I dont agree with females not being able to woodwork simply because there female.
Woodworking is a passion and art form. Neither of those two things are limited by gender.

 

I guess all you can do is go to the "members" butten below the pulse section below and look for all the gals.

 

no, you can't find the gender - just like you can't find the race, or religious beliefs of other LJs…

best thing to do - is forgo with the entire gender thing all together, and just focus on this as art… regardless of who and what you are.

step up above that line of thinking.

 

I sure don't mind if it's a guy or gal is in the shop. Some of the Ladies on this forum make me think they would be a blast to work with and some of the guys would get their ass kicked.

 

I don't think there's a "gender" box anywhere on LumberJocks, more power to Martin, but a few women on LumberJocks that come instantly to mind: LisaC, ellen35, Mary Anne, the prolific MsDebbieP (who's been around LumberJocks since the early days), Martina (hasn't been active for a while), or start at any one of their pages and look at their buddy lists.

And John Lucas has passed away, but he had a lot of women helping him in the shop at WoodShopDemos.com.

 

And speaking of female woodworkers, wow, Autumn is an inspiration, her Medicine Chest #11: Part One of the Dustbunny Latch entry that just went up is inspiring.

I'm not generally a fan of calling out woodworkers (or anyone, for that matter) by gender, but if your neighbor needs some inspiration and examples, there's a few to look to!

 

The groups and clubs I've been around have maybe 1 in 30 women to men. I really don't think there is any reason for it, just that maybe men appreciate the work of it more? We do love our tools!

 

In the Woodworking Fundamentals class I teach, about 1 in 6 students are women. I hate to state generalities, but about the only difference I see with women is that they tend to not grip their work physically as firm as a man. But that can easilly , and should, be overcome, lest it cause an accident.

 

I know of a fellow that wanted to be a registered nurse years ago but his parents told him, "Men don't become nurses." After about 25 years in a career he didn't like, he quit, went to nursing school and graduated. Women are more teachable as they don't have the attitude of "know it all" like many men. I find it easier to teach kids and women in fishing, shooting, and archery. IMHO, woodworking should be open to anyone who has an interest and would add to a tradition that has been around for centuries. Besides, who knows who the next innovative furniture maker/designer might be?

 

You know it is sad, but I have found so many people (of any gender!) see my shop and my work and go "Wow, I can't believe a woman did all of this…" or "Wow, this is all really great but what an un-feminine craft for you to get into".. It does not help that in addition to woodworking I do machining (usually together). If you think woodworking is male-dominated, you should check out machining.

In fact in my machining classes I was the only female and the instructor admitted the only female he's had in any of his classes in "years". Thankfully I've found that when I'm wandering Woodcraft, I am nowhere near the only lady in the shop… although I tend to be the only lady looking at the power tools.. I've noticed the other gals sticking to the more "craftsy" stuff. And I've had more than one Woodcraft employee tell me they were impressed with my questions and what I knew.

Gender shouldn't have anything to do with hobbies,... but that's a soapbox for another day.

Instead of focusing on the quantity of females, perhaps it would be beneficial to focus on her skill set. What is she already good at, that would be handy in progressing with woodworking? Attention to detail? A keen eye for finishing? (painting, colours, etc) A steady hand? Good at math? Good at geometry? Pretty much any traditionally feminine hobby has things that carry over very well into woodworking.. Find out what they are, and help her see how she's already well on her way!

 

Have her come here to Lj's and she'll see us and I'm sure many of us can answer her questions

 

Tyskkvinna:

I do agree with your perspective, but in this case, the discrimination was reversed. It was someone influenced by society to believe that she couldn't do something. I do agree (to a certain extent) with Juanabee's position-to try to provide examples of women involved in machine crafts.

However, there is something more telling about "Lumberjocks." Just the name is discriminatory.

It takes guts for a woman to leave the comfort zone of friends and family (and they do) to undertake a hobby or profession like this one. I have found that women, who undertake the machine hobbies, have to produce far better products to be acknowledged than men. I have found very bad and very good products from women, but a myriad of mediocrity from men and the occasional star.

Oh boy is this one gonna hit the fan

 

I was looking over the most recent post and remembered something from the past. I represented a company that made tooling for electric motor winding. I was given a set for "show-and-tell." I thought they were chrome plated tool steel but was told that they were hand polished by a young lady that worked in the machine shop. The resulting finish was like a mirror!
Here's to the ladies!

 

Allthunbs - I meant to imply that… I have had lots of women tell me "I can't believe you do such an un-feminine hobby!"

Which is just sad.

 

i have taught 7 or 8 women woodworking ,
they have a patience and an attention span that many of my male apprentices lack ,
their egos don't get in their way , they tend to learn things thoroughly ,
and it shows in their work .
some men just want to get to the finish line to quickly ,
they can bluster past the details , " oh , yea , i know that already " but really don't .
i have come to realize , that if i try and teach some men ,
they take it as a sign that i am implying stupidity on their part , not stupidity , just lack of knowledge .
but please do learn , this is always the way to do it , there are many others ,
you can learn them too , but start here , and it will always be there for you .

 

It's been fun to read these posts. But please don't assume I condone the gender stereotypes we learned as children. I don't like them either, and would like my female neighbor friend to flourish as a wood worker.

FWIW - when I was 10 years old my mom taught me to sew and crochet so I would have something to do with my hands, because of an an injury that had laid me up. Since then I have wanted to get back to sewing but never have.

Now that I am ready to retire (in January) my wife and I have agreed to upgrade "our" sewing machine so I can return to something I have wanted for fifty years. Times have changed and I am too old even to care what anyone else thinks about what I take pleasure in.

 

allthumbs, I don't think the name LumberJocks has any particular gender connotation to it. I know plenty of women who refer to themselves as "jocks". And, yeah, lumberjacks are traditionally male both in gender and sex (whence the Monty Python skit), and "jack" is a male name, but it's also a term for a mechanical device for lifting stuff, from the Middle English jakke which was more generic as mechanical device.

But that's a digression. I think helping juanabee find examples of women who woodwork so he can show his friend so she doesn't limit herself is a good thing. And it drops into all sorts of potential "but that's discriminatory" territory, but finding and showcasing the work of female woodworkers (and machinists, and computer geeks, and…) is something that'd benefit women and society generally.

 

Maybe it's just that men tend to like woodworking more than women do. It's not like there has to be a 50/50 split to make something fair. It's just the way it is. Sure, it's unusual to see a female woodworker, but as everyone has stated it's not impossible. Maybe it's also that men tend to appreciate big, powerful tools more than women do.

 

It is like being stuck in social roles.
Woodworking is by some perceived to be unfeminine,
after all you could break a nail or get a splinter.
But really, in today's society of mixed roles
she should not allow herself to be cast into traditional craft roles.
It's old thinking, and who cares what others think
if you are enjoying what you do…..DO IT !



Lisa

 

I think it is more about nature vs nurture. It can be in any individual's nature to have mechanical ability, appreciate big, powerful tools, and have a desire to build things from metal, wood, stone, fabric-whatever. I really don't think gender has a thing to do with it. At least it never did for me. It is simply a part of who I am as a person. My gender has nothing to do with why I became a plumber, or why I enjoy getting down and dirty working in my shop, or my yard, or working on my vehicles. Like every other LJ, it is what I enjoy, and I am fortunate to have some mechanical aptitude.

Our society does not nurture or encourage certain activities for women - just as men have not been traditionally encouraged to be nurses, nannies, secretaries, or housekeepers, etc. The indoctrination starts when we are very young - little girls are given dolls and Susie Homemaker crap and little boys are given trucks and tools - and I think things get buried before a child is old enough to be able to make decisions. Then all of a sudden, when we are adults, it hits us that there is something we always wanted to do. Maybe this is where your neighbor is at. I was lucky, my parents paid attention; when I told them I didn't like dolls, they bought me Handy Andy toolkits.

Yes, it is hard to swim against the tide of society's pressure, but some of us do. I do think things have loosened up slightly about what is acceptable. I would love to see the day when this sort of thing is no longer an issue or a puzzlement.

Glue must be dry by now… back to the shop!

 

PS - I've had 'suit and tie' type guys say the same thing to me, wishing they could do some of the things I do. They were never given the opportunity, either. They came from a family culture where education and cerebral pursuits were encouraged and manual labor was looked upon as menial labor.

 

my woodworking teacher is a woman, and she makes GREAT stuff, with an incredible amount of knowledge. With that said, there are also a few blogs i follow that are by women, they often have a view on things that i don't think you'll get from men. Though the industry/hobby is male oriented, it's obviously always nice to see women practicing it.

 

Woodworking, carpentry and the like have been traditionally considered "man's work"...

When I was in junior high school, shop class was just being opened up to Girls, and the school had to just about force girls to take the classes… By the time I was in high school, the classes were mostly girls…

But come on, let's get real. This is 2010 after all… I know very few female woodworkers, but the ones that I do know generally speaking are talented beyond words. For them it is an outgrowth of other artistic endeavors.

There is nothing wrong, or un feminine about a woman woodworker…

I would LOVE it if somebody would help me convince my wife to come into the shop with me… I love spending time with her, and in my shop. I would love to combine the two!

 

One thing I really like about this hobby is that it is gender, race and sexual orientation neutral. The project results are always the same whether someone is "different" from the sterotypical norm. Why should it be anyone's business but that person's?

I have trained and worked beside many women, many different races, and several gay or lesbian workers (at least those that told me they were) in construction and in woodworking. Like the "guys" they run the gamut from highly skilled/experienced on through to new learner. I have never seen any difference in capacity to learn and perform from another woodworker or construction worker due to their gender, race or orientation. This has never got in the way of them doing the job…

If someone is claiming that there is a boundary to their taking up this hobby due to the above….I feel that it is in their minds and can be overcome by just doing…Yes, I know there are some bigots that exist…....and those folks just need to be ignored or educated.

 

Maybe we should have a women block button, that would clean up this whole mess! LOL!!!!! That's what always blew(figuritvly speaking) me away about gays in the Military, I got news for you all, they been there a long time.