This mornings everyday sexism

[IsChippyMintonExDirectory]

Went to wash car with DH in supermarket car wash this morning and a woman was inflating her tyres nearby. She came over to us in a flap and said "excuse me does your husband know how to inflate car tyres I've done it wrong?". This annoyed me the assumption that a man must know about cars and not me. I was smug pleased to be able to say "I can help you with that" and showed her what to do. AIBU to be irritated by this?

Is there an element of self-justification in the woman's behaviour, do you think? "I can't do this simple thing! How do I ask for help without looking clueless? I know! I'll present it as women just aren't good at this kind of thing."

I've certainly heard gender-reversed (and gender role-reversed) version a few times, and I'm pretty sure that that is the subtext there.

Good point, speverend - I've seen that before.

In fact, I may have used it myself, indirectly; at my last place of work, I would ask the man in charge whether I could have some help with acquiring such-and-such. He'd explain, with much arm-waving and expansion, why it simply couldn't be done.I'd nod along, mention how I didn't know anything about this stuff and thank him for his time at the end. They always seemed pleased by the deference and more willing to help me out in future, curiously.

To be fair, I think a young man who had listened deferently and politely thanked him might have got the same response, although that sort of behaviour doesn't seem to occur often in man-man interactions - there seems to be a sort of unwritten rule of not showing 'weakness' by admitting ignorance, whereas woman are 'allowed' to because we're considered to be weaker anyway.

I'm actually feeling retrospectively annoyed, come to think of it.

Definitely a part of it spever.

Wasn't that good billnted ]grin]