And that was kinda what I was going for here, although this entry was definitely not edited well enough to articulate it. The two aforementioned activities were just something I happened to stereotype as “boy things” particularly because that was the kind of knowledge I was exposed to.

I will also be interviewing a car club for my automobile compilation. Guess what, the President’s a chick.

But really, in an period when Gabby de la Merced is shown burning rubber in a Sunsilk ad, and the ranks of Filipina competetive surfers experience steady growth, is it really fair to describe them as “masculine” activities?

I realize that you’re approaching this from a marketing viewpoint, and industry research most likely characterize them as male pursuits. Fair enough.

But I’m just not comfy with the idea of assigning gender to particular hobbies or interests. It just reinforces limits that are *already* in place, rather than opening up the possibility of more gender-neutral participation (i.e. it’s not a “boy thing” OR a “girl thing”; it’s just something that appeals to your or doesn’t, regardless of gender).

I mention this *precisely* because it leads to certain market segments being ignored or overlooked, because of their percieved minority status. For example, how many female drivers or surfers are forced to buy gear that was designed with male participants in mind, just because there are limited options available for women? If there was a better commercial environment for girls to “buy in” to cars or surfing, then perhaps more of them would get involved.

So you can’t really stick with “the facts”, because they often foreclose other possibilities.

Anyway, i’m sorry if this reply came off more ranty or self-righteous than it needed to be — i’m not my usual articulate self today.

I realize that you most likely wrote this because of your personal experiences. And i’m definitely not invalidating them. Just pointing out alternatives that you might not have considered.