Is cycling turning me into a woman?

[theclaud]

I can't believe I'm reading this discussion - the OP was clearly ironic and some women contributors seem to have no sense of irony at all. Are you Americans?

I love this. If someone's not laughing at your jokes, it's as well to entertain the possibility that the joke might be shoot, rather than the recipient humourless...

 

[Ravenbait]

I love this. If someone's not laughing at your jokes, it's as well to entertain the possibility that the joke might be shoot, rather than the recipient humourless...

But the OP is a man, and therefore it's the weak women who are clearly far too sensitive and should HTFU and become more manly. Girls, just accept the fact that men are better and thus obviously it's funny for a manly male man to mock himself by suggesting that he's engaging in behaviour that might be interpreted as a little bit on the girlie side by other manly male men.

The OP shouldn't worry. His manly male testosterone-informed nature can be easily reinstated amongst his peer group by yelling PHWOOOOARR at any hot young ladies attempting to join in on the chain gang.

Sam

 

[vikingcyclist]

I'm not sure "ironic" means what you think it means, unless by which you mean "feigned ignorance of the sexist nature of these remarks".

Alanis Morissette is Canadian, incidentally.

She didn't know what irony was either. Rain on your wedding day isn't really ironic, nor is a thousand spoons when you need a knife. The only real example of irony from that song was the guy who dreamed about flying then suffered a plane crash.

I suppose the closest that the original post could be described as might be satire.

One thing I've always wondered - what is the point of shaving legs when you become a cyclist? Is it a vanity thing, to go with the lycra? Some sort of aerodynamics? Comfort?

I'm genuinely curious, since I've never had a problem cycling with hairy legs.

 

[Ravenbait]

She didn't know what irony was either. Rain on your wedding day isn't really ironic, nor is a thousand spoons when you need a knife. The only real example of irony from that song was the guy who dreamed about flying then suffered a plane crash.

Yes. I know. I assumed Globalti does as well, as references to American women not understanding irony are often, in my experience, an indirect comparison with Alanis Morissette. Ed Byrne did a sketch as part of his stand-up in which he discussed the failure of Americans to appreciate irony and used Alanis Morissette as an example. I have always presumed he did so ironically.

Sam

 

[theclaud]

Yes. I know. I assumed Globalti does as well, as references to American women not understanding irony are often, in my experience, an indirect comparison with Alanis Morissette. Ed Byrne did a sketch as part of his stand-up in which he discussed the failure of Americans to appreciate irony and used Alanis Morissette as an example. I have always presumed he did so ironically.

Sam

I think it was Jeremy Hardy that did a better one, in which he suggested that Morrisette rename her song "Unfortunate".

 

[philipbh]

I suppose the closest that the original post could be described as might be satire.

One thing I've always wondered - what is the point of shaving legs when you become a cyclist? Is it a vanity thing, to go with the lycra? Some sort of aerodynamics? Comfort?

I'm genuinely curious, since I've never had a problem cycling with hairy legs.

1. easier to massage a hairless leg after a ride

2. easier to clean out the wounds sustained should one fall off during a ride (see also road rash)

3. easier to apply and remove dressings covering said road rash (ever ripped a plaster from a hairy part of your body)

Other reasons are available

 

[Mark_Robson]

Honestly, this is political correctness taken to extremes. I found the OP funny and I'll explain why, I can relate to a lot of the points that were made and I found myself laughing at my self, not women.
Is it worng to say that women in general take more pride in their appearance than men? Is it really wrong to make comparisons between a womans attitude to appearance and a mans? And can the women who find the OP so offensive honestly say that they have never made a comment about men that could be classed as sexist?
TBH I can honestly say that I have never met any couple who haven't partaken into some form of good natured gender banter at some point in their relationship.

 

[Aperitif]

Stop the shaving of legs at once! (They will sleekify naturally, given old age experience).

And change your mane name to 'Immac66' - that'll do it!

Happy Cycling!

Oh - and carry a hip flask - turn into a real man again!

 

[theclaud]

Honestly, this is political correctness taken to extremes. I found the OP funny and I'll explain why, I can relate to a lot of the points that were made and I found myself laughing at my self, not women.
Is it worng to say that women in general take more pride in their appearance than men? Is it really wrong to make comparisons between a womans attitude to appearance and a mans? And can the women who find the OP so offensive honestly say that they have never made a comment about men that could be classed as sexist?
TBH I can honestly say that I have never met any couple who haven't partaken into some form of good natured gender banter at some point in their relationship.

Has it all gawn maaaaaaad, Mark? I never cease to admire the ability of some posters to continue posting as if everything else that has been said on the thread is invisible. In her first post on the subject, some pages back, Ravenbait said this:

That I can see the lack of malicious intent behind it and be light-hearted in my response is an acknowledgement only of my capacity to see that he didn't mean anything by it, not that I agree that it is anything other than sexist and offensive. While I am not going to say that the OP shouldn't have made the joke, I maintain my right to point out that such statements are idiotic.

Which is as much as to say, carry on in routinely sexist vein if you really must, but don't expect everyone else to be rolling in the aisles....

 

[Ravenbait]

Honestly, this is political correctness taken to extremes. I found the OP funny and I'll explain why, I can relate to a lot of the points that were made and I found myself laughing at my self, not women.

Why was it funny, though? Let's say, for the sake of argument, that it is accurate to say that women do these things more than men (sigh). Why would it be funny if a man chose to do so as well?

Would it be funny if the OP had said he was getting better at basketball and developing a keen sense of rhthym, is he turning into a black man? Or would that simply be racist?

It's not political correctness taken to the extremes, it's the frustration and fatigue of dealing with sexual inequality that is so ingrained any attempt to challenge it is decried as being overly politically correct or hypersensitive, or humourless, or the various other ways people who are most often men attempt to denounce or ignore those challenging such statements.

Is it worng to say that women in general take more pride in their appearance than men? Is it really wrong to make comparisons between a womans attitude to appearance and a mans? And can the women who find the OP so offensive honestly say that they have never made a comment about men that could be classed as sexist?

I can't honestly say I've never made a sexist comment. I can honestly say that I'm always willing to listen and acknowledge if I do so inadvertently and it is pointed out to me, not protest my innocence with cries of "it's only a bit of fun."

The very fact that you are asking whether this is wrong, and that you can then say "a woman[']s attitude... and a man[']s" without any inkling that you are, again, being sexist, indicates just how deeply ingrained default inequality is. Which woman? Which man? Any woman? Or a specific woman?

I can promise you I don't take as much pride in my appearance as the guy who sits next to me at work. Yet I am a woman and he is a man.

TBH I can honestly say that I have never met any couple who haven't partaken into some form of good natured gender banter at some point in their relationship.

Fair enough. I've met plenty.

Sam

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Honestly, this is political correctness taken to extremes. I found the OP funny and I'll explain why, I can relate to a lot of the points that were made and I found myself laughing at my self, not women.
Is it worng to say that women in general take more pride in their appearance than men? Is it really wrong to make comparisons between a womans attitude to appearance and a mans? And can the women who find the OP so offensive honestly say that they have never made a comment about men that could be classed as sexist?
TBH I can honestly say that I have never met any couple who haven't partaken into some form of good natured gender banter at some point in their relationship.

sounds fair enough. my twelve year old daughter does not understand the current carlsberg ad where the chaps are going giddy girly style at a room full of beer. for some reason she seems to think that men would behave like that in that scenario.

i do, of course, recognise that only a certain type of woman behaves like that, not all.

 

[Mark_Robson]

I can't honestly say I've never made a sexist comment. I can honestly say that I'm always willing to listen and acknowledge if I do so inadvertently and it is pointed out to me, not protest my innocence with cries of "it's only a bit of fun."

The very fact that you are asking whether this is wrong, and that you can then say "a woman[']s attitude... and a man[']s" without any inkling that you are, again, being sexist, indicates just how deeply ingrained default inequality is. Which woman? Which man? Any woman? Or a specific woman?Fair enough. I've met plenty.

MY wife often laughs at my obession at coordinating my cyling gear and tells me that I'm worse than a woman. Does this mean that she is sexist or has she been brainwashed by the male driven institution that sets the standards that all "real" women must meet?

 

[theclaud]

MY wife often laughs at my obession at coordinating my cyling gear and tells me that I'm worse than a woman. Does this mean that she is sexist or has she been brainwashed by the male driven institution that sets the standards that all "real" women must meet?

Why is it so hard to accept, when pointed out to you, that certain jokes might be sexist? It does not mean that they were intended maliciously, or in anything other than a light-hearted way - only that they rely on assumptions that really ought by now to be obsolete. There is no need to question your wife's intentions or yours - only to point out that such jokes do not make sense as jokes unless you buy into the sexist assumptions that they rely on for their effect. If you really understand that there is no reason whatever that a woman would be more interested in colour-coordination than a man, that it is no more ridiculous for a man to be interested in clothes than it is for a woman, and that for a man to be compared to a woman is not an insult (the use of the word "worse" is interesting, as if it's axiomatic that to be like a woman is bad), the the whole point of the joke unravels.

 

[telesonic99]

Heh. It's ironic that despite Ed Byrne's long career he's still only famous for one particular routine, about irony. For a working stand-up that is indeed 'unfortunate'. Oooooh the satirez.

Stewart Lee will be along in a moment to stretch this into a 15 minute gag.

 

[montage]

I've been getting increasingly worried about university as on first inspection of Halls there was no dishwasher, however having reviewd the paperwork it turns out there are plenty, it is mixed accomodation.