A Very Short Magazine Review: Woodworking For Women

Seeing this at the Pick 'N Save I purchased a copy. I took it home and read it cover to cover.

It sucks.

No really. It does.

But at least they feature two women on this month's cover.

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Reply to
Unisaw A100
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I agree.

Reply to
My Old Tools

do you get Cosmo too?

dave

Unisaw A100 wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

(not sure this post went thru) anyway, do you get Cosmo and Family Circle too, Keeter-Sue?

dave

Unisaw A100 wrote:

Reply to
Bay Area Dave

Magazines like that usually do.

But then again, maybe a woman somewhere will start out scroll sawing a bunny fence, like it, and end up with something featured in FWW or a juried show!

I've known men who jumped into the pool because of some el' lamo Family Handyman article.

Barry

Reply to
B a r r y

Yeah, but FH didn't start out lame.

I picked up a copy of Woodworking for Women and put it back in about 2 minutes. A quick glance showed that it was writing down to its audience while pretending to write up to it.

Hate to see it, because there's no need for that, though a good woodworking mag for women should do well enough to stay around. I'm just not sure how they can position it so the woodworking instruction, tool tests and projects will be much, or any, different than those in non-gender isolated magazines.

Have it all written by women? Maybe, but pick women like Barb Siddiqi and Carol Reed to start, I think. People who have been woodworkers for a good length of time and know what is going on in the shop beyond the scroll saw.

Charlie Self "An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's entire existence." Honore de Balzac

Reply to
Charlie Self

Not just the magazine, the whole cosmo-line.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

Ayup - Safeway had it here.

Ayup. Also thought it was somewhere between demeaning and insulting.

Reply to
mttt

You whacked off into the knee well?

UA100

Reply to
Unisaw A100

My, what a poor attitude. Bring a glass or water??? This is the 21st century and you should recognize that any woman is capable or more than that. She should be making iced tea. And serving the lemon slice on the side. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

No, no - Former secretary, if you could call her that.

Reply to
MN Guy

She whacked off into the knee well?

UA100

Reply to
Unisaw A100

Can someone please explain to me what exactly it is that women do different than men when it comes to woodworking. I mean, we have, specifically for women only, wwg magazines, lectures, and workshops (and, etc. , I'm sure).

What's the deal?

Maybe once you he-men 'splain this to me, I can "correct" my style accordingly cause I sure didn't realize ww'g is one of those gender specific kinda things.

Thanx Renata

Reply to
Renata

Renata asks:

I'm too old and creaky to be a he-man anymore, but...my take: I think women in woodworking is seen now as a larger market segment than ever before, thus the attempt to cater to it with special publications, web sites, on-line newsletters, etc. When I worked for a retail mail order company, I tried to implement some extra interest by including women woodworkers in a series of interviews, but the interviews went over like a wet...oops. With my bosses, that is. I ran a couple of interviews with men, interviewed Carol Reed and wrote the article, interviewed one other woman and was ready to go with that, when I was told that an article I'd done on Lonnie Bird didn't meet my boss's standards. She had two big complaints: She had never heard of Lonnie Bird (Internet marketing director of one of the bigger mail order woodworking tool and supplies companies so you'd think she would occasionally listen during a product meeting...if at no other time); I spent too much time with Mr. Bird and his new school and not enough with the company, though I mentioned the 3 books he'd written that the company carried (at least 2 mentions per book, IIRC).

Otherwise, there just doesn't seem to be much difference. The fact that a woman is interested in woodworking is still something of a curiosity to some people, so they see a market differentiation where there really is none.

In other words, a new source of bucks, or, as I was taught to call it by an MBA: a cash cow that just joined the herd.

Charlie Self "In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office." Ambrose Bierce

Reply to
Charlie Self

Well you probably don't have to scratch your balls as often when the shop gets all hot and humid. Then again, I don't have to dig clumps of sawdust out of my bra... :)

Unless you freehand a router with your pinkies extended, I'm fairly certain we do woodworking pretty much the same. ;>

Michael Who thinks the magazine in question is so condescending it's an embarrassment to the entire wwing community.

Reply to
Michael Baglio

hey, everybody knows that woodworking is a guy thing. I mean it's obvious that gurlz can't use tools. besides, aren't they supposed to be off somewhere playing with dolls or something?

computers too. everybody knows that gurls can't use computers....

sheesh......

Reply to
bridger

I guess it's because women who are in woodworking should be making things like dolls and pukey ducks. When they're not fetching their husband a cold drink while he's doing the real woodworking, that is. So, if you're making furniture, you'd better stop right now and call your husband to take over. If you don't have a husband, well, you'd better put the whole woodworking thing on hold for now and get that straightened out first.

todd

Reply to
todd

Renata, you are more unusual than you might believe. I think the distance between women and woodworking has a lot to do with the female mindset. She believes she can't do it more than he believes she can't.

Societally we've been led to believe we have innate roles and interests. As a stay-at-home dad for 5 years, I've been bucking tradition - and have read many articles on men as primary caregivers - and have felt uncomfortable in public at times. When folks step outside their traditional roles, it certainly doesn't hurt to have others let you know it's an OK direction you've taken. As time passed, I become less and less concerned about my abilities and other's perceptions about stay-at-home dading; similarly, I'd guess that the women who continue with woodworking will gravitate to mainstream publications and worry less about being out of their "female" role.

Reply to
Fly-by-Night CC

Renata,

You, my wife, and some women I hang out with are on the same page.

I'm probably gonna get hammered for this somehow, because somebody's going to misconstrue it, but here goes. Some women STILL, in 2004, feel intimidated to participate in certain activities if they are outnumbered by men.

One of my woman friends, whom I mountain bike with on a regular basis, also leads and arranges women-only rides. This woman will put an awful lot of men to shame on the trail, as well as the ski slope. She leads "chick rides" (her words) out of a sense of duty to the sport, not necessarily because it's her favorite way to ride trails. She has on several occasions described most of the women who seek these opportunities out as having "issues", usually of an inferiority complex type.

Barry

Reply to
B a r r y

I'm thinking maybe you'd need to ask a woman that question.

UA100

Reply to
Unisaw A100

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