends. I never drop to their level. I never let bitches become partners.

Usually they become ex's very soon after they drop to the nagging level even if they are not nagging at me, if they continue to be bitchy as I dump them there and then and especially when they act up in public or in front of friends.
When they complain about me in public, I never ever raise my voice to them, I assertively say to them "I do you a favour, I will set you free from me. It best to break up here and now. Now find yourself the man that meets your particular needs".

I surround myself with great women, and ignore or sideline the rest. I have no problem doing things for great women.

BrianD3

BrianD3 wrote: »

Before Christmas I was at a few social events and on more than one occasion was slagged by women over my job. I am a scientist and apparently that makes me some sort of pansy and nerd and it's "not a practical job".

lol, loads and loads of ladies love dudes who wear snicker clothes and that to work. Some lads actually wear their work clothes out after work as it hooks ladies.

I've a Bachelor of Science but work as an engineer and I am an awful lot more practical then many trades dudes I know who are a master of their own trades but know sweet f all about anything else.

These ladies you are on about seem like gee bags in the extreme, tell them I said to cop themselves on :pac:

Reward

Its objectification and a symptom of female privilege, you're deemed to be a non man on the basis of what they perceived to be your inability to serve women directly around the house. Explain to them where harnessed electricity came from and how its used to power the various modern conveniences that they could not do with out.

Owen

Meh, being practical isn't great either. We just get moaned at more

Pygmalion

metrovelvet wrote: »

My mothers side has a bunch of men scientists. THey are all theory, no practise. WIll do lots of equations for you but don't ask them to make a cup of tea.

On the other hand, you don't expect your builder to perform rigorous scientific studies or advance society with new theories or inventions.

Might be a tad annoying when you want a cup of tea, but I know which one I consider more useful.

iptba

limklad wrote: »

I don't say anything and Yes, and it works, especially bitchy girlfriends. I never drop to their level. I never let bitches become partners.

Usually they become ex's very soon after they drop to the nagging level even if they are not nagging at me, if they continue to be bitchy as I dump them there and then and especially when they act up in public or in front of friends.
When they complain about me in public, I never ever raise my voice to them, I assertively say to them "I do you a favour, I will set you free from me. It best to break up here and now. Now find yourself the man that meets your particular needs".

I surround myself with great women, and ignore or sideline the rest. I have no problem doing things for great women.

Thanks for replying.
I'd tend to be more reflective in terms of dropping a girlfriend but interesting to hear different views/approaches.

iptba

metrovelvet wrote: »

My mothers side has a bunch of men scientists. THey are all theory, no practise. WIll do lots of equations for you but don't ask them to make a cup of tea.

I would have thought that virtually all scientists would be capable of making a cup of tea i.e. are you saying they could not make a cup of tea or something else? And would tradesmen for example be more likely to make a cup of tea?

metrovelvet

metrovelvet wrote: »

My mothers side has a bunch of men scientists. THey are all theory, no practise. WIll do lots of equations for you but don't ask them to make a cup of tea.

What do / did they work as ??

PK2008

BrianD3 wrote: »

Before Christmas I was at a few social events and on more than one occasion was slagged by women over my job. I am a scientist and apparently that makes me some sort of pansy and nerd and it's "not a practical job".

Scientist is a bit of an umbrella term isn't it? What kind of scientist are you?

FruitLover

Reward wrote: »

Explain to them where harnessed electricity came from and how its used to power the various modern conveniences that they could not do with out.

Like the iron :pac:

mfceiling

This is a good thread.
A recent article in the sunday times magazine was actually stating that men are becoming increasingly "useless" at so called man's things.
The amount of men who couldn't change a flat wheel on a car, wire a plug, fix a dripping tap etc.
One mans wife looked at her husband in disgust after giving a plumber 50 quid for a basic job that he "should" have been able to do.
I work in construction myself and it's actually a pain in the ar5e - the amount of stuff herself wants done is shocking.........

FruitLover

mfceiling wrote: »

stating that men are becoming increasingly "useless" at so called man's things.
The amount of men who couldn't change a flat wheel on a car, wire a plug, fix a dripping tap etc

I wouldn't specifically call changing a tyre a "man's" thing - as far as I'm concerned, anyone who drives a car should be able to do it. Same with wiring a plug; a child could do it (new plugs usually even come with instructions!). Any grown adult of either gender who doesn't know how to do both (assuming they drive a car and use electrical appliances) should be ashamed of themselves.

I'd still be interested in seeing statistics comparing male drivers who can change a tyre versus female drivers who can change a tyre though. I remember a few years back hearing some woman complaining that she was stuck on the side of the road for hours with a flat tyre because no men stopped to help her! :rolleyes:

Eve_Dublin

I have to say I'm a little bit guilty of this. For all my feminist rantings, I tend to leave the practical stuff to the fellas and presume they'd know a bit more about it than me. My male friend called to my flat the other day to watch a DVD and the machine broke all of sudden. I stood back and let him take over and he'd no more of a clue of what to do than me (I made the dinner!) Honestly, it's more out of laziness than anything else. I'm just not bothered with all that whereas I've found more men who get a kick out of that stuff....plus some men do like to show-off and sometimes presume a women can't do it. I can actually change a plug, light-bulb, put furniture together and if there's no man around which there's generally not, I usually get stuff fixed. Really, it's sheer laziness.

BrianD3

PK2008 wrote: »

Scientist is a bit of an umbrella term isn't it? What kind of scientist are you?

I have a bachelors and masters in Chemistry and a postgrad diploma in IT. I work in an environmental area and previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry.

In terms of so called "useful" work, I do most of my own car maintenance and can do some basic metalwork as part of my hobbies.

myflipflops

Surely being a bit practical around the house is generally essential, regardless of female expectations??

I've been happily single and living alone more often than not over the last few years and I believe everyone should be able to do basic car maintenance (change a flat, tyre pressure, oil etc) and do minor DIY about the house.

They aren't 'man' jobs, they are just jobs! It's like saying washing and cleaning is womens work. If I didn't do it, who else would??

seamus

Fairly odd comment to make, don't think I've ever heard it said.

Someone's occupation rarely makes them particularly strong in unrelated areas tbh. I know plenty of tradesmen who know nothing about cars except where the petrol goes and likewise I know plenty of office workers who could build an extension onto their house by themselves.

I would have thought that anyone with a scientific education would be strongly into the "how things work" side of life and would have no problem being "handy" around the house, even if it was a matter of trial and error.

In fact, my next door neighbour is some kind of trademan, I'm an office (IT) worker, but his fiance would have been lost without me on Christmas Eve because I had a shovel and jump leads (and knew how to use them!)

myflipflops

seamus wrote: »

jump leads (and knew how to use them!)

Another pet peeve of mine. Everyone should be in possesion of both jump leads the knowledge of how to use them!