blatant sexism

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

[QUOTE=Zen;351925

"If you saw a male wearing this apron would you say the same thing?"[/QUOTE]

In all fairness, if I had been in the same situation and the guy employee was wearing an apron that reminded me of a kitchen worker or BBQ outfit, I might have said the same joke about cooking something too. It would have been based on the apron, not on his gender. Now, if you had not been wearing an apron at all- then that would have been bad!

And Yes, I have run into LBS employees (both male and female) who know very little about bikes- they are just there to help with inventory or fill in or something. I hate describing my bike situation and my question to someone only to find out they know way less than me about it. I sometimes ask first if they know about bike stuff.

But in general, yes there is too much assumption that men know more than women about bikes.

[DebW]

I can tell you that the sexism against female bike mechanics is much less now than in 1973. Though I'm also comparing my 17 year old self with my 52 year old self and age may make a difference in people's perceptions. In 1973, almost every day (or several times a day) I'd have someone ask "Can I talk to a mechanic?" when they heard my voice over the phone. I'd usually just ask what they needed and answer their questions. But sometimes I'd get so sick of the question and having to explain myself all the time that I'd hand the phone to a guy. I think I've gotten that question once in the past 2 months that I've been a professional mechanic again.

I don't wear an apron in the shop. But the manager and one of the male employees do. No one has ever asked them about cooking. We're a small shop, and all employees are mechanics who wait on customers when necessary. I have been asked if I ride a couple of time by customers, because I appear pretty clueless about the things we sell. I am pretty clueless because I've only worked there 2 months and spend my time repairing bikes, not testing out every helmet, pump, and pair of socks we sell. I just have to tell them that I'm a mechanic and refer their questions on bikes and accessories to someone else.