AIBU to feel f****d off with a world built for men?

[DarjeelingDarllng]

I read** this article with increasing horror.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/23/truth-world-built-for-men-car-crashes?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

Many parts I recognise; the phone for example, I have a better camera but the phone is larger so harder to actually use.

I struggle to sit on most chairs easily as my feet don't touch the floor; this has caused some back issues.

I've known that most medical research has always been done on white men aged around 25.

The 'gender neutral' toilet thing is just obvious.

This quote, below, pissed me off the most, not least that there was once an AIBU where a pregnant woman was querying at what point did everyone stop driving as she was really struggling. 70% of people (roughly) said, just get on with it. The rest agreed it was challenging.

I very sadly know of a woman who was involved in a minor crash a week before her due date; the baby died.

The situation is even worse for pregnant women. Although a pregnant crash-test dummy was created back in 1996, testing with it is still not government-mandated either in the US or in the EU. In fact, even though car crashes are the No 1 cause of foetal death related to maternal trauma, we haven’t yet developed a seatbelt that works for pregnant women. Research from 2004 suggests that pregnant women should use the standard seatbelt; but 62% of third-trimester pregnant women don’t fit that design.

because women are most likely to be caring for them.

Im sorry but these kind of statements really do not help the issue. Making assumptions that women will be more likly to be in a caring role just contributes to society putting us in those roles! We need to have the same roles in any business men do.

Also the pp who mentioned about medications and pregnancy is not a sexist thing. Of course doctors are going to be reluctant to prescribe and try medications out on pregnant women because they dont want to risk the baby.

I'm just under 5 foot, DH is 6 foot 5. We each have our own issues with things being too big/small, but I would say I struggle more than him. Fortunately, our children currently seem to be average height so hoping things are easier for them.

I must admit i am hesitant to agree that all of this is misogyny... i mean seat belt are tested extremely well for safety aspects. They have gone through a fuck ton of tests, use previous crash evidence and statistics to come up with the safest design. No way are seats belts sexist and claiming they are is just ridiculous. Other things in my opinion are design for the "standard" if you are a woman below 5 4' than sadly you are below average so would struggle with some things. Im 5 2' and honestly i really dont struggle day in and day out. I agree some of the things mentioned are structural sexism but others are a bit of a stretch

It is wrong that everything suits a 5'10 man though. When less than 1% of women are that. How would men like everything to fit a 4'10 woman?
I think maybe 5'7 so 75% woman and 25% man or so. So too big for most women (but only 3' from average and tge reverse for men.)

This is an edited extract from Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez (Chatto & Windus, £16.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p on all online orders over £15 The book is priced at £14.95

Smaller women's toilets? Fit more in. More suited to all the dc trying to use them. I would prefer a smaller toilet and to be able to actually get into the cubicle. Especially with dc

bejam totally agree about the Barbican. Dd goes to school there and was flashed at last week by a man lurking in one of the stairways - public but hidden. It’s a perv paradise.

It is wrong that everything suits a 5'10 man though.

I'm nowhere near that height. I don't struggle with much.

confused even in your post you used men as the default. Women are shorter than men. Why not men are bigger than women? With women as the default human size ?

right, oh how awful. I hope she is okay. Not a great location for a girl’s school.

Doctors are reluctant to prescribe drugs for pregnant women because of the posdible risk to the baby. Think of thalidomide. You just cannot cite sexism when a non pregnant person is offered drugs and a pregnant person is refused them!

The anti-emetics used for women with HG pregnancies have been prescribed for many, many years and are known to be safe. There was no need for the GP to refuse the prescription yet even with a letter from a consultant obstetrician stating that I needed them refused to repeat the prescription the hospital gave me which was when I changed surgeries. New GP prescribed them.

There was a thread not to long ago about sexism and misogyny in medical care based on the fact that women are more likely to be misdiagnosed, more likely to have their medical concerns dismissed and ignored, and are more likely to have symptoms downplayed by professionals so that they end up more seriously ill than they would have been had action been taken at the first contact.

I agree with a PP who stated that the "standard" is used in design because it's cheaper and everything is designed for this "standard" person but why is it acceptable that this standard person is a 25yo white male weighing 70kg when 50.8% of our population is female and sticking to this standard causes actual physical harm? And yes, I know the world is not set up for people in wheelchairs, people with ASD, people who are blind, etc. but I'm talking specifically about the effects of women being ignored as that's the subject of the article.

I think maybe 5'7 so 75% woman and 25% man or so. So too big for most women (but only 3' from average and tge reverse for men.

That standard measurements used in design and planning are for a 5'6" white male weighing 70kg and aged 25-30.

The old building I work in was once a bastion of massive male privilege. Walking on the wooden floorboards in any kind of high heel creates a massive racket. And there are only two toilet cubicles per floor. The patriarchy is indeed embodied in the world around us.

I’m 4’11 and many things are just out of my reach, or uncomfortable for me. I always put it down to my size. But yes, this is right, it’s because just about everything is designed for the male body as default. Bloody angry now! Women are not the same as titchy men, our bodies are different in many ways.

Got to say, my life was transformed when I bought an electric screwdriver, I have small hands which aren’t that strong, and it means I can now pretty much do any DIYing I want without having to get help.

I wouldn't call it misogyny or sexist, it is just that it does not even enter the thought process. Even women don't think of these things as it is just the way it is and has always been.

She’s fine bejam, thank you . It was being lunged at last year in the street by a random man that terrified her. It was 7.30 am and she was 12. And in school uniform. In a way last year’s perv did her a favour by showing her what’s out there for school girls on their own

An innovative women's sex toy was banned from a design show even though it won a prize and a male-interest sex robot and VR porn were accepted. www.bbc.com/news/technology-46809807

Aside from the viagra thing I posted on page 1 (which has given me the absolute rage - been suffering from endometriosis since my first period and have lost so many weeks to excruciating pain managed by morphine), medical reference ranges really get to me.

Why are there not separate ranges for men and women? There absolutely should be. There are in a few rare instances such as indicators of liver function, but things like thyroid function tests will be different between men and women too.

I don't agree that most of this is misogynistic. Things are only going to be the PERFECT height/size etc for a minority and completely serviceable for the majority. The vast majority of things are designed by men and they're hardly going to shoot themselves in the foot by designing something that they're unable to use. The part of the article about bags of cement was ridiculous "why can't they be smaller?" Because it would be less productive, obviously. The same with bricks- bricks are fine as they are.
The comments on here about high heels are insane- you aren't being made to wear them! If it makes a loud noise on the floor then it's not a problem with the floor, the floor was not designed to hinder women. High heels, however, are impractical and pointless. It would be far more acceptable to point the finger of blame at high heels and far more practical to just not wear high heels.

Misogyny is real but it's not an explanation for everything.

The floor wasn't designed to hinder women, that's not the point. It was designed with not a thought that women might work there one day. And indeed, in my workplace, for several hundred years, they simply weren't allowed to.

How can you possibly not see that designing almost everything in the world without a thought for half the population’s needs is misogynistic? Do you think it’s jhst a coincidence that it’s women affected in every area?

No stab vests or seatbelts or cars designed to be safely used by women? Even bloody dust masks. Wake up.

Viagra was found in a trial to eradicate severe period pain and they said it wasn’t worth testing further as menstrual cramps aren’t as pressing an issue as erectile dysfunction. Our pain is not even worth researching when they’ve found something that will help it.

It’s legal to insist female employees wear high heels in this country, you realise that?

I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve accepted all of these things as just how the world is, I don’t even think about them. That’s how insidious this is.

But woman doesn't equal high heel, does it? I'm assuming you're not being forced to wear high heels for work (which would be a problem).

It would be far more acceptable to point the finger of blame at high heels and far more practical to just not wear high heels

Heels are required dress code for female employees in many companies despite research showing the long term damage they can cause.

I'm assuming you're not being forced to wear high heels for work

Plenty of women have been sent home, without pay, due to violating dress codes by not wearing heels. One such case sparked a petition to the government in 2015 asking that they change the law to make it illegal for employers to insist on heels for female employees.

The government rejected it.