Over on the Model Railroader forums, one of the most active posters uses the screen name Gear Jammer, and signs her posts Sue.
As I mentioned on one thread in the Toy Trains forum, I have seen engineers climbing down from diesel cabs wearing lipstick, frilly blouses and Gucci jeans. Another poster chimed in that he had seen an Operation Lifesaver train arrive with a pretty blonde conductor.
The days of all-male, brute-force railroading are pretty well behind us.
During the later stages of my Air Force career, I had the good fortune to supervise some young ladies who had trained into a number of aircraft maintenance career fields. They were all motivated, willing and able to work and developed into highly skilled professionals.
Oddly enough, most of the static about women working on the flight line was generated by the wives of the men working there, not by the workers themselves. The stay-at-home moms weren't willing to admit that some of their contemporaries would rather change electronic boxes than dirty diapers.
Chuck (USAF, Ret)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a lady railfan. As a matter of fact my girlfriend gets a kick out of seeing how she gets treated by the "dominent males of the species"! Some guys just don't know what to make of it! Just yesterday we were on a photo charter. Out of 40 railfans, my girlfriend was one of 2 women on the trip. She was doing angles in the photo line that men wouldn't think of doing. Women tend to be more artistic & creative. Her shots are beautiful and she has been published in a magazine.
Being a female also has it's benefits in a male dominated profession. My girlfriend was photographing at a railroad facitlity, very close to (but NOT in) off limits territory. A worker came out of the office, wandered over to her, gave her the yard line up for the next 3 hours, said be careful and have a good day and walked back into the office! As a personal note for me, many guys are extremely jealous that I have a girlfriend that loves to clean, cook, and loves to go trackside. The being trackside part is what really makes the relationship special.
Be a lady railfan. Have fun with it. Don't be a closet railfan. You love trains. There is nothing wrong with that. More power to you!
pajrrWomen tend to be more artistic & creative.
Being anti-sexist, I must disagree with that.
classicalman114pajrrWomen tend to be more artistic & creative. Being anti-sexist, I must disagree with that.
I don't think stating a fact is sexist...if he had wrote "women are better at taking artistic and creative photos" then it might be, but this is generally true. There are certainly many exceptions, but when you come down to it, it seems to be often the case. Fact VS opinion is the key here.
I might or might not have a problem with a woman railfan. A lot of the men in the hobby tend to be antisocial dysfunctional jerks. Let's face it. We would rather be out chasing trains or in a basement building them then being with people for the most part. We also tend to proclaim oursleves as experts and are free to tell others what they are doing wrong and pontificate. Now throw a woman like that in the mix. Where I might tell a guy where he can stick his attitude or his comments and shut up if need be I might now have to internalize that with a woman. Not good. In many ways you are sticking your nose (justifiably I might add) into a male dominated hobby that NOW hasn't found out about and hasn't picketed yet. After all men are not allowed to congregate together for any reason in this PC society or to be men. As an aside I noticed that the (oops! Kalmbach won't let me say this word!) cancer awareness effort had the most macho of the men (NFL players and coachs) dressed in pink accessories while I have yet to see one woman's sports team in pink anywhere. So will some men resist? Absolutely. On the other hand I have met some very nice railfans who have helped me tremendously and are good friends who shared their knowledge only when asked and then were very free with their help. You should be fairly quick at deciding who is helpful and who isn't. Now from the male side you might want to be careful to go on field trips that become all day ventures. Nobody is going to be happy to have to abandon a chase or waiting for a train to look for a restroom. So are their issues? Yep. can they be overcome? Yep. Will they always be? Nope. Welcome to life.
ndbprrI might or might not have a problem with a woman railfan.
ndbprrIn many ways you are sticking your nose (justifiably I might add) into a male dominated hobby that NOW hasn't found out about and hasn't picketed yet.
I do have problems with these quotes. While men and women are certainly different (but then again so is every indivudual - even identical twins), both should be given an equal place in the railfan community and remember that our hobby isn't a club...it's an interest!
ndbprrSo will some men resist? Absolutely.
ndbprrA lot of the men in the hobby tend to be antisocial dysfunctional jerks. Let's face it. We would rather be out chasing trains or in a basement building them then being with people for the most part. We also tend to proclaim oursleves as experts and are free to tell others what they are doing wrong and pontificate.
I don't think of myself that way - and I hope nobody thinks that about me! For the most part, the railfans I've seen are divided this way: 10% "antisocial dysfunctional jerks" as you put it so well. 25% mostly normal people that have some antisocial tendancies, and 65% completely normal people that are very nice to be around and you wouldn't know they liked trains until you wandered into their train room or saw a favorite photo framed on the wall.
Just my ...
TrainManTyclassicalman114pajrrWomen tend to be more artistic & creative. Being anti-sexist, I must disagree with that. I don't think stating a fact is sexist...if he had wrote "women are better at taking artistic and creative photos" then it might be, but this is generally true. There are certainly many exceptions, but when you come down to it, it seems to be often the case. Fact VS opinion is the key here.
And as you can see you can not have an unchallenged opinion if it is not politically correct no matter how based in logic, fact or common sense it may be.
ndbprrAnd as you can see you can not have an unchallenged opinion if it is not politically correct no matter how based in logic, fact or common sense it may be.
You think that buddy.
The one time I was an engineer, my fire'man' was female. Check photos below for proof.
Mark
Sorry to drag this into the public discussion but I received a pretty scathing e mail with a do not respond as the final statement. It accused me of not understanding sexism or having been the recipient of it among other things. So my answer is yes I do understand it. Having had to give an interview to a woman while naked in a locker room I do understand it. The logic, "just doing my job" Mine - "Would I be allowed in any woman's locker room at all let alone while they are naked?". Item two. Ever been fired because you found out a woman was embezzling funds to the tune of $80,000 and when confronted offered you sex to shut up? When told no guess who filed a sexual harassment suit accusing me of initiating the sexual contact to cover it up? The company's attitude, "we can't take the risk she might be right even though the evdience say's otherwise". She got to keep her job by the way threatening a lawsuit. Ever been forced to hire a woman to fill a quota even though she was not qualified? I have. Of course I had to divide her work among the other team members who resented every day she was there. If the person who did not thoroughly read my initial comment did they would know I said if you are going to be another dysfunctional jerk I am not interested in being near you. If that is sexist so be it but it's my downtime and I am entitled to be with who I choose to be not you because you demand me to or think you have a right to my time. The other writer said men and women think differently and that is a fact. One thinks primarily with one side of the brain and the other with the other side. Proven over fifty years ago and an absolute fact. If you don't like that that is your problem but to accuse people of sexism or wrong thinking because they are honest does nothing for the discussion. I refuse to be PC because it is the in thing. I refuse to see the benefit in strip searching little old ladies getting on airplanes when all the terrorists responsible for 9/11 were Middle Eastern men. Yet you can't single them out because it is discriminatory and hurts their feelings. Too bad. But then that's the way you think when you use logic, facts and common sense instead of not wanting anyone to feel offended. Now I suspect knowing Kalmbach's banned word list that some words might be deleted. If so and anyone can't figure them out I will be happy to send them off the boards.
My wife Kim is a closet railfan. She knows how much I enjoy being a conductor and will go with me to railfan events and model trian shows all the time. When the Chicago Northwestern Historical Soc had the annual meet in Des Moines this past spring, She really enjoyed the two train rides alomg with the dinner afterward. I have always said that the only thing wrong with being a railroader was we attracted the wrong kind of fan. We get the old guys with cameras around thier necks, I have always said we need fans like rock stars hacve LOL just a thought Larry