Female only maths/chess competitions WTF?

[Annie11111]

I recently saw a thread on another forum on how there are female only chess competitions and even female only maths olympiads. There are also women only chess titles (international master, grandmaster etc) which require a much lower score or ranking than the default ones that any gender can earn. To me as a feminist this is a fucking insult and just goes in line with the rest of the usual ''like a girl'' bs.

It also said that boys/men make up about 99% of top chess players and maths olympiad winners in the ''proper'', mixed competitions. I didn't know if the poster was trolling but after checking it looks like he was right. It's bad enough that we have to hear about how much better men are at sports and how the best female football teams in the world lose by huge margins to half-decent teenage boys, but this isn't even sports, it's ''brainy'' stuff. I think any ''girl titles'' or competitions of this sort should be banned. How else will we ever stop thinking about girls as second best when they need to have ''special'' competitions in order to win anything? ''Sorry, hun, you can't compete with the boys in the ''proper'' leagues but here's one just for you, let's see if you're good enough for a girl!'' Unfuckingreal.

End rant, sorry!

i don't know whether risk-taking in men is an innate or socialised thing though. my inclination is towards the latter

Petula, of course it's all socialization, I never said it wasn't. Only an idiot would think that completely different hormones or millions of years of sexual dimorphism would make a difference.

true colours there eh?

....... I think I know who you are now.

Maybe "surviving on the least amount of water" would be a sport of the matriarchy?

Quilting seems nicer, though.

I really fancy learning to knit and crochet and quilt but can't think what I can make that won't clog up the place. Any ideas?

Make squares for the woolly hugs?

What's woolly hugs?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/woolly_hugs

Yes! Woolly hugs!

Or those lovely crinoline loo roll holders, if you have spare Barbie torsos laying about the place. They always sell well at craft fairs and the like.

mumsnet woolly hugs - really lovely women doing a lovely thing. i've made a few things for them

if you want to do that sort of thing without clogging up your house with supplies, you need to be REALLY disciplined about:

(a) only buying what you need for a specific project
(b) only working on one project at a time

this is very hard when you get enthusiastic about it!

i try to make things that have a purpose, so garments and blankets etc, but that's because i'm good at craft but less at creativity. i can follow a pattern and adjust it to my own needs if necessary, but not very good at inventing my own or creating something purely artistic with no use beyond decorative. some people do lovely things like that though. i love seeing people i love wearing things i have made for them

Thanks. It looks intimidating, especially since I don't understand a single word on the crafting page. Will think.

Petula What do you make?

Watching the history of University Challenge on iplayer. I notice many fewer women than men came to the team tryouts.

Small cross stitch kits can be a good start.

i responded ot a thread about teaching yourself knitting tonight - here

i do knitting and crochet and quilting

this year i have made so far:
tea cosy
scarves
hats
jumper for my dad
shawls
christmas decorations
fingerless mittens
blanket squares for a blanket that was supposed to be for friends' wedding but i realised that this was madness in the time i had left to me so that has been relegated to the attic and they will get something off the john lewis list. trying not to feel guilty about this

this sort of stuff is very mathematical btw in a way that isn't appreciated by the outside world (surprise surprise when it falls into the category of "women's pursuits" it has lower status)

Thank you Petula and ABland. I can cross-stitch, I used to know some embroidery. I can crochet a straight line... But I just want to know how to do it. Once I know I'll probably lose interest ...

hyperbolic crochet

Yes Petula. I was just going to say how cross I am with this almost-worshipping of traditionally "masculine" skills and denegration of "feminine" skills.

Also I wonder why it's so important to "win". Have never been competitive (that's because I didn't need to ). Don't see what external validation has anything to do with me.

I found this article about invisibles interesting.

Yy to that post LordC

i realise i've just done the same thing, by raising maths above everything else.

the thing is, in blatantly scientific pursuits there is often an enormous amount of creativity, and in blatantly creative pursuits there is often an enormous amount of science. neither is more important than the other

Cool link Petula!

I really really need a project - my hands are bored. I just can't make up my mind what to do. My knitting skills are basic, my crochet even more. I'm not sure my standards are up to wooly hug standards.

I think I'd like to make some Christmas decorations......