Why not simply:
Let the ladies manage the event how they like.
This isn't an event in isolation - it's within the context of a a sport that clearly has some gender issues.
hence the confusion & discussion.
wl - Member
Claiming there's no issue here, or that people are just whinging and being PC for the sake of it, is basically a very Trumpian kind of response: one built either on genuine ignorance of the wider issue, or a conscious and self-serving denial of it.
Nah it's built on years and years of STW hand-wringing
Weren't you in the papers with Wayne Rooney?
Your are a legend PP!! 😀
I agree with kayla and mrs toast.
I wouldn't enter that event. I'm not offended but I am uncomfortable with the "humour" if that's what it's supposed to be. I don't find it ironic or cool or feminist. It's a bit creepy, as well as stupid.
In answer to the OPs question, the answer is NO.
Just as an exercise how would our female contingent react if the organisers were lesbians? Would that put a different slant on the categories?
CG gluten free can be good but maybe not!
Just as an exercise how would our female contingent react if the organisers were lesbians?
The relevance of that exciting new trajectory of discussion being…?
The relevance of that exciting new trajectory of discussion being…?
....an opportunity to think of a snappy name for the race which rhymes "Bikes" with a derogatory term for gay women?
I got nothing.
All sounds a bit cheap and nasty to me. Who willingly wants to be labelled 'Whore' simply to define their age group, regardless of their sexual status. Maybe the under 16s Should be labelled 'Glitter'.
Claiming there's no issue here, or that people are just whinging and being PC for the sake of it, is basically a very Trumpian kind of response: one built either on genuine ignorance of the wider issue, or a conscious and self-serving denial of it.
There is another possibility that you've overlooked of course.
Hell no.
Firstly it makes me uncomfortable, and secondly this seems childish and like one mighty step backwards in more positive recognition for female riders.
It's irony/ a joke between women - get over it
Northwind and Rickon have it about right
Apologies all there were chores to do. To explain more fully.
When heterosexual men refer to whores this is generally deemed to be derogatory, outwith taking the piss between very good friends.
If a homosexual woman takes the same approach is this also derogatory? I'm unable to answer this as I'm the wrong sex, hence my question.
My apologies Bez that my idle curiosity was below your expectations.
Edit; I have little or no conscious social experience with the homosexual side of society. I may have friend who are homosexual but I neither know nor care if they are.
My sister found it funny but crude
Didn't we have this exact discussion last year too?
Imo, organised by women, for women, they can call the categories whatever they want. Just a bit of fun.
Well Mrs and Miss taxi found it a bit amusing in a slight smile sort of way, but not the least offended but they are a pretty bawdy pair of women. But they did find some of the comments on this thread absolutely hysterical 😆 I'm not sure they even knew people such as some posters on here even existed !!
male category version:
limp wrist
virgin
your mate dan
hugh hefner
Mens:
Babies
Virgins
Stalkers
Dirty Old Men
Well my wife wasn't impressed with my little experiment, turns out I was right and calling women whores hasn't suddenly become socially acceptable...
Anyway by way of an explanation I pointed her at this thread and the enduro maiden entry page. Once her disbelief had died down she asked a simple question...
Couldn't they just have gone with "wench" instead of "whore"?
TBH she's got a point...
But then she is married to a PC, handwringer, so we should probably ignore it... 😉
Kayla, Mrs Toast and WL +1.
It's not funny or "cool". It's crass.
It's a bit like having a male only event where the categories were 'Bald Bollocks', 'Chronic Masturbators' 'Sexual Prime' and 'Floppy Dicks'.
It's plain dumb.
I'm not offended - How could I be? I didn't enter they event, and I'm not a woman.
However, this does seem regressive: the organizers are literally defining competitors (in a women-only event) in sexual terms.
Would it be sexist if they did it an a men's event? Surely, the point is that they don't do that?
Granted, it's not super-overt 1970s sexism, but small things like this (and the objectification of women as "podium girls", or draped over sports cars/bike tyres in bikinis) have a cumulative effect in society and so do matter.
I have some time for the rationale that it's a group of women taking ownership of a derogatory term.... but really I just think that it's somebody (who's a bit tone-deaf) trying to be funny/edgy.
Seems fine. Go find something else to froth and handwring over.
As I said before, it seems some women DO find it at least purile/irritating and some find it offensive. Perhaps they're all frothing handwringers too but it does seem daft to alienate possible entrants in what is an undersubscribed section of our sport.
I think it's regressive to sexualise the age catogories in this way especially as it seems to be a successful and influential event in the mountain biking world.
[quote=oldtalent ]Seems fine. Go find something else to froth and handwring over.
that you can no longer say no dogs, no blacks, no irish - is that what upsets you ?
I look forward to you addressing all females as whores seeing as its "fine"
the organizers are literally defining competitors (in a women-only event) in sexual terms.
oldtalent - Member
Seems fine
atlaz - Member
it seems some women DO find it at least purile/irritating and some find it offensive. Perhaps they're all frothing handwringers too.
Just picking up on that point.
I know some women, ohh I do, in fact some of my best friends are women. 😆
So, these women handwringers. Do they fancy a job? It's been a while, y'no...
😆 😉
that you can no longer say no dogs, no blacks, no irish - is that what upsets you ?I look forward to you addressing all females as whores seeing as its "fine"
Good point well made Junkyard
It's irony/ a joke between women - get over it
The irony of that remark is that most of the women mountain bikers on this thread (and the women that were asked for their opinion by other folks who have commented) don't find it either funny or ironic.
It's not funny/mad/crazy/zany/ironic/insert A. N. Other qualifier here, it's just dull. Dull as owt. Dull on a stick, even.
If there are going to be women-only races I want them to be [u]races[/u]. I'll race any ****er, me, because I'm a chippy cow with an inferiority complex, so if I'm thinking of entering your* event I want to be in a category that makes me feel like I [i]can[/i] race any ****er, not some shitty crazy/zany/wacky 'in' joke** name for a category that's almost a throwback to the 70s. My mother-in-law, etc... Don't get me wrong, I'm not a humourless shrew and I'll happily break out the C-word as and when it's called for 😆
* not 'your' personally, 'your' generally.
** I do get that 'whore' isn't meant in the usual sense here, it just means someone who can't get enough of racing enduros. Still lame, mind.
it seems some women DO find it at least purile/irritating and some find it offensive. Perhaps they're all frothing handwringers too.
Given that that the event was well subscribed, with plenty of women apparently being fine with the category names, maybe the organisers were quite happy that they wouldn't attract a section of women riders that wouldn't see the funny side?
A little (very little) bit like SSUK shouting it's shonky bollocksness from the rafters - stony-faced roadie type points racers with no sense of fun are warned off, and the event is what it is as a result.
So I checked with some whore friends, they said they didn't want to be associated with filthy mtbers.
A little (very little) bit like SSUK shouting it's shonky bollocksness from the rafters - stony-faced roadie type points racers with no sense of fun are warned off, and the event is what it is as a result.
Not even a [i]very[/i] little bit like that. Decent effort though!
'If I have to explain it, you won't understand' springs to mind here. There's no red-faced frothing outrage at all, just indifference to the event because of the category names. It's the same kind of thinking that causes ads for women-only group rides to mention there'll be cake and coffee after. FFS, I know there'll be cake and coffee/tea/whatever because 1) I like cake and tea and 2) I'll probably be ****ing starving at some point in the ride so, yes, I will stopping for something to eat- you* don't have to reinforce the fact that We're Women Out Riding Bikes In A Male-Dominated World And Aren't We Awesome For Having A Go.
It's the organiser's fault for not being confident enough in their event that they've used such 'naughty' (giggle, etc...) names for the categories. We don't need 'permission' to ride or race bikes but these category names seek to 'make it ok' for us to have a go. It's not feminist at all in the slightest ever, it's just a bit shit and 'Oh? Really? This? [i]Again[/i]? Are we still doing this?'
* not 'you' personally, 'you' generally.
kayla, with you 100%. See my comment early on page 1. I've got 3 nieces, 8-11 (different families if you're scratching your head at the maths!) and in a little way, I represent mountain biking to them. I think it's a brilliant sport/activity/pastime/way of seeing the country and I'd be very happy if they got into it. I'd be a bit upset and embarrassed for the sport if they saw this race and the categories. I might be being overprotective over sensitive, but I'd feel like I had some extra work/explaining to do.
Just doing a little devils advocating, thought experimenting up there^.
It's the same kind of thinking that causes ads for women-only group rides to mention there'll be cake and coffee after.
Jeez, that's just wrong.
Any decent ride should have cake and coffee [i]during[/i] as well.
nedrapier, I got it! 😀
My niece (7) is into boxing and kickboxing and I'd love her to grow up knowing she can do anything she wants (within the law, obvs, and abiding by Rule #1) and doesn't need permission from anyone to do (or be) anything she wants.
I'm not militant about this sort of stuff, just forthright. Like I said before, I'll race any ****er, me!
edit- Bez, well, yes, [i]obviously[/i]... 🙄 😆
Wouldn't put me off no (I'm a female btw), I can understand that it may offend some folk but all I see is this... event organisers (who ever they are, I don't know them btw) are just probably trying to spice things up and add a bit of humour to their events, if anything it has caused plenty of publicity and a bit of a stir around women's mountain biking, which I think is a good thing, well played!
Life can be far too serious sometimes and there's more important things to worry and complain about that category names in a MTB event, which people very kindly go out of their way and put a lot of time and effort into organising.
I do get that 'whore' isn't meant in the usual sense here, it just means someone who can't get enough of racing enduros. Still lame, mind.
Thank christ , mind breaking it down for those that clearly don't despite having it explained already?
Just a thought, instead of moaning about it on here has anyone who is in a reasonable position (ie. the few women who have commented here) to make a case against it contacted Air Maiden to voice their concerns? If you think it's regressive or whatever then nothing will change if you don't do something about it.
(I should add that I feel pretty much the same though can see where the joke is and that this is how in-jokes get folk into trouble. However given I'm not eligible to compete I don't feel it's in any way my business to force my views on the organisers)
Businesses can be self limiting. If even 20% of potential racers are put off it could make or break the event in the long run as I'd imagine that once you've been put of Air Maiden events, you wouldn't go back to check out whether they're still using the names that put you off.
It's like the bike shops around where I work who complain they don't get enough business during the week but close at lunch (so they can ride) and are done for the day at 5pm. I can't get to them during the week and at the weekend I'd have to drive past bike shops to get to them. So bollocks to them, if their own "concept" causes them harm, that's natural selection.
Disclaimer: I am a man, with a penis and everything.
I marshalled enduro maiden last year, friends of mine did it, on the day nobody really gave a shit about it. It came from "race virgin", like "if you're a race virgin, what is this person that's done 1000 races" I thought it was a bit weird but it's basically trivial compared to all the positives it had- last year (don't know about this year) it was a proper full-on enduro race using EWS stages at the golfy, and a huge number of the entrants had never done any race before let alone something as daft as this. It was fantastic.
Lynn does ace events and she gets things done that other people don't. Perfect example: the people at the golf course usually hate us, bikers park in their car park and get in the way. She convinced them to provide parking, the club house, and a wee army of marshalls. Unbelievable.
rs - MemberDo the entrants get a 20s head start if they ride a cove bike with a funny name?
I suspec the head marshall rides a Cove bike with a funny name so probably not
kayla wins the thread
[quote=squirrelking ]Just a thought, instead of moaning about it on here has anyone who is in a reasonable position (ie. the few women who have commented here) to make a case against it contacted Air Maiden to voice their concerns? If you think it's regressive or whatever then nothing will change if you don't do something about it.
Somebody could just send them a link to this thread (and before anybody asks why don't I, it would be better if a potential customer did).
Smashing. Do I win a fiver? I won a Ladybird 'Space' book at school BITD, this one-
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[quote=kayla1 ]Smashing. Do I win a fiver?
No, just the adulation of a load of middle aged blokes. Sorry.
Oh 🙁
It's obvious they're using the word "whore" with the more modern meaning of using something a lot.
Still, it's a bit silly.
