Come Join In The Singletrack Women's Forum!

Define ‘women’.

runs and hides

This is why Singletrack rules! You lot are the best!

I was going to ask about the non-binary forum but this one already seems to default to hex sometimes ...

@nwgiles ‘Access is granted on the basis of selecting the pronouns ‘She/Her/Hers’ in your user profile. If you identify with these pronouns you are welcome in the Women’s Forum.’

Great idea, I hope it is successful....and that we are not flooded with 'men matter too' type comments from some of the children.

Will it be Mumsnet stylee?

Think it's a great idea to garner engagement from women. For us fellas that can't access it, be interesting if you can provide an update on how it's going e.g. uptake and activity.

Will it be Mumsnet stylee?

Odd that you think the Mumsnet forum is much different to the STW Chat forum. Swap "hammer in the sausages" for "taken up the Oxo Tower" and it's pretty much the same thing.

Great idea. Hope it really takes off. Nice one.

Oooh - I'm in.

Hope it really takes off.

In a way, I hope it doesn't. There are too few female voices on this forum already and it would be a shame if we lost those. However, maybe it will help get a few "new" women into STW-land and they might dare to venture over to the smelly side once in a while 🙂

Will it be Mumsnet stylee?

Like the current STW forum you mean?

I think STW would need to disable the swear filter and actively encourage swearing to compete with Mumsnet

back in the day, there were quite a few women who contributed regularly to the topic/threads.

loads even attended the STW rides.

sad state of affairs that they dont contribute anymore, for whatever reason.

and a woman's forum is a great idea. hope it goes well.

Women on bicycles?

They'll be wanting the vote next....

Like the current STW forum you mean?

STW forum is primary school compared to Mumsnet university

Like women only club rides, I'm a little disappointed that "the club/forum" seems to put off women, but I understand that if this makes them feel involved and hopefully more confident in engaging on the main forum, I'm all for it.

I used to comment/post regularly in the main forum but stopped because, well tbh, if you weren't one of the cool kids it felt like you didn't count.

Just as a matter of interest, how are you going to police the 'you can't have two profiles' issue?

I used to comment/post regularly in the main forum but stopped because, well tbh, if you weren’t one of the cool kids it felt like you didn’t count.

thats a terrible shame if you feel like that

...it's a shame people made you feel like that.

I think @tjagain did a fine job of clarifying my exact point!

Sorry Kip!

Edit - said better by mrchrist "it’s a shame people made you feel like that. "

I think a womens forum is a great idea and I hope it leads to more women posting on the existing forum.

A genuine question of why does it need a separate forum?

I thought these days the Omnigender forum (yes I had to Google that) forum was quite balanced and grown up now that we are all getting old codgers and past our teenage years.

I would have thought that the more things are discussed in the open rather than behind closed doors the more society becomes aligned.

Like having a posh person icon, could have icons for those who want to identify themselves as being different

Is this just all a cunning marketing ploy ?

I used to comment/post regularly in the main forum but stopped because, well tbh, if you weren’t one of the cool kids it felt like you didn’t count.

I had/have no idea or not if you are male/female etc etc.surly that is the beauty of a forum? Do people identifying as male really make it difficult for other people to post on a forum ?

I thought these days the Omnigender forum (yes I had to Google that) forum was quite balanced and grown up now that we are all getting old codgers and past our teenage years.

Thanks dude, that's given me a great laugh on this rather damp Saturday morning.

Do people identifying as male really make it difficult for other people to post on a forum ?

It might be the ladies aren't interested in the circle-jerk shit-fests even the most innocuous threads often become. And fair play to them.

Do people identifying as male really make it difficult for other people to post on a forum ?

clearly they do from the response

The Ayatollah will be pleased.

if you weren’t one of the cool kids it felt like you didn’t count

I've got bar ends and a Rohloff hub, and I still own several items of '90s neon lycra. The trick is to be so uncool, that you actually end up cooler than the cool kids.

As someone who’s dipped in and out of the STW forum since its beginnings, I’ve generally found it a positive, respectful and helpful place to be. However as I hurtle towards the big 50 and the menopause, my urge to ride nice bikes in gnarly places shows no sign of settling. Being able to share that (rather rare in the real world) lived experience with others going through the same thing - and its associated challenges - would be ace if nothing else. I reckon it’d add to the STW platform, not take away from it.

Cheers Hannah!

Good that it's going to happen.
A shame that it needs to happen.

Being able to share that (rather rare in the real world) lived experience with others going through the same thing – and its associated challenges – would be ace if nothing else

It’s a shame that you don’t feel open to share that kind of stuff in an open forum. It is interesting to see the number of posts over the last few years of men approaching their 50’s + and the challenges it brings for them.

The more we all share our experiences and challenges in life the more we can accept our differences and understand the difference between men and women IMO

You reckon? Or is it just that a women’s experience of mountain biking as a sport can be a little different to men’s sometimes. (Mention trying to clear a jump with brain fog to a bloke, and they don’t get it, bless ‘em.)

I envisage still using both. To quote Jo Cox, on STW, we’ve more in common than what divides us. However, there’s nothing like comparing notes about a shared lived experience (sounding like a social science researcher here) to make it feel a little less lonely out there when you’re the only woman on the uplift bus on a grim November day.

Hey Alexa - can you give me an example of showing me something's a good idea without actually saying 'that's a good idea'

Mention trying to clear a jump with brain fog to a bloke, and they don’t get it, bless ‘em.

I've been learning a lot about that recently. Won't fully understand it, but we have a codeword so I know.

I envisage still using both.

This

Good idea to try to create a space where people feel more comfortable to engage. Hope it works and also encourages a more diverse mix on the main forum.

Can we have a separate 'politics' sub forum to make the main forum a nicer place to be?😂

Tasha - I too will be using both.
My own contribution to STW is usually 'nature' related. It's a subject I know something about and feel 'safe' typing about it on the chat forum.
The Bike side of the forum has always been full of info, even for the minority of mtbers which are women.

If anything the new forum will be a source of information and we won't get the 'big hitters' interfering 'wink'. :o)

It might be the ladies aren’t interested in the circle-jerk shit-fests even the most innocuous threads often become. And fair play to them.

and what about the blokes who aren't interested in the circle-jerk shit-fests. Think this says more about the overall state of the forum, esp off topic threads, than anything else.

BTW, good luck with this Hannah, hope it works out. And maybe brings something back to the main forum, though I think FunkyDunc makes a decent point- segregation is frowned upon in most other aspects of life

It feels a bit disappointing that this is needed/wanted. But I guess in an open forum world where without a bit of exclusion conversations are dominated by mansplainers who can't help themselves even when it is obvious to everyone else they have little positive to contribute, this is the consequence. Like in a village pub where the resident pub bore at the bar feels able to lean into every conversation with their 2ps worth so in the end you move out to the garden even though it's drizzling.

Edit - I've just mansplained right there haven't I!

I'm looking forward to this.

Thanks Hannah 😎

though I think FunkyDunc makes a decent point- segregation is frowned upon in most other aspects of life

Woman only spaces are not about creating segregation. It’s about empowering woman in settings whether they are currently underrepresented/experience barriers. It is a lot easier to do something, if you see others like you doing them (whatever your attributes).

Thanks Hannah

No credit due to me. This is Mark’s doing. I think Jenn educated him well.

So does this mean us Neanderthal guys now get the Friday Kylie thread back? 😉