Bee in your Bonnet?

Hi jinglbellsfrocks.

Touchy, ding dong's, the reference to academia, was nothing to do with having a degree. My association was with how out of touch I am from my student days, and I inferred I need re-educating, perhaps I should have said back to school.
My mentioning of the discussions at an older people meeting I did not consider to be waffle, nor were my comments of how I got it wrong when I joined gransnet. it was more of an apology for the clangers I dropped.

It seems that it does not matter what I say, it seems I am going to upset a gran. Instead of returning to academia. perhaps, I should dream of returning to the air attacks of the 40's, where I believe I attracted far less flack when sitting in a cockpit, even though it was a living nightmare at the time.

Bye Bye grans, I feel I should now sign off in case I am waffling to much.
Not sure if I shall be coming back.

James (Retired RAF Aircrew)

Sorry, it's on Amazon and tax,

www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics/1217040-Amazon-and-tax

I've just counted 49 forum topics and if out if those you can find only 2 which fit your non gender-specific criteria I'm inclined to think that perhaps you're too narrowminded set in your ways for GN.

I had an excellent poetry book for Christmas. It's called "More bees bigger bonnets".
It begins

They told me
I'd calm down
as I got older
but to be honest
I find that age is bringing
more bees, bigger bonnets.

Realgrandad, I mentioned the Dispatches programme on another thread. Gillybob said she was going to watch it.
I think it was on the Google not paying tax thread.

Oh for Heaven's sake! Why don't you just say something instead of all this waffle?! Most people manage to just join quietly.

And where is this "world of academia" that you are thinking of going back to? A lot of posters on here have degrees, and excellent qualifications in all walks of life. We are not total duffers.

Hi Grans, Just got back from a good meeting of older people. a number of good subjects discussed, deep concerns about cuts in transport, loneliness and social isolation. Nobody had the the right answers but our general feeling was there is a need for greater protection by the Gov for our infrastructure.

Reading some of the comments about me and my silly views, I had not a clue when I first visited GN of all the different forums/threads. My first introduction was the Home page, thus my comments that it did nothing for me as a granddad to get me interested to become a member. Mentioning it from a male perspective has got me into a can of worms with so many members who presumably know the site inside out and unfortunately, seem to presume newcomers like me should also know. I also did not know some of the IT language, thread to me was like threading through a crowd or threading cotton, that it is used as a link was lost on me, having been born over 80 years ago. Perhaps, I need to return to the world of academia for an upgrade.

My search of your forums led me to news/politice, the Shed etc. attempts to find others without a gender feeling was extremely difficult, so my comments meant to be constructive in getting more males on board have been interpreted as complaints. I was trying to be constructive but my big heavy boots have got in the way, so now I have started to wear slippers. I might however, have a change of foot wear if the battle of the sexes develops by perceiving wrongly that I am being unfairly provoked. I know at times I am a grumpy old b*** , I am signing off for now to go and prepare the pancake mix for later.

James

Good posts POGS.

Realgranddad/James

I am still confused ' you have ' already posted on the News and Politics thread prior to mentioning gender and your request for more gender neutral forums/threads. Indeed ' you have ' already srarted a thread and posted on others which shows you know exactly how to engage in Gransnet.

I thank you for your telling us a little of your background and you sound an interesting gentleman and obviously you are giving a strong hint that politics is a subject you enjoy, as noted in your posts on the News and Politics thread and here.

I for one have a great respect for one of our male posters Grumppa who I may or may not agree with but I always take note of his posts as he shows good insight and maturity in his style of posting. I think more male input is a good thing but I ' respectfully ' say I wish now you have declared your new membership, bedded into GN, informed us of your dislike of feminist threads you take the advice given and start threads which interest you and continue to post on the threads you have already posted on .

You have done it, you can do it. Your posts could be of interest and more widely read if you put them on the respective forums , such as the politics forum you have submitted to. Containing them to one thread will in time suffer from 'fatigue' and you may feel just as upset thinking gender has caused the demise of this thread which inevitably will happen as that is the nature of GN. Respectfully POGS

What you say about the Channel 4 programme Dispatches would make a very good thread. If you start one here news and politics forum it will be discussed. And you will be away.

Read the threads listed on the "News and Politics" topic here www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics for some discussion of subjects that affect everyone. No perfume on these.

I look forward to reading your views - and your wife's too. I am sure she has as much to contribute to the equality of the sexes as you have.

x posts, mcem, saying the same sort of thing.

I think your wife is confusing feminine with feminist, realg. Of course the threads are feminine in the sense of being mainly written by and of interest to females, but you can't deduce from that that all (or most) gransnetters are feminists. They may be but the evidence for that being the case is, quite simply, absent.

So get posting from a male perspective, as elegran suggests. Complaining about women being feminine in their outlook is a non starter.

I agree with grannylynn and would follow up kitty's point.

Some threads are distinctly feminist in tone - often with posters taking femininist/ anti-feminist stands and non-feminist stands.

Others are very feminine - style, makeup, perfume, craft.

Many are of interest to most women - children, education, housing, health and care.

Most are not gender specific at all - anything in news and politics.

That's just scratching the surface.

I wonder if realgranddad and mrs are using these words as synonyms?

Female, feminine and feminist have distinct and different meanings.

I'd advise a newbie to do less analysing and more reading to become familiar with the threads, topics and style found on GN and then either post on an existing thread that's of interest or start a new one.

I missed out literature in my list of men's worlds - at one time women authors had to use male pen-names to get their work accepted for publication.

How about some men submitting items to GNHQ for the blogs thread - no, not about how they are under-represented and not catered for, but about some aspect of their lives or experiences? I am sure it would be accepted and published, if it was interesting.

I think that is the main bee buzzing in realgrandad's bonnet. He says he is concerned about the gender aspect of the threads, but he isn't posting on any of the many non-genderish threads about their content.

If I were a man wanting to change things, I would be posting my male-oriented opinions on as many threads as I could (without being a male chauvinist pig, of course, just politely stating my case) and working to equalise the balance that way.

That was how women changed the male-dominated society that had consigned them to the kitchen, nursery or bedroom - they interested themselves in everything, gained knowledge and experience against all opposition and kept butting into the exclusive men's worlds of medicine, law, commerce, goverment, exploration - you name it.

If you want GN to have equal amounts of male and female contributions, then the males have to contribute - not just complain.

I wouldn't really say that most posts are gender specific?

You would find the political threads gender neutral and busy discussing the things that you have mentioned, Realgrandad Try there.

Perhaps come back under a gender-neutral name then no one will know (or care) if you are male, female or neither.
When my step-brother stayed with us while his house ( also in the Cotswold) was being renovated, he found Gransnet on my Ipad and joined in several conversations.

Are the threads feminist?

Perhaps Grannylyn65 summed it it up
, but Jalima gives suggestion gives me hope. I discussed it with my wife and she said "forget the site or infer you are transgender." . She refuses to sign up because she says the site is far too feminist and she prefer much broader subjects.

I shall follow the chats for a few days and see if I can pick up a thread that is not so feminist I will not be expressing opinions that are linked to a gender or womens syndrom.

Hope many of you watched Ch 4 Dispatches last night and learnt more about how this uncaring government has different approachs to helping the rich to get away from paying tax at the expense of the poor.

James

Perhaps following on from Mumsnet - are there many dads who contribute on that site?
Now that is a more discriminatory name than Gransnet!
Perhaps they could insert a 'd' - Grandsnet?

Is called 'Gransnet' for a reason??

The other granddads who are still here don't comment on obviously female threads, but do give their opinions on other more general threads. And they don't address us as 'lovely ladies', they treat us as equals.

Which is as it should be.