Okay, cool. So, I'm legitimately asking for feedback, as I clearly failed at communication here.
What did I say to make you think I was generalizing all men as sexist trolls or whatnot? Because, hey - it would be cool for posterity to make it read better.
I did indeed miss the point. Buy hey, including snark in your follow up is a sure fire way to get my attention.
So...this is one:
"HOME BREWING CULTURE".
Culture - the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time
When you say the homebrewing culture is sexist, you refer to the entire group or large majority of that group.
But to use my own words, you wrote, "
I believe that, for whatever reason, the culture of brewing seems to very much be that of a "boys' club". This is the foundation of your framework wherein you identify the culture of brewing being a "boys' club." I'd like to point out that I do not disagree with this statement as I too have stated this prior to your blog post. I wrote in a HBT interview, "home brewing is a boy's club right now…" But the purpose of the quote is to lay foundation for my response. This hobby is a boys' club. Check.
"Sure, I understand that, for whatever reason, craft beer itself seems to be far more popular with men than with women - but that is changing. As craft beer culture overall grows (and craft beer sales continue to carve away market share from the big boys), women are consuming more and more beer; the percentage of total beer consumed by women is steadily increasing. And yet, if you visit any popular online forum for homebrewing, you'll find that female members are all but completely nonexistent."
So you understand home brewing is a boys' club, but then you expand the foundation to craft beer itself. Check. You agree it is more popular with men than women. I do not disagree. Back to my interview, I even mentioned that. You equate the culture (remember this is a man's culture or boys' club) expanding to the reason women want to drink more beer. Thus you draw a line between expanding culture of the boys' club to women consuming more beer and then you take a weird turn back to the actual craft of brewing and state female members are completely (this is quite a word to use) nonexistent. How do you qualify completely here? Do you read the front page articles? The interviews of the women who are standing tall side by side brewers who have been brewing as long as you've been married? My guess is no, otherwise you could no have used the word completely and nonexistent in a full sentence with a straight face.
"Part of the reason behind that, I believe, is due to the culture that is so prevalent among brewers. Terms like SWMBO ("She Who Must Be Obeyed", in reference to one's significant other) litter internet forums."
So your perspective on SWMBO is that the term is off-putting to women? I've actually written the same in this thread but I can see how my wall-o-texts can lead to people missing something. I fully understand. Your opinion on the term is clearly negative. It is an opinion though and shall be deemed as nothing more. This is where you take the turn into claiming the culture, which you have referred to as home brewing AND craft beer drinking, is challenging towards women. Got it.
"Women who post to homebrewing forums are all too often challenged on their content - simply because of their gender - if they can manage to avoid being objectified."
Using this site AND Reddit, I do not see women being objectified in home brewing. I see them being used as a marketing tool on the brewing network. I believe you have mistaken the brewing network's sales tactics to fully represent the craft of home brewing and craft beer drinking. It does not.
Women are challenged on the forums? I see women and men posting responses and if they're wrong (I am GASP wrong from time to time) then I am corrected. That is not challenged, that is corrected. People should correct me when I am wrong. I've never seen anyone decide not to brew @yooper 's fizzy yellow beer recipe because it came from a home brewer with lady bits. So while you want me to qualify my statement, qualify yours, please.
"Try listening to most of the popular brewing podcasts"
And herein lies your true issue; the Brewing Network. If there is another podcast that you're pointing the finger at then you definitely did not imply it. You made it sound very much like the BN is sexist.
"Look, I won't pretend that I've never participated in locker room humor with my buddies. Sure, it's part of being a guy, and if you are alone with other guys, what's the harm?"
So doing this behind closed doors is okay, but you don't dare do it in public? Because it is rude, if I recall you stating. I get it, but if you sit behind closed doors with your wife and speak horrible things of another race, for example, are you not a racist because you don't do it outside your home? If it matters, most things I write on line are things I would say to someone's face. I may not bring up poop or something, but overall, I'm pretty consistent.
"The problem is that we seem to take that small group mentality and apply it to our hobby as a whole."
Who is we? This is where the caveman thing really comes around. The small group mentality, which I think are boys in a locker room, is somehow pushed over into home brewing? Don't you think that a small group of men standing around a pot of boiling wort talking about someone's fine ass and such is not anything less than locker room talk? Locker room talk extends well outside the locker room. But to you it is somehow more harmful because why? It is done outside?
Your use of "we" has narrowed down all men. You state that part of being a guy is when you're with other guys you get to be a pig. Awesome. But you make it seem as though all men are sexist pigs behind closed doors, it's the ones that do it in public that suck. Then you wrap that around and say this behavior is taken to the community. And that is where I believe you lumped every single man into some "culture" and claimed that they make women's lives tough in the home brewing community. If they had kept their crap in check until they all gathered in a locker room then this would not be an issue for you.
"But in homebrewing, we seem to actively encourage this. Why?"
Who is "we"? According to your blog it is all male home brewers. Lumped all together like marshmallows that got splashed with water. How is anyone actively encouraging this? What I do know of you is that you actively encourage being a pig in a locker room, or something that resembles the idea of one, but doing it in public (damn you Brewing Network) is totally not okay.
I'm going to give you this; we're all a little different behind closed doors. I would actually try not to fart in public but I'd fart in my bedroom. Does it make it wrong? Well it is a fart and holding them in can cause issues, but there are times when being different behind closed doors is acceptable. If you find it acceptable to be sexist in a locker room but not in public, then that's your opinion. Are all men like that? I don't know. They've asked me to stop hanging out in men's locker rooms indefinitely.
BTW, I think what you meant to say overall is that you would like to see the hobby be more embracing of women. Not that it needs a woman's touch. Some women act more trashy then some men. I don't think that is what you'd like to see here. In spite of this, my response would have likely been the same. I've have a few hobbies and none have been more embracing than this one. In fact, it may be the reason why it has stuck for me. It certainly isn't the clean up part.
I hope I managed to answer your question or at least clarify why I took away what I took away from your blog. I for one have enjoyed this. I mean, I got hit on, even if it was a joke, I've been empowered and seen members of both genders rally around one another, and I've encountered members here that I would not have encountered otherwise and those members have been both enlightening and entertaining.
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I'm gonna drink some ales & vodka while cleaning bottles & watching Bonanza with my oldest son. He may be 'Andycapped, but we like a lotta the same chit. Funny how life works out. My wife & I used to drink home brews & watch videos on youtube on Fridays. Now that she can't anymore, my son does. cei'est la vei'...
