I see the main thread of the moment has been sensibly closed. So if we can perhaps return to the wider topic and try and gauge some general consensus from people.

QUESTION: Would it be good if STW was a more welcoming place for ladies?

If possible, select one from the answers below:

1) Yes

2) No

3) It doesn’t need to be more welcoming, it is quite welcoming enough

4) I don’t really care whether ladies use the forum or not

5) I’d rather ladies didn’t come here so we can use as much banter as we like without worry

Obviously I know a fair few genuinely don’t care and will roll eyes at the thought of yet another thread on the issue, but I suspect that I am not the only lady who feels that actually, it may need some more discussion.

Ta 🙂

QUESTION: Would it be good if STW was a more welcoming place for ladies[b]everyone[/b]?

If possible, select one from the answers below:

1) Yes

😀

Obviously I know a fair few genuinely don’t care and will roll eyes at the thought of yet another thread on the issue,

This.

3

Sorry Phil, I deliberately chose not to use the ‘everyone’ option. I am really interested in the viewpoint regarding ladies.

3

Do we have to do this? Everyone welcome.

Edit

3

3) It doesn’t need to be more welcoming, it is quite welcoming enough

Fundamentally it is a lovely group of people. We just need to check ourselves every now and then.

5

6) we all know there arn’t any real ladies here and those that claim to be ‘ladies’ are in fact 14 year old boys or*
.
.
.
.
.
*Excepting those that I’ve actually met in real life…

STW, in my opinion, should welcome all comers – including ladies.

Think you should be questioning the persons whom mad such comments.
STW themselves acted upon the situation.

Can we just stop these of the cuff threads now

I refuse to answer on the grounds that your username is inherently sexist, given that it infantilises your gender.

Also, I’m back and this forum is still too sexy.

6

3

fair enough, i see where you’re coming from…. but for me the issue extends past the sex of the forum user, young people are openly mocked in a ‘dont worry half term will be over soon’, road riders are torn into, XC riders are called ‘jeyers’, anybody wearing a full-face helmet is a stormtrooper, anybody using suspension is overbiked.

overall i think its a pretty welcoming place but everyone gets ripped into at some point. its a pretty ‘male’ thing to take this piss and be offensive towards people you like.

1.

As I said in *that* thread the sport and this forum are all the better for the fact that women participate and I’ve no problem with some positive action being taken to encourage more.

Even BC have got the idea 🙂

http://www.goskyride.com/breeze

1) Yes

And to show how commited I am, here is a picture of a sweet kitten just to make the ladies feel more welcome. We all know how much ladies love kittens.

Seems to me that there are many posters just falling over themselves to be as welcoming as possible.

Never have I seen a forum with so many so keen to jump on and decry any real or trumped-up displays of sexism, racism, homophobia or any other ism you care to mention. It’s also pretty heavily moderated and reported posts are actively dealt with, and bans handed out regularly for those who cross the line.

I’m genuinely curious – what more do you want?

3) and 4)

i think that we should fill our diversity quotants.

if not, the kittens get it.

Oh come on, we dont need to do this

Didnt the massive and sustained response from the majority on the last thread make it clear enough how welcoming the participants are of everyone EXCEPT the moronic and the purile?

3

Maybe we could have an cooking, needlework & ironing forum?

phil you seem to be forgetting singlespeeders and fully rigid as well as many others.
the problem is not that this place is unwelcoming for ladies it’s that there are far too many politically correct do good miserable **** here who complain at every opportunity. get rid of those **** and everyone will feel a lot more welcome.

I dunno, have you seen THE INTERNET lately… 😯
Even a Google Image search for SINGLETRACKWORLD brings up a naked woman…

anyway, 3

It’s an internet forum, if you don’t lots of individuals giving their unreserved opinions go somewhere else. I’m all for a forum representative of the readership/cyclists more generally but it’s not anyone’s place to be false in order to placate others in an open and anonymous medium

I think in general it is very welcoming to all. I would hope the furore of the last couple of days will reduce the sexist nonsense that puts some off.

I don’t think anything further needs to be done

Well, quite a number of actual ladies I’ve spoken to in Real Life say they’re put off using the forum because of dickhead behaviour like we’ve seen these last couple of days, so I’m going to go with 1. Yes.

That’s the genuine opinions of the subjects of such an enquiry, rather than what some blokes think, btw.

As a girl I think its about a minority of people getting off on being cyber bullys and trolls (think that’s what you call them)Its not that easy to walk away from someone in your face who’s bullying you or saying something offensive (I was bullied for 3 years at senior school) but it is easy enough to come off a thread and look for another discussion without leaving the site entirely.

I wouldn’t personally rise to someone I didn’t know or didn’t care to know saying thing mindless about something I didn’t care about I’d just use the off button, unfortunately something I couldn’t do when I was getting my head panned in by a group of peers……

I’ve personally felt welcomed by most and have been challenged on some opinions but that’s different that someone being offensive so on the whole I’d say its an OK place to be as a woman and I’ve seen worse MUCH worse on Mumsnet….!

4) I tend to treat everyone the same – no idea who here is female or male (apart from those with more obvious user names). I’d have thought a mountain biking interest should be the common thread where gender is irrelevant would be the best way to attract all comers, male or female.

I’m male – I have no idea what this place feels to someone who’s a different gender to me.

I could guess but that would be patronising, wouldn’t it?

I don’t know wwaswas what do you think ‘love’? 😉

Sex is irrelevant..

Attitude is.

*flounces*

if this image reflects some element of truth:

then this is a much more welcoming place than mumsnet.

Sex is irrelevant..

You’re married as well I see 🙂

Phil thats a true statement!

Sex is irrelevant..

Attitude is.

That sounds like the tag line for a Nike advert.

Just ban the usual ‘offenders’ and it would be a more welcoming place to all.

And it would make the Mods’ job considerably easier…