A skill or knowledge that you have that is typically associated with people of the opposite gender but that you think is odd or stupid that people of your own gender don't have?
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Nursing. I can produce milk from my nipples. I haven't been given a chance to see if it can sustain an infant, but I have asked many times.
You could make cheese!
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I'm a woman and the manliest thing I do is woodworking, the husband sews clothes (occasionally from fabrics I weave).
I also do bodybuilding, but that's hardly masculine anymore, yay!
Woodworking is so fun, and it covers an enormous range of activities.
Favorite project?
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It’s kind of ridiculous that any skill is gendered.
Or speciated! We share like 50% of the banana genome. Who says I can’t be a delicious source of potassium if I want to.
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It's absolutely wild that the ability to cry when you need to is considered to be a trait exclusive to women. It's absolutely essential for a healthy mind, and I've gotten quite good at it despite my useless Y chromosome.
Anytime I visit the vet, if the candle is lit, I'm crying right along with the owners.
We don't deserve our animals.
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I start with a couple: knitting and crocheting. They are two of the two most useful things I've learned so far, all thanks to my grandmother and one of my aunts. Creating bags to carry things, repairing pants, jackets and backpacks, creating little cushions for my lower back or to support my wrist when I'm in the office, etc.
I still remember with some humor how my grandmother insisted to me that, as a man, I should not be ashamed of knowing how to crochet.
Oddly enough, my sister is the one who doesn't know how to do either those things lol
I know how to sew enough to mend my clothes. I could probably make a garment from a pattern, if I tried.
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I start with a couple: knitting and crocheting. They are two of the two most useful things I've learned so far, all thanks to my grandmother and one of my aunts. Creating bags to carry things, repairing pants, jackets and backpacks, creating little cushions for my lower back or to support my wrist when I'm in the office, etc.
I still remember with some humor how my grandmother insisted to me that, as a man, I should not be ashamed of knowing how to crochet.
Oddly enough, my sister is the one who doesn't know how to do either those things lol
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I've always been one that tries to fix before we replace, and that's lead me to a few things like soldering some loose connectors on electronics, or basic small engine repair like an oil change and installing a spark plug. I like making things so I've been slowly expanding my experience levels with various interesting power tools. I can install insulation, mud and sand drywall, stain and refinish furniture, that kind of thing.
However, if I think about things that are truly flipping the script on gender roles, probably the most masculine "skill" I have is the ability to assertively ask for what I want and delegate tasks to others. It seems almost foreign to other women outside of a business context.
This was particularly noticeable when I lived in the American south as a caretaker for a family member. Some of the conservative biddies we had over to visit sometimes would make little passive aggressive snarky comments and the exchange would go something like this.
"Oh, I didn't know where to put my trash, the bin is just overflowing with garbage so I left it on the counter"
"You're right, we usually put the trash in the bin in the garage, spare bags are under the sink, just make sure to close the lid when you're done"
"Oh, uh..." (palpable confusion)
"Thanks for helping out!" (direct eye contact, pleasant smile)
(flustered acquiescence)It would throw them for a loop so hard it was consistently hilarious. They clearly expected me to bashfully apologize or get all defensive or shamed at the state of the house in some pecking order power play. Lol. You brought it up, have fun getting it delegated to you.
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Sustain us with your cheese.
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I'm a woman and the manliest thing I do is woodworking, the husband sews clothes (occasionally from fabrics I weave).
I also do bodybuilding, but that's hardly masculine anymore, yay!
That's so cool!
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It’s kind of ridiculous that any skill is gendered.
Men and woman have different mental and physical strengths and weaknesses.
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I start with a couple: knitting and crocheting. They are two of the two most useful things I've learned so far, all thanks to my grandmother and one of my aunts. Creating bags to carry things, repairing pants, jackets and backpacks, creating little cushions for my lower back or to support my wrist when I'm in the office, etc.
I still remember with some humor how my grandmother insisted to me that, as a man, I should not be ashamed of knowing how to crochet.
Oddly enough, my sister is the one who doesn't know how to do either those things lol
Intimacy. Emotional intelligence. Not subscribing to "manliness."
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It's absolutely wild that the ability to cry when you need to is considered to be a trait exclusive to women. It's absolutely essential for a healthy mind, and I've gotten quite good at it despite my useless Y chromosome.
Yeah, I used to cry constantly as a kid and got so self conscious about it, thinking it's not something to do as a man or wtv. Now it's basically impossible to cry when I need it, extremely frustrating
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It's absolutely wild that the ability to cry when you need to is considered to be a trait exclusive to women. It's absolutely essential for a healthy mind, and I've gotten quite good at it despite my useless Y chromosome.
it's not really that it's a trait exclusive to women, it's a trait that is beaten out of us (for some of us literally) as we grow up. Different people enforce that onto us for different reasons, and sometimes it is "only women cry" but too often it's "don't be weak"
I've been working on it for a decade and I still can't. I can get close when I think about how upset I am that I can't cry when I'm upset, but I still can't do it, and I had loving and accepting hippie parents ffs
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You've asked women to let you nurse their babies? Many times, no less? I think they're right to not give you the chance
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Nursing. There is still a stereotype that nursing is a women's profession, while men are supposed to become doctors.
Doctors seem to have much less of a gender divide than before in defiance of the stereotype, but nursing is still a profession dominated by women.
That one's really funny to me. Used to be that tending to sick and wounded people was considered a man's job, because the harsh realities of healthcare were considered too much for the fragile female sensibilities.
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I start with a couple: knitting and crocheting. They are two of the two most useful things I've learned so far, all thanks to my grandmother and one of my aunts. Creating bags to carry things, repairing pants, jackets and backpacks, creating little cushions for my lower back or to support my wrist when I'm in the office, etc.
I still remember with some humor how my grandmother insisted to me that, as a man, I should not be ashamed of knowing how to crochet.
Oddly enough, my sister is the one who doesn't know how to do either those things lol
I arranged the flowers for my wedding.
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Woodworking is so fun, and it covers an enormous range of activities.
Favorite project?
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I'm working on an 8 heddle (the things that make the string go up and down, it determines how complex your pattern can be), 80cm wide loom. They're about 1200 euros to buy, and I really really want one.
It's not really working well, tolerances are pretty tight, but I'm pretty motivated.
Best succesful project is probably an armor stand, handmade for husband's larp armor. Not technically complex, but with a lot of cool hand carving
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I'm working on an 8 heddle (the things that make the string go up and down, it determines how complex your pattern can be), 80cm wide loom. They're about 1200 euros to buy, and I really really want one.
It's not really working well, tolerances are pretty tight, but I'm pretty motivated.
Best succesful project is probably an armor stand, handmade for husband's larp armor. Not technically complex, but with a lot of cool hand carving
That sounds awesome! Do you post on woodworking or diy communities?
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You've asked women to let you nurse their babies? Many times, no less? I think they're right to not give you the chance
Imagine if both parents could nurse, that would be awesome. Don't have to prep the titty juice and remember it every time mom's not around.
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I was going to come here to say the same thing. So many women I’ve dated are surprised at my cooking because it’s stupidly considered to be a women’s skillset.
They're probably not surprised because it's considered to be a woman's skill so much as they are surprised because most man still don't do the cooking. You may be the first guy they've dated who knew how to.
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I start with a couple: knitting and crocheting. They are two of the two most useful things I've learned so far, all thanks to my grandmother and one of my aunts. Creating bags to carry things, repairing pants, jackets and backpacks, creating little cushions for my lower back or to support my wrist when I'm in the office, etc.
I still remember with some humor how my grandmother insisted to me that, as a man, I should not be ashamed of knowing how to crochet.
Oddly enough, my sister is the one who doesn't know how to do either those things lol
Cooking. Maintaining a clean household. I'm the cook/baker and cleaner and I'm male.
