Challenges of being a women in a "man's world".

By: Ninjagirl Mood: Other Date: Nov 06, 2008 Music: None

I honestly don't like saying anything is specifically something devoted to men or women, I like to think that most everything can be equally enjoyed by both genders and that people should be able to do what it is that their heart desires maybe not without question but at least without ridicule. 

I myself am actually involved with cars and bikes loving them both for different reasons as they are apples and oranges, perform different tasks and have their own styles of speed and agility that can not be compared to one another really because of their true diversity from each other. I do understand that typically these things that I enjoy are actually things typically enjoyed by a mostly male community. I am on with that. I don't really ever have a problem being a part of a community that is mostly men, it is something that just never bothered me. I understand and accept that conversation is not the same as your average everyday knitting circle (not that I have ever been to one actually) but who cares. This thing that seems to bother me though with all of this is that regardless what it is  that I do be it good, bad or otherwise there is not a moment that I can avoid being either the but of jokes or ridiculed. 

Don't get me wrong, I can take a joke and I understand that sometimes people will be critical of you but I also understand that there is not only a time and a place for everything but also a time to stop the constant badgering. Regardless though it seems that the list of things that I do or don't do is never enough. From starting off riding on a bike with more then 600cc's to not wanting to ride in the rain (simple because it is on Okinawa too dangerous with some of the drivers coupled with the roads being made of coral and being very slick to the fact that I really don't enjoy it that much. . personal preference) all the way to not riding with certain groups of people because of their constant reckless behavior on the road when riding in group situations. It seems like every time that I have been on the bike someone has something to say about it and something to tell everyone around that I am an idiot. It even went so far one time as one person telling me that I was clearly a novice rider because I didn't wear a leather racing suit every time that I get out and ride. This one really makes me laugh for a number of reasons. 1. He was riding for 4 or 5 months less then I had been (which doesn't make a difference really but it's not like he had 12 years of riding under his belt) AND he got into an accident trying to keep up with the group that he was riding with even though it was beyond his skill level. But don't forget I am the idiot who doesn't know how to ride. 

The same thing happens in reference to my car.  I have a "you just got passed by a girl" sticker on the back in which case someone went on a streetracing forum here and "called me out" saying that I was "screaming 'make fun of me PLEEEEAAASE' " because I had a sticker. "I passed her going like 5 kph over what she was doing just so that she could see you COULD get passed" This was on a main road, ofcorse someone would have passed me it's not a race track lol. 

  This leads me to my original thought. What is it about the men that makes it hard for them to accept that there are women out there who enjoy having cars and bikes and all around doing things that make them happy that might be "men's world" or whatever? Why can't men just accept that fact that yes there are women out there who do these things and that they love these things JUST AS MUCH AS YOU and that they can do these things in some cases BETTER THEN YOU? Or is it a matter of "manhood" that you can't simply just accept that there are other people out there that do things too? I can't figure it out but at the same time it really does bother me. Not the kind of wah wah booh hooh I am upset about this but seriously just the fact that here we are, a world that is really in most ways free from things like women being shoved off and whatnot (at least in most parts of the world) yet we can't get over the fact that you might just have to play in the same sand box as the other kids. 

I can't speak for other parts of the world as I have not been there and I can not speak for other people but I think that here on Okinawa especially among the American population it is something that has become a problem that is something that should really be addressed. I wish that there was a way to address it though, that is the only thing. Maybe there will be one day where the world is ridicule free and people will be able to do things that they love and try new things without being stepped on like they are a worthless piece of S*&*