to find 'ladies driving challenges' for charity sexist and condescending?

[TheOddOne]

Or am i over thinking this? A good friend of mine is doing one for charity - she basically has to drive a tank, a fire engine and something else (can't remember sorry) for charity.

But, but, don't women drive these vehicles every day in their jobs anyway? And as for the term 'ladies' YUK!

I have driven a medium sized lorry in the past (house move, work etc.) - shame i didn't think of getting someone to sponsor me - after all i possess the wrong sort of genetalia .

[TheOddOne]

I did sponsor her btw. But she thought i was being stupid as i felt uncomfortable and annoyed about the whole idea.

[AMumInScotland]

Well, I know women do drive all those things, but I've never done it myself, so it would be a "challenge" for me personally. But aiming a challenge like that at "ladies" does seem a bit patronising.
I guess maybe if they don't put that in, they find it's always men who go in for it?

[mayorquimby]

i see your point, it's a bit stupid, but then as someone who refuses to sponsor people in the dublin womens mini-marathon on the grounds of principle , i was always likely to agree with you.

[Morloth]

Whenever you feel like this just remember the difference in insurance premiums for men/women - always makes me feel smugly superior!

[mayorquimby]

as a man it always makes me feel slightly embittered with a murderous murderous rage.

so swings and roundabouts there

[Morloth]

Is justice for all the stupid "Women Drivers" jokes and attitude

[stickylittlefingers]

Mayorquimby - I loved the Dublins WMM - I would watch 1000s of chattering women stroll past with their carrier bags, clearly having a lovely time and burning more calories by talking than by moving, I'd say...

I hate the use of ladies anywhere. Why hasn't it died out yet?

God I'd love to drive a tank tho!!

[mayorquimby]

i'm still unsure of how they legally justify it.
some day i'm gonna go all "erin brokovich" on the situation and make a one man crusade through the courts with all the odds stacked against me but somehow win through against the evil insurance companies.

[UnquietDad]

Tin hat on, but what's wrong with the Dublin Women's Mini-Marathon?...

[AMumInScotland]

They're allowed to because the figures back them up - just like they're allowed to charge different premiums for different ages, or different types of cars. They pay people to work out all the statistics, and work out how likely it is that you'll cost the money by having an accident, and how much it's likely to cost them.

I think us women have a larger number of accidents, but because they tend to be low-speed low-cost things like scraping against inanimate objects, the cost per accident is very low. Whereas on average men have more expensive accidents, at high speed. involving other road users.

[mcfee]

I saw an advert for this 'challenge' at the weekend in a Scottish Sunday paper and had exactly the same reaction. Was going to write to the charity until DH calmed me down!

[Morloth]

Because men have more high speed accidents and therefore more expensive accidents than women. Obviously there will be exceptions to the rule.

Of course it costs more to insure someone more likely to have an accident.

For the same reason it costs more to insure a car in an area with a high theft rate, more risk = more money.

[SoupDragon]

"i'm still unsure of how they legally justify it. "

Probably the same way they justify having separate men's and women's races in the olympics.

[SoupDragon]

Oh, the insurance thing. It is because it is a statistical fact. The same as they can change different life insurance premiums for men and women too due to differing mortality rates.

[stickylittlefingers]

MayorQ - it's been done on the young person's premiums, and I guess the argument re women's premiums (sorry - the advanatageous premiums for the laydeeez) would be decided the same way. Unless you have a new and exciting objection to it, of course!

[TheOddOne]

So IANBU? As a general rule??

Excellent .

Worst thing is my friend's DH is an ambulance driver so it smacks of letting the little woman have a go to me.

[mayorquimby]

i know that the statistics back them up, but i've always wondered how they are allowed assert that the statistics are related. i.e. that the men having accidents are having them because of their gender, and then impose that on other members of that gender who have never had an accident. would the same be allowed if the statistics showed a higher percentage of accidents in one racial or religious group?
i'm not arguing with the statistics or the logic, i've just always wondered how it's allowed in a legal sense to charge one person more based on their gender?

UQD, my main problem with the DWMM was that in the past (quite possibly still the case but haven't checked so don't want to state anything untrue) they had a rule that if men wanted to partake they had to dress up as "women". and this just always grated me, where as i know most people just viewed it as good fun,so fully accept i'm being a stick in the mud, but it always just sat wrong with me so i wouldn't sponsor people in it. because if i'm not good enough to raise money for them and participate based on my gender then how come i'm good enough to contribute.
also the men having to dress up to participate and raise money for charity just seemed like an unnecessary attempt to humiliate to me as it involved traditional womens clothing for want of a better phrase so the men would have to wear long dresses etc despite being surrounded by women who were to my mind dressed as women (i.e,. wearing athletic apparel because they were partaking in exercise). so it in turn implies that the women running are somehow dressed as men because they're not in frocks and gowns. also if it were a male event and a woman had to dress as a man and it was suggested she dress in a business suit or as a doctor/fire fighter/police officer it would be pointed out that this was an outdated idea of what genders wear what clothes.

as i've posted above i'm not trying to start a debate on this, i fully accept it's me over-thinking the whole thing and most likely having a sense of humour failure, but i just don't donate to it because it doesn't sit right with me.

[posiedullardparker]

It's no big deal really now is it? I think it sounds fun as long as 'ladies' aren't treated like dimwits on the day, who cares?

Although I suspect many ladies will be fitting the helpless in this big motor vehicle thing, don't you?

[UnquietDad]

I see, I thought it was just a marathon for women only (dressed in running gear!) As you were.

[CarmenSanDiego]

YANBU. I'm really irritated by this sort of thing.