I can see your discrimination policy being a good idea if your group
was for survivors of sexual assault.[/quote}
Some of our members are survivors, they have the ability to let us know or not, but if they choose to share that in our group because they feel safe or comfortable, that is their prerogative
But it’s a social clique no different than the one you joined here, and your insinuation that the
double-standard is okay because “men might try and hit on us” is
hypocritical. Why don’t you just remove the men who are idiots from
your club?
and
Most men I know don’t sexually degrade women, make sexual advances to
ones they do not know, and don’t sexually harass women. Apparently you
think otherwise.
This is not only a question of being "hit on" it is an issue of sexual harrassment. There are some men in our hobby who have a fettish about pipe and/or cigar smoking women. I have met some who have this interest and I appreciate and respect them for their honesty; however, I am not so ultruistic to believe that all with this interest are as forthcoming and as benign as those I've met. If any of the women in the group were to come to harm because they weren't aware of this possibility, I personally would feel remorse if it occurred.
(It might be noted that you've been on this board here for a few weeks,
and not one man has made a sexual advance towards you or has sexually
harassed you, in fact, they have welcomed you with open arms despite
the fact that you have insulted men.)
Many of the men here know me from other discussion boards or at shows and have become great friends, I appreciate the mutual respect we've gained from knowing each other and sharing knowledge about this hobby as well as the joking around. As stated above I don't believe all men or even most men would sexually harass women, in fact many would defend a woman if they noticed this behavior.
Also if you feel offended or insulted by my posts, this group give gives you the option to put me on your foes list so you won't be subjected to them again.
Would you have a problem with a whites-only group who excluded blacks
because they were afraid of a stereotype? Or what about a black-only
group who excluded whites because of a stereotype? Or what about a
group that excluded Jewish pipe smokers because of a stereotype?
Again, as stated above, this is not a stereotype, it is a minority that exists and some women worry about it. Also this is not a group of women who hate men, many of us discuss our relationships with our husbands or significant others, coworkers,children, etc.
There are groups of people who do exactly what you say because of a stereotype. Our group was formed with the encouragement from many great and kind gentlemen at yahoo ps2 who thought our hobby would benefit from a women's group who would share with other women interested in the gentle art of pipe smoking.
And "birds of a feather flock together" isn't what it says on your website. It says:
"You will feel comfortable at LOTB. No worries about being ridiculed or called names. No worries about receiving unwanted solicitation.
We do not allow men to join LOTB so please do not request membership if
you are a male. All membership requests are carefully screened and we
will deny those that we feel are inappropriate for our club. Those few that happen to get past our screening will eventually be found out and banned."
If
I created a club like yours banning women, using that exact same
language, I would be on the front page of USA Today and FoxNews as the
biggest sexist in the history of sexists.
Please note, that I am a co-founder of the group, and due to personal reasons beyond this hobby I am no longer a member of the management of the group. The words stated are those of the current management, and I will be happy to express your concern with them.
I hope our dialog on this issue has been resolved.
Happy puffin'
Meer
or harrassing to women in the hobby.
