Rant

My crew-member Anna recently posted on her blog about how there aren’t a lot of women boat owners or skippers and that got me started on one of my pet peeves: sexism.

 

It seems most guys get into things like sailing or backpacking or mountain climbing or triathlons because one day they wake up and think, “Hey, sounds cool, I should do that” and they go out and buy a boat or whatever (despite having no clue) but people are shocked if a woman approaches anything that way.  (Seriously, you wouldn’t believe some of the comments I’ve gotten)   Now, one could make the argument that we aren’t as foolhardy or maybe we’re just smarter.  And while either one of those may be correct, it still means that we’re missing out on so much in life.

 

A lot of women I know get into things simply because their boyfriend is into it, so he gets to play the big man and teach them.  Their is very little that can make me disrespect someone faster than this.  Women – we have to go out and chase our dreams.  We can’t sit around waiting for someone to lead the way.  You want to sail?  Buy a boat.  Oh, wait, please take lessons first.  But then, buy the damn boat.

 

Where does this come from?  Why is it so difficult for us to try the things we want to?   I think it comes from parents raising sons to think they are the center of the universe while daughters are supposed to be nice.  My brother and I grew up in a family with no money where there was a constant refrain of “No, that costs money.”  Yet somehow, by age 15 he was buying motocycles, surfboards, expensive cameras and welding supplies.  Me, I wasn’t allowed to spend my own money, I didn’t even have a real winter jacket to get me through a Montreal winter.  Some of my friends had parents who didn’t let them do things because it wouldn’t be safe for them, although it was for their brothers.

 

So, to further rant about Anna’s comment about not a lot of women having their own boats: its not because we can’t or don’t want to, it’s because we’ve been raised to believe we shouldn’t.  We’re either not worth spending the money on or we’ve been brainwashed into thinking its not safe for us, but its okay for men. 

If you want to get thrown off my boat, ask me what man sails it for me.  Go ahead, I dare you.