a disgrace to my gender?

I’m All For Girl Power!

I know that by posting something like this I am prone to open myself up for attack, but I am genuinely interested in hearing the ‘other side’ of my argument on this subject.

I don’t understand women-only groups.

I am quite loud online (I hate the word ‘prolific’ – I just think of myself as being noisy), I have met quite a lot of people in various circles.  Although I suffer from chronic shyness (ARGH! STRANGER DANGER!!), I have found that a swift couple of vodkas and a huge deep breath (and probably a little too much laughing) gets me through these initial meetings, and I then really enjoy myself, and love meeting such a wide variety of people.

Due to me spending so much time online, and often meeting people in ‘real’ life, I seem to be invited along to quite a lot of stuff.

Today is a case in point.  I received four email invites today.  One for a local group, one for a blogging group and two for general networking / ‘thought platform’ (??) opportunities.

And each one of these four was for a women-only group.  So, I wont be going to any of them.

I like women, I think they’re great.  I do think that in certain areas they seem to be over-shadowed by men or not taken quite as seriously, but I honestly believe that women-only groups in these situations serve not to empower women, but to prove that they ARE different to men.  They highlight the differences rather than proving the similarities.

I’m not saying that there should be no women-only groups at all – I can understand groups where women want to talk / act freely, especially for religious or cultural reasons, but for example one of the group meetings I was invited to today is supposedly to give women a stronger voice in media roles and has many ‘prolific’ women speakers.

Surely women already think that they need a stronger voice, so you’re kind of preaching to the converted.  Wouldn’t it be better all round if all of those women were just meeting with a group of people working within the media (apparently including bloggers I’m guessing, otherwise I have no idea why I was invited!) whether they are male or female?

If there is some kind of re-education about gender equality needed, then why aren’t the men being included in this?

Perhaps I am completely missing the point, but then I have never even seen the point of ‘girls nights in/out’ either.  As far as I’m concerned, if I fancy a party, I want to ask my friends along.  that may turn out to be all girls just due to circumstance, but I have never felt the need to seclude them from proceedings.

Come on – I would love it if someone could really tell me why I am so very very wrong on this matter.  I am totally for girl power (I’m in no way an anti-feminist) – but I’m all for boy power as well – if they’ve got what it takes!

where has the time gone?

The past week seems to have flown by in some kind of haze.  We’ve been working on a new ‘product’ at work for the past year or so which we were finally going live with at a conference in Manchester last week.  This has really been my baby, and so I have been absolutely kakking it.

It’s only a new website, which should hopefully go live next week, but we hadn’t spoken to anyone about it other than a current clients – so it was going to be interesting finding out what reception it got from potential clients that we had never spoken to before.

And I get a form of ‘travel anxiety’ – so adding that to the general performance anxiety of having to do demos, and also having to mix with people that I don’t know, which is always a problem for me.  So, Monday & Tuesday I got about 3 hours sleep a night before going to Manchester on Wednesday.  I had rather a lot to drink on Wednesday night, mixing with some really lovely clients (and non-clients even) and ended up getting about 4 hours sleep, so I have been absolutely knackered!

And the past 3 days seem to have flown by in a bit of a daze.  i have no idea what I have been doing – apart from long walk, picnic and housework, oh and catching up with TV.  And having hayfever.  i am sniffling even now, and I’ve already taken a ‘generic superdrug brand which isn’t Piriton but does the same thing’ pill.

Bleurgh!

Anyway – back on track now, and I’ll put my mind in order and start re-posting stuff in my head