Gender Prejudice - against men!

[S.A.M.]

Yesterday I had an interesting experience. After a fantabulous session with my hair dresser, I was gushing compliments about his performance. He's funky and smart and did a major makeover on my year old perm. Imagine my surprise when I encountered resistance to the notion of using a male hairdresser! I hadn't even considered that women might object to a hairdresser purely on gender basis, so I was quite astonished

Which got me wondering, what other kinds of gender prejudices do males have to overcome?

 

[nietzschefan]

Nurse

Secretary

Babysitter(pretty much anything to do with small kids)

Bikini Waxer

 

[madanthonywayne]

Nurse

Remember Meet the Parents? They kept calling Ben Stein's character (who was a male nurse) "Florence Nightingale" and Faulker, RN.

 

[Asguard]

Nurse

Secretary

Babysitter(pretty much anything to do with small kids)

Bikini Waxer

health (except for doctors) and education definitly, also stay at home dads get alot of discrimination against them and any father who wants to take pertenity leave. On the last one the Liberal party oposition's "meternity" leave scheam DIRECTLY discriminated against males by stating that if they took the leave it was at there female partners salery. Single fathers are another group and males who want to adopt. Men's health is held at a lower standed than womens and recives alot less funding

Even some legal situations (like the old joke that if a man sees a women naked through her window hes a peeping tom but if a woman sees a man naked through HIS window its indecent exposure), stat rape cases tend to collect harsher sentances for male offenders than female ones, domestic violence by women is almost impossable to prove even if the male partner is killed

 

[Bells]

Nurse

Secretary

Babysitter(pretty much anything to do with small kids)

Bikini Waxer

I remember when I had my second child, there was a male midwife. And compared to some of the others (female) there, he was brilliant. He showed compassion and actually helped without us having to beg. But some people were not comfortable with it. And a lot of them were actually the fathers. But he was great. If women had issues with breastfeeding for example, he didn't take the route of the female midwives and grab our boobs and shove them into the children's mouths (which used to be quite humiliating and painful). He would send out for the breastfeeding speciality nurses and midwives ... Who basically would teach the new mothers how to breastfeed. He was like a breath of fresh air to be honest. I only wish he'd been there when I had my first. Would have made life so much easier in those early days.

It's like childcare workers. I know of one male child care worker, who has full teaching qualifications as well as child care qualifications and he faced a lot of bias and distrust from many parents who would drop their children off. And it was mostly from the mothers instead of the fathers. My kids adored him.. He was terrific with them.

There is male gender bias. In a lot of professions.

 

[Kat9Lives]

Human Resources
tends to be very female dominated.

 

[superstring01]

Human Resources
tends to be very female dominated.

I've been an HR manager for years and I can tall you it's dominated by women and gay men, almost exclusively. I don't understand why. Trust me when I say, those of us who work in HR aren't "sensitive". The horrible things we think and say when others aren't around is not for the weak of mind. Though, I do think we might be better at faking it.

~String

 

[Gustav]

orgasms

 

[S.A.M.]

There is male gender bias. In a lot of professions.

Hmm I'm not certain how I would feel getting a brazilian from a male beautician or breastfeeding lessons from a male nurse, but I see what you mean. It was just chance that I used a new hairdresser - my regular one is AWOL - and I found him much easier to communicate with. He listened to what I wanted and asked intelligent questions and met me halfway without making me feel that it was a tug of war. Usually I feel combative about haircuts, it was the first time I was totally satisfied with the end results. It didn't even occur to me that he's male, even though its the very first time a guy has cut my hair.

 

[The Marquis]

I've been an HR manager for years and I can tall you it's dominated by women and gay men, almost exclusively. I don't understand why. Trust me when I say, those of us who work in HR aren't "sensitive". The horrible things we think and say when others aren't around is not for the weak of mind. Though, I do think we might be better at faking it.

~String

Why say you dont understand why when it's quite probable that you do? Whatever else you may be, String, I'm sure you're not completely stupid.

Men, unfortunately, have been placed in a position where it isn't viable any longer to trust in their instincts. Women, on the other hand, have not only the instinct but the complicit right to act upon it.
Retribution is no longer in play. A lack of fear of retribution has led in the past century or so to a new order. It's just how things are.

You have just been confused by all this talk of equality.

 

[superstring01]

You have just been confused by all this talk of equality.

Negative.

The fact is, HR is open to men. Men equally qualify for the positions I do. I know: I interview them. It's just that they apply far less frequently than gay men and women do. Honestly, I think that men just don't think of it as a "manly" career and chose other options. Retail is already female dominated, but HR is even more so in this industry because my hunch is that men identify with and gravitate towards the few "masculine" niches within this industry that do exist.

~String

 

[Lori_7]

a lot of women i know won't go to a male gynecologist.

 

[Lori_7]

lesbians, obviously. no, not in reference to the above post about gynecology, but sexually...no guys allowed.

so sad...i know how you guys loooooove lesbians.

 

[Bells]

Hmm I'm not certain how I would feel getting a brazilian from a male beautician or breastfeeding lessons from a male nurse, but I see what you mean.

He didn't give me lessons. He brought in the experts in breastfeeding when he saw I was having issues in those first days. Compared to the female midwives who took the rough approach of grab boob and wrench into position and force baby onto it, which resulted in tears from both mother and baby, he was a god send. As soon as he saw what was going on, he booked me a specialist and within a few minutes, she was there actually giving helpful hints and teaching me to recognise that not all babies are the same when it comes to breastfeeding. In that, he was brilliant.

Compared to the majority of midwives I have met when I had my two children, he was exceptional.

And to be honest, we should not raise our eyebrows at men entering that field. We have male gynaecologists and obstetricians and no one raises an eyebrow at that. But when it comes to babies, there seems to be an expectation that the carer be female - be it doctor, nurse, midwife, childcare worker, early primary school teacher. It is ridiculous in my opinion. And sexist.

It was just chance that I used a new hairdresser - my regular one is AWOL - and I found him much easier to communicate with. He listened to what I wanted and asked intelligent questions and met me halfway without making me feel that it was a tug of war. Usually I feel combative about haircuts, it was the first time I was totally satisfied with the end results. It didn't even occur to me that he's male, even though its the very first time a guy has cut my hair.

Really?

I have only had a female hairdresser twice in my life. The first one retired after she had a baby and the one who replaced her gave me a fringe - I have curly hair - enough said really. My hairdressers have usually tended to be males. The barber who cuts my son's hair on the other hand is female. Go figure.

 

[S.A.M.]

He didn't give me lessons. He brought in the experts in breastfeeding when he saw I was having issues in those first days. Compared to the female midwives who took the rough approach of grab boob and wrench into position and force baby onto it, which resulted in tears from both mother and baby, he was a god send. As soon as he saw what was going on, he booked me a specialist and within a few minutes, she was there actually giving helpful hints and teaching me to recognise that not all babies are the same when it comes to breastfeeding. In that, he was brilliant.

Compared to the majority of midwives I have met when I had my two children, he was exceptional.

Okay

And to be honest, we should not raise our eyebrows at men entering that field. We have male gynaecologists and obstetricians and no one raises an eyebrow at that. But when it comes to babies, there seems to be an expectation that the carer be female - be it doctor, nurse, midwife, childcare worker, early primary school teacher. It is ridiculous in my opinion. And sexist.

Well I have never been to a female OB/GYN either but thats again, chance, most of the ones I know are female. I've worked with male doctors and had general check ups done in paper gowns, including breast exams, but I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with my feet up in stirrups either. I have the feeling that childbirth tends to remove some of those inhibitions, with everyones head stuck up your wazoo in the labour room. Same for hairdressers. Of all the salons I have frequented, I can count on one hand the number of salons that have male hairdressers and have fingers left over. And not just in Bombay. Even in the US, I inadvertently ended up with salons which hired females only.

Really?

I have only had a female hairdresser twice in my life. The first one retired after she had a baby and the one who replaced her gave me a fringe - I have curly hair - enough said really. My hairdressers have usually tended to be males. The barber who cuts my son's hair on the other hand is female. Go figure.

Well I've told this one he has been nominated as my speed dial go-to guy for hair emergencies. So lets see how it goes. Have to say, the shampooing and conditioning which was like an awesome head massage played a role in my decision as well. I felt quite like Meryl Streep in Out of Africa - decadent is the word

 

[madanthonywayne]

Retail is already female dominated, but HR is even more so in this industry because my hunch is that men identify with and gravitate towards the few "masculine" niches within this industry that do exist.

~String

I worked at a grocery store for six years while in college/high school and it was quite sexually segregated. Woman worked as Cashiers, the front desk, the deli, and floral. Men worked as baggers, stockers, butchers, farmstand, and management.

 

[Nasor]

I've been an HR manager for years and I can tall you it's dominated by women and gay men, almost exclusively. I don't understand why.

I suspect these sorts of things become self-reinforcing after a point. Many (straight) guys are likely to avoid working in HR simply because they don't want to work in a woman-dominated field, which only makes the field even more woman-dominated.

 

[WillNever]

Hey guys. As many of you know, I actually *AM* a male RN.

Any prejudice that exists toward male RNs typically does not come from hospital staff. In fact, all of the other RNs love me and I enjoy being one the only male nurses on the floor.

The only "prejudice" (and I quotation mark this for a reason because it isn't necessarily a prejudice) comes from a small minority of patients. They are usually very old ladies who request a female RN catheterize them instead of a male. In every case, I'm happy to pass that task on to the girl nurses. However, even among that subset of women, most don't mind a male RN viewing their perineum. Other than that, nobody cares.

 

[Mrs.Lucysnow]

Yesterday I had an interesting experience. After a fantabulous session with my hair dresser, I was gushing compliments about his performance. He's funky and smart and did a major makeover on my year old perm. Imagine my surprise when I encountered resistance to the notion of using a male hairdresser! I hadn't even considered that women might object to a hairdresser purely on gender basis, so I was quite astonished

Wow! Almost every hairdresser I've ever had, especially from expensive salons, have always been male. At this point I would be less likely to trust a female with my hair than I would a male.

Trainers too, up until now they have all been male.

*edit* Come to think of it I cannot recall one famous salon or hair designer that has been established by a woman eg: Vidal Sassoon, Jose Eber, Paul Labrecque :shrug: Can't think of one woman! Even in Cambodia my hairdresser runs a salon, he's a German male.

Its kind of like great chefs. You may love your mama's cooking but when it comes to the masters they are generally male.

 

[Kat9Lives]

Negative.

The fact is, HR is open to men. Men equally qualify for the positions I do. I know: I interview them. It's just that they apply far less frequently than gay men and women do. Honestly, I think that men just don't think of it as a "manly" career and chose other options. Retail is already female dominated, but HR is even more so in this industry because my hunch is that men identify with and gravitate towards the few "masculine" niches within this industry that do exist.

~String

the only exception - MINING,
They tend to have a higher number of male HR/IR personelle than women.
With mining however, they need to adhere to equality rules, as it tends to be very male dominated on the fields/production/refinery areas. SO, if a male and female -with equal qualifications apply for a role, the female will get the job. Not enough women apply in mining - thinking they don't have a good change, but it actually sways in their favour.
In WA anyway...