Gym thinks only men can be Drs

[DrElizabethPlimpton]

I've just seen a link to a Daily Fail article (I won't link obviously) about a gym in Cambridgeshire

A paediatrician joined and she found that her electronic key wouldn't allow her access to the female changing room. The 'glitch' was explained by staff - apparently her title Dr automatically defaulted to the assumption she was male.
I'm currently speechless.

Kim

I can accept that you want to be supportive of feminism.

But let's look at the points: I posted an acceptable solution to the problem.

You responded with an 'ideal conversation' which a lot of posters felt was belittling and dismissed women's concerns.

You then kept returning to your point and made some comment about also being forced to use the wrong title on your car insurance. Perhaps it was unintentional, but that came across as being dismissive.

Thanks buffy.

You're fine, buffy. I was just being a bit upset, which is derailing and I'm sorry about that.

Kim you can repeat all you like that you understand but that's all it is. You don't demonstrate you understand just as you often demonstrate that you don't get the issues underlying feminism.

And here we have Tiggy, a man, to tell us he's sure not only this gym is rushing to resolve the issue but gyms all over the country are pre-emptively resolving potential IT issues.

Don't worry, ladies, no need to concern yourselves, the techies are jumping to it.

YY, flora.

I struggle with this attitude (sorry, tiggy, but I do). I would love to think it did work like this, but IME it doesn't. Someone pointed out earlier today that women have been qualifying as doctors for about a century. It's been commonplace to meet women doctors all through my life. These systems have all been designed (and, I would think, multiply redesigned) many, many times within the period in which people ought to be aware that it's offensive to assume doctors cannot be women.

They won't sort it out immediately. It doesn't happen like that. I wish it did.

You must know that tiggy. You can't be the first ever man to work in your profession, so they must've known that 'ladies' loos' was a stupid idea.

I can't quote but you have called me a mysoginist on here.

You can't quote me, because I haven't said it.

There are no deleted posts on here. If I had said it, you would be able to quote it. The reason you can't, is that I didn't say it.

You owe me a big apology. This is not about 'how i feel'. It's about you lying about what I have said. It's not on.

Flora said "And here we have Tiggy, a man, to tell us he's sure not only this gym is rushing to resolve the issue but gyms all over the country are pre-emptively resolving potential IT issues. "

I Said "The gym issue, I dare say that all over the country there are businesses checking their computer systems to avoid sexism."

If you ran a gym wouldn't you check your systems right now?

Well, what we'd do isn't going to be terribly representative, tiggy!

All I can say is, there are stories like this every few years, and nothing really changes.

I'd have thought that something going wrong in a certain way for somebody would mean everybody else would check to see if it could happen to them. Whether it's about car accidents, food safety, bank charges, hear about something bad happening and you think could this happen to me? Is that just me?

If I ran a gym I would:

(a) see no need for hi-tech locks

(b) train my staff to deal courteously with customers

Yes, tiggy I'd have liked to think so too, but sadly, it is just you and me, and a few million women whose views aren't held to matter.

Otherwise, how do you explain the fact banks and so on regularly misgender us and assign us the wrong titles? It'd be sorted by now if it were that easy.

Because i don't really see the issue with a little wait until it's sorted. You get your title but not your doctrate.

You don't see the issue with saying someone cannot have their normal title - which is what Dr is - because of their gender?

My doctorate is a qualification. Dr is my title.

When I signed my latest contract the stated correct uniform was the shirt provided and black trousers or skirt.

Genuine questions, what's the issue with that? A generic contract that mentions ladies clothing? I've signed contracts that mentioned ties etc. It did not occur to me have an issue with it. The governess thing/ladies loo is a different story.

I'm curious about the "board of governors though" I'm not British so forgive me if I am wrong is that not assuming anyone in charge will be male and anyone working in the nursery will be female? And the default female not actually being as important in the company?

Kim

The point that has been made is that this sort of thing happens all the time, repeatedly. And it never is changed. It comes up again and again and again.

So it is not just a matter of waiting a short while for a tech matter to be resolved. It is dealing with this same thing constantly.

And it is the misogyny behind the assumption that women will not have academic qualifications, the default male Dr.

Frankly, if the woman in question had not gone to the press, I very much doubt they would have bothered to change anything. She would have been fobbed off with "soon - tomorrow - definitely by next time" over and over again.

I've got a fair few female mates who wear ties. And a couple of male mates who have been known to wear skirts.

I'm not quite sure why it's an issue either, but the ladies loo thing is, I agree, just absurd.

buffy - I don't care if my title is gender neutral, but I do care if my title indicates that I am a man. And that is what we are being told this gym did.

I don't want a gendered title.

At least you still get a title that reflects your gender.

For fucks' sake, I don't even know where to begin with this. Is that supposed to make women feel better? Never mind, dear, that your hard work and achievement are not recognised because thousands of years of oppression of women are still so ingrained in our society that a computer programmer can't conceive of a woman being a doctor, at least your membership of that class of oppressed persons is recognised in your title (as well as your ownership status with a member of the oppressor class). It could be worse as you could be a member of the oppressor class whose feelings of belonging to the oppressed class might not be acknowledged.

You're still not getting it.