On her blog today, Lisa is telling us about taking care of her car at the gas station, putting air in the tires and looking under the hood when a male customer of the station asked her if she needed any help. He promptly added that he didn’t ask because she was a woman. She didn’t need help so she thanked him nicely and he left.
I consider myself to be an independent person and most people would say I am a feminist. I hate it when men assume I can’t do things outside of the usual « feminine » realm, yet like Lisa, I can’t help being nice to men who offer their help. I always thank men who open doors for me but I also open doors for them (and for other women as well) and I expect to be thanked! Men hardly ever thank me though. They either don’t notice, or they look at me funny. Still, I continue to be courteous. I believe in random acts of kindness (yep, that clich�!) and since this is the kind of world I want to live in, I figured I better start working at it, one gesture at a time.
I suggested a little experiment to Lisa. Next time she’s at the gas station and she sees a guy looking under his hood, I think she should ask him if he needs any help. I am really curious to see how most men would react if a woman did something like that. Would they laugh at her or snob her? Would they say no and feel offended? Would they look around to find the hidden camera? Would they think she’s coming on to them? Would they say yes just to see what a woman is able to do with a car and/or stare at her body while she gets the work done? Or would they just be grateful not to get their hands dirty and let her do the work?
I would do the experiment if I knew anything about cars and if I didn’t look so suspicious on my scooter…
