Gender-Specific Forums

[budforester]

OK, there's an option in my control panel to ignore other users. Is there a way I can keep the Female Hiking Forum from coming up "new Posts"?

[Bumpa]

Penis fungus?????

[superman]

Oh, come on! We could talk about lots of stuff.

OK, I figured it out by looking at your interests....you think too much. Careful, that can cause an anurism.

[superman]

Penis fungus?????

Is that what the other team is talking about or do you have that?

[Tinker]

OK, I figured it out by looking at your interests....you think too much. Careful, that can cause an anurism.

.........Or an aneurysm (I hear that they're much more deadly).
You're probably right. I want the world to be perfect, and fairness seems to be in the eye of the beholder. I admit that I might be missing something in understanding here, and probably am.

[Blissful]

As I said in the women's forum, I'm glad a guy came along to help when we were discussing town backpacks before my hike. He made one for me and it was wonderful! Used it my entire hike. I think guys have a lot to offer in certain threads, and other threads they don't because they are---uh, guys! Plus there are guys I'm sure who genuinely want to find out about things from a women's perspective for their wives, girlfriends, and daughters who want to hike. I don't see a problem with checking out what is happening. But if you want to jump in on a thread and wonder if it's appropriate, you can always PM the moderator.

[Roots]

tinker, i'll try to be easy on you:
do you have a period? do you use tampons or pads?
do you have breasts that give milk?
do you have to squat to pee?
do your hormones make your ankles swell and your back ache?

no? well, women want a place to talk about that without smartass input from a bunch of fellas that have no clue what they're talking about. i don't care if they're married or not. until you have a vagina, you really can't know what it can sometimes be like for a woman on the trail.
also, some women are embarrassed about men reading that sort of stuff about them.

so, while some female issues can really be enhanced by a male point of view, there is much that a woman doesn't really need your help on. in fact, the women's forum should probably be viewable only by women for it to have it's intended effect since men obviously can't help themselves from getting on there even when they're not supposed to.

on the other hand, i sincerely doubt if any of the women on this site would give a good gosh darn if you guys decided to have an only-men forum where you talk about ball sweat/chafing, crotch itch, and penis fungus.

and just so you are fully aware, LIFE is not fair.

OMG....That was so good, Kanga, I felt a tear building up. HEEHEE...LMAO!!! Straight and definitely to the point.

If I want advise from anyone I go to other forums. If I want advice from a woman's point of view I go to the women's forum. Pretty simple. We do have issues different than men that men will never understand. Men have issues we can't understand. That is the point for a woman's forum.

[Tinker]

Great tip to check with the moderator.

I just checked the Woman's forum description for the first time and found that it is for women ONLY. I will keep my nose out from now on. I just wish that BOTH genders would classify themselves as HUMAN first, then gender, race, religion, etc. That would be my perfect world. That world isn't here .........yet.

[Blissful]

Well, the class forums say for 2008, 2009 hikers only, but I jump in there if I have some advice, etc. So not certain that is a firm rule, per say.

[Tinker]

tinker, i'll try to be easy on you:
do you have a period? do you use tampons or pads?
do you have breasts that give milk?
do you have to squat to pee?
do your hormones make your ankles swell and your back ache?

no? well, women want a place to talk about that without smartass input from a bunch of fellas that have no clue what they're talking about. i don't care if they're married or not. until you have a vagina, you really can't know what it can sometimes be like for a woman on the trail.
also, some women are embarrassed about men reading that sort of stuff about them.

so, while some female issues can really be enhanced by a male point of view, there is much that a woman doesn't really need your help on. in fact, the women's forum should probably be viewable only by women for it to have it's intended effect since men obviously can't help themselves from getting on there even when they're not supposed to.

on the other hand, i sincerely doubt if any of the women on this site would give a good gosh darn if you guys decided to have an only-men forum where you talk about ball sweat/chafing, crotch itch, and penis fungus.

and just so you are fully aware, LIFE is not fair.

Gee. I'm sure sorry I read this. Sorry you don't know me. I grew up with three sisters, a drunk for a dad, and a wonderful, caring mom.
I've been fully aware that life isn't fair. I sure wish it was, though.
As far as personal hygeine, no, I don't care to discuss that with women (unless they come to me). My wife is a breast cancer survivor, so I know a little about that. My testosterone used to make me fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. I'm glad that's diminished. One of my old friends just died of prostate cancer. I went to his memorial service today.
I will try to help anyone with questions that they may have about hiking, though, whether they are young or old, male or female, rich or poor. I've been around the block a few times and have seen and experienced much. I feel it is my obligation to share what I know with others, not to puff myself up, but so they don't have to go through the stuff I went through, and so that they might not take some of the turns in life I have, so they might be better off.
We ARE all different. We should make the MOST of our similarities and the LEAST of our differences.
T.

[Tinker]

OK, there's an option in my control panel to ignore other users. Is there a way I can keep the Female Hiking Forum from coming up "new Posts"?

Given the ugly pot which I have stirred up, I request a function similar to the one above.

Thanks.

[Lyle]

OK. Time to confess........

The reason that I posted the orig. set of questions is that I read a post title from a woman who said that she was "so depressed". When I moved my cursor under the post title I began to read about her disappointment because of not being able to hike with her dad, whose knee had been injured. Being the compassionate person that I am, I was touched by what I read. When I clicked under the post title, I was disappointed to see that it was in the Women's forum, meaning that I shouldn't read it. I did anyway, but didn't know whether to respond or not. A man eventually did, giving a brilliant answer to her dilemma. I typed in that I wondered what a woman would say, and the response from a woman was that women don't post these kinds of things in the open forum because (paraphrasing) that they didn't want any snide remarks like mine. I didn't mean to be snide or rude, but I was trying to make the point that men might have valid and valuable insight to the emotional stresses that face women.
That's the story.

I read that post. Nothing snide about your remark. I was also taken aback by the response you got. I just took it as silly foot stomping and pouting. A totally unjustified display of "power". I just decided to completely avoid the Women's Forum in the future. Totally silly.

[Lone Wolf]

I agree in principal, however:

1) If we aren't all that different, why do they need a private gossip room (if that's what it is)?

2) Why don't men get (or seem to feel the need for) their own private forum?

Are we afraid that the girls will sneak a peek to see how we really are?
Are the girls afraid of the same?

Coming from one who is tired of hearing "It's just not fair"...................

Who determines what's fair?

Are fair and equal the same thing?

Can we be equal yet different?

Are we embarassed about our differences?

dude. what gives? why such an interest in ladie's issues?

[Pokey2006]

Tinker, it can't be all about how you feel and how you can contribute to a discussion. The fact of the matter is, a lot of women are simply not comfortable talking about many backpacking-related topics with men, especially women who are new to it. Grooming, safety, how to deal with one's family back home -- these are things that are unique when it comes to women, and that men simply cannot identify with. Even if YOU are especially sensitive, that doesn't mean other men are, or that women should automatically be comfortable talking to you just because you say you are sensitive to women's issues.

And it has nothing to do with political correctness.

That said, I do think a lot of questions are asked in the women's forum that could or should be asked in the general forums. I personally try to post mostly in the general forums.

A lot of men also post there by accident, since those posts show up on the same list of "new posts" as other forums. Maybe there's a way to do that differently.

[Tin Man]

dude. what gives? why such an interest in ladie's issues?

he's just showing his sensitive side. must cry at chick flicks too.

let the girls have their privacy, no peeking

[Tinker]

Pokey, I think (or at least hope) that the moderators are looking into some safeguard to prevent men from looking into those most personal matters women share among each other, not the least of which being where they will be on the trail at a given time. Some things SOME men just SHOULDN'T know. You're right. Some folks aren't who they say they are, and the internet is a very secure place for them to hide and do their evil deeds.

[Toolshed]

So start a men's only forum and be done with it..
Just be prepared for a lot of bitching and whining about sexism. It's amazing how perpectives change if you flip through these forums and swap out Men for Women and vice versa.

[Pokey2006]

It's not just that. Many women are simply more comfortable chatting and sharing and asking questions with OTHER WOMEN. Many women are uncomfortable opening up with men. And there are issues that are unique to women, such as periods and whatnot.

I liked Marta's idea from the other thread to simply request that a thread be moved if you think it belongs more in the general forum.

And yes, your comment over there was inappropriate.

[Tinker]

dude. what gives? why such an interest in ladie's issues?

Do I need a reason to care about others? I have an interest in men's issues, too. I really am a big softie. Riding a motorcycle hasn't helped, either. What's a fella to do???

I hear you're a big softie, too. You hide it well, though.

[Pokey2006]

So start a men's only forum and be done with it..
Just be prepared for a lot of bitching and whining about sexism. It's amazing how perpectives change if you flip through these forums and swap out Men for Women and vice versa.

I wouldn't be able to care less if men wanted to start a men's only forum. I'm able to refrain myself from posting in "class of 2008 only" forums, for the most part. I think I could manage to keep myself out of a "men's only forum." I doubt I'd have any interest at all in reading about your jock itch. There are plenty of other forums on here to read.