No doubt this has been suggested many times before......but after coming back from the Ripley meet, I cant stop thinking why there isnt an area on the HUBB which is dedicated to female specific queries.

I cannot stress enough thats not to say its "women only" by any stretch of the imagination, in fact quite the opposite; we (well I certainly do) rely on you guys to help me with all things bike and travel related....but there are lots of questions I have posted which I need an answer centered on being a woman; be that a male's reponse or another female. And of course other women users can go straight to that area to hand over expertise they may have.

The presentation/discussion held by Susan at the Ripley meet for women only, could have gone on and on and on. One hour was just not enough. And the topics covered anything from safety for women, the perfect bike for a small woman, whether to pass your test or be a pillion, and of course "girly" stuff.

I dont know if some women would get offended by the introduction of a woman's corner on HUBB on the basis that "anything they can do we can do" works fine.....I dont know. All I know is that it would be great to be able to post some threads and know that it is highlighted as a female tainted perspective. I sometimes get anxious to post threads because of my lack of knowledge or experience, and wonder how many other women, maybe partners of HUBBers, that dont for the same reason?

In the presentation with Susan one woman asked if anyone had done a solo trip, and I think one woman out of a room of maybe 30-40 women had. I dont think we can deny that it is still not a woman's world - adventure biking that is - and I wonder whether if there was more specific support that would change. I for one want to hear from other women that have had trouble with off-roading, but persisted and came out the other side, or from women that have had trouble changing tyres, or from men as to the best dual-sport bike for a 5ft 5 woman, or how much bike mechanics do we really need to know before setting off?!

Anyway, rant over! Cheers guys

Char

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Don't be scared your life may end,
Be scared that it may never begin.......

I suppose there is a danger that women may only ever post in this section and not converse with the rest of HUBB, but would that really happen - I wonder what other downsides there are?

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Don't be scared your life may end,
Be scared that it may never begin.......

it could be a good idea. The "women on the road" discussion, which I missed once again last weekend at Ripley is very popular.
And with a DVD specifically for women coming out, it would make sense to have a little forum for specific women questions!

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I dont think a womans section is needed. I dont like it when women do things lik ethat - Men don't have a ' mans ' section.

I can't see the need for it to be honest.

But thats just my opinion.

A Man's perspective:

I always find it frustrating that women are treated differently in the motorcycle world. It's either assumed that a female is a pillon or some sort of 'superhuman' if they actually ride. I've never understood this and it aggravates me.

That said, I do understand that some women are going to feel more comfortable talking about gender specific topics with others who understand.

Let's face it, there's no 'Men only' section because we don't need to discuss the merits of menstrual sponges or 'she wee' nor are we treated as sex objects or as people who are required to cover our faces and arms in certain cultures. We basically have it easy.

I'm also not sure about having a 'women's section' but the 'women only' talks always seem to be well attended and well received. I think on balance that gender specific questions are just as valid as any other in the existing framework. I also think that some of us chaps stand to learn something and understand a bit more if the questions aren't hidden away in a separate section.

It's a difficult balance to strike but I think the culture on the HUBB is sufficiently open minded not to be intimidating to women who want to post - I certainly hope that is the case.


Just my 2p

Mmmmmm I think this is a tricky one!

The womens only meet at HU is always good to ask those particular questions without feeling intimidated but to be honest I never have felt like that on the HUBB. The guys can provide just as good insight into things and if they can't they usually can discuss what their partner did whilst travelling.

As others have mentioned previously, there is no man only section as on the HUBB everyones the same.

Besides when I have a womens question, I just put that in my heading.