Where does the sexist idea that women can't do home repairs come from? Women need men to do this stuff?

Question

WHY???

Every single woman has a drill, drill bits, saws, pliers, wire cutters, screwdriver, screws, nails, wood glue, sandpaper... I don't even know all the stuff I've got tucked away - and I use it all the time. I have more stuff than my fellow male apartment dwellers do!

Answer 1

They can do it it of course, many don't want to.

A female friend of mine asked me to do a lot of things around her new apartment, I agreed to do it but made her cook and bake cakes in nothing but a small apron while I got the work done.

It took a while to finish because I took numerous "breaks" throughout the day but all in all it worked out well.

Answer 2

Its not that I CANT do this stuff, its that I choose not to.  And I invariably end up with my fingers superglued together...

PS I am just good at other stuff so I'm not too worried.  

PPS I usually ask my sister to do it, if that answers your question.

Answer 3

Yeah, it's bewildering to me, too.

But then, Mum was very 'handy' and Dad wasn't much, so we got a different type of role modelling.

I don't think girls are necessarily less interested ~ if dad does the 'handy' jobs at home and uses it as a chance to bond with his son, but not his daughter, of course the son will be more interested.

BUT, kids will follow whatever model they see, really, so as Jenny says, women need to get over asking blokes to do this stuff, just like guys need to get over wanting someone else to do 'domestic' chores.

That way, everyone would be able to do a bit of everything, which is much more practical!

Cheers :-)

Answer 4

I do it all the time.

I was inspired to take care of my own minor home repairs when my stepdad ( i love him, but d**n) came to my house to install a washer and dryer in my back bedroom. He very carefully measured out a square on the wall, tracing in pencil... using a ruler... making sure all sides were even... then began knocking a large, globular, irregular hole in the wall with the handle of a hammer. He proceeded to shock the **** out of himself scraping rubber off electrical wires with a knife. Once the wires were bare, he wrapped them in electrical tape and left for 2 weeks.

We got a big laugh out of all this, but that man has made me self sufficient.

He fixed my car once, then poured lighter fluid all over the engine block and set it on fire, informing me he was "exorcizing demons."

We're from West Virginia. He was very drunk. It may surprise you to know I've seen someone else do the same thing. I guess demon infestation in engine blocks is a common redneck problem, just like raccoons.

My husband has 50 million car parts and refused to change a tire, so I had to do that.

On the plus side though, both stepdad and husband are amazing cooks, so I guess it evens out. I'm quite self sufficient these days.

Answer 5

Because the vast majority of repairs and maintenance in general are still being done by men.  Women can do it, yes; but men are just better when it come to repairs and maintenance.

Answer 6

For the most part, it's an antiquated idea, to be sure. It has survived from the not-too-distant past, where in women really DIDN'T do things like that, either because they couldn't, or because it wasn't socially acceptable. Modern society is riddled with these ideals. Try not to be personally insulted, it's not as if they're direct attacks on the merit of women today.

That being said, I typically do have to enlist the help of someone with household repairs :-/ ...I make things worse more often that I repair them. Though, I don't think that's related to my lack of Y chromosome, so much as I'm just sort of a klutz :).

Answer 7

lol i actually try to figure out how to do things myself before i call someone ( usually a man) to do it. but if i cannot really figure out how to do something..( or ive tried to do it to no avail and im only getting pissed off) then i finally do call someone. and lucky for me i have 2 men in my family who know how to do home repairs, eletrical stuff, carpentry and so on.

but i am actually very stubborn so i will at least try to give it a shot first myself. lol

( oh and i dont have all those tools in my house...i have like maybe interchangable screwdriver and a hammer.)

Answer 8

Women doing home repairs is HOTT!!

Answer 9

It not about being sexist . Most women are not interested where men are.You may be ,but that does not make it normal.I would love it if women were interested in that stuff. I was going to say some hing else but no. Men and Women are wired  differently. Being different is not sexist , we can  not be the same if we were the world would be so boring .  At the moment with this pc  rubbish it is really boring and dull

Answer 10

I also happen to cook and clean house much more than my spouse - I'm a male.

Answer 11

Liquid Nails, Gorilla Glue , Goof Off, and caulking are fabulous for just about any problem.  If they cannot nelp...a hammer is just as fun.

Answer 12

It's a cultural norm left over from the depression era/world war two era. It doesn't really apply anymore, but because our grandparents taught us to abide by it, we still do. Of course, that will change with time, as every generation has its own little revolution.

Answer 13

Some women just aren't interested in DIY. Some have husbands/partners that are. Some are just used to men doing stuff like that for them.

Personally I'm not that great at DIY (and my partner is, as his dad taught him loads), but if there's a job to be done I'll get the book out/ask people how to do it and get on with it. It's a great feeling when you learn how to do something new. I highly recommend it :-)

Answer 14

What are you doing out of the kitchen?

Answer 15

ok .. I am a female and to be perfectly honest with you ... I think WE ( writing generally of course) perpetuate that idea..... It SUITS more of us to let men think we can't ... so we don't have to do it.....

having said that .. .I am a clutz... I can nail a nail but I am really truly not good at those things, .. then again I am not overly brilliant at anything but am more capable of some things than others.

Answer 16

D  I am in your situation too.  

There are plenty of sexist ideas from women that portray men as domestically incompetent.  We deal with it.

It is still the case that a woman is far more likely to require service of a man in terms of domestic maintenance than the other way around.  I would say that your sexist idea comes at least as much from other women as it does men.

EDIT:  Four thumbs down!  Well, at least I made people think.  I stand by my claim that a lot of what women percieve as sexist behaviour and beliefs is caused and spread by women themselves.

Answer 17

I announced my intentions to learn basic home and car repair before I moved out of my parents' house. My dad was very proud of me.