My WASP reading has made me think of my own experiences of women in male dominated workplaces.

As a sailor I have seen several. Not a whole lot, but several and it's been interesting because they get divided into two distinct cateegories and it's sort of a love/hate deal.

The minute they drag out the chick card I chalk them off. Right then and there. It wasn't going to end well.

On the other hand, every single one that comes into the business to make a living or answer a calling has done well. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. 

They may not arrive very skilled but that didn't last very long. They were motivated fast learners and were not afraid to ask for help. They also knew they were being tested and if they were sent to get a bucket of prop wash or something like that either they didn't take the bait or returned sheepishly and knew it wasn't personal and that the guys did $hit like that to newbies as a matter of a rite of passage. They were newbies and that's what happens to newbies. The good ones took it in stride. They were there to make a living in their chosen field and were willing to stand the gaff.

Every single woman that I have seen play the chick card didn't last long.

One of them had actually been raised on a tugboat mainly by her father who was a tug skipper. It was clearly in her blood. She was an excellent boat handler. She was also smart, knew boats and knew men and later became a respected captain. In fact she showed she had integrity when she stuck up for someone being falsely accused of something.

Another one was a quiet, almost shy woman that was a girlie girl. She'd knit afghans during waiting times often and she made sure to wear a piece of feminine clothing, generally a blouse or a sweater. It waas a slick trick because it stood to be a quiet reminder she was a woman. 

Trying to be one of the guys never seems to work out well. Smart women know this and are simply women in a male dominated field.

I got along very well with her. Early on she was docking a loaded oil barge in snotty weather and I could tell she was nervous so I keyed the handy-talkie mic and said, "Settle down, Sweetie. You've done this before. Maybe we ought to get the hell out of here before we tear something up and try another approach."

Sure enough, that's what she did and nestled it into the dock so gently you wouldn't have cracked an egg if one was glued to the dock.

About a year later she had a frigged up crew change and missed her flight to Logan. I was headed to visit family in the Boston area so I gave her a ride to Quincy where she could catch the subway and then grab a train home from there. On the way she introduced me to WAZE which was new then and WAZE has saved me aa lot of time in traffic.

There were a handful of people that resented women. I remember a couple of grouchy old farts with undounded weird fears of whatever.

There were also a handful of guys that really didn't want women there and most of them shared the same reasoning. "If my wife finds out that there are women working out here she'd pitch a fit and probably try to drag me ashore!" While it really didn't hold a lot of water, I could understand their attitude. It did make a certain amount of sense.

Then again, who wants to be married to a woman that doesn't trust you. Oh, well.

A couple said that women didn't have the strength but didn't say it twice when I pointed out that he was no real Charles Atlas himself and I'd given him a hand a couple of times before. While the job is often physical it's not that physical.

Truth is I'm not the staunch defender of women, children and minorities. I'd like to think I defend giving everyone a fair shake and that fair knows no race, creed, color, sex or whatever.

I judge basically by three things. 

1.Their ability to do the job

2. Their character

3. Their ability to get along.

The rest is bull$hit.

Then again, you have to remember that working on the water is pretty much a calling as opposed to a job choice.

I've worked with more than one person that's tried to go ashore only to return.

I remember one guy that returned with a foolish look on his face. He'd gone ashore and was miserable but was trying to tough it out on the beach.

Behind his back his wife called the company and got him rehired, gave the man's employer two week's notice and the night before crew change had his seabag packed and told him to go back to sea.

He returned to his old job and sheepishly told me about what his wife had done and grinned when he said "That's when I knew I had married the right woman.

Back on task, it's not just the WASP mess that frosts my ass. That just opened things up and got me started. It's the whole attitude toward not using well trained and willing people to our distinct advantage.  

Edited to add. I just recalled that a few months back there was a discussion of a bomber that carries two crews and has a toilet of some sort and as usual someone asked "What about women?"

"What about them?" I answered. I used to take a pretty well preserved older woman for day sails in my sailboat. The head was a 5 gallon bucket and there wasn't a whole lot pf privavy and it never bothered either of us."

My attitude is grow up. If that's such a problem you don't have any business being there in the first place. 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY