Grandparents

If you are new, welcome!

There are LOADS of topics discussed on GN, if you look down the "Forums" list you will see politics, education, science etc, as well as home, style & beauty and chat.

Read a few, (not just in the "active" section) and I think you will find some pretty in depth, even heated threads!

phoenix is right, perhaps you need to explore the site a bit more Realgrandad and get a feel for the huge range of topics discussed.

As a Realgrandad you may not wear perfume (my DH wouldn't dream of such a thing!) but I know a lot of younger men do and there are lots of fragrances for men, so they could be interested in that thread .
In fact I was sold a 'fragrance for men' in an airport duty-free - it wasn't clear from the label and the assistant assured me it was a woman's fragrance (lost in translation). However, when I gave it to DD she laughed and we then gave it to her partner. He loved it.

Jolly good topic - should more boys be doing 'domestic science' (home economics?) in school?
Not sure about ignoring our historical past though

Go on, start a couple of threads!

ps not that younger men would probably frequent the site, but some of them could be grandads and could be lurking

I'm slightly astounded at this, simply because there are a huge range of threads of GN, I'm not sure what hasn't been covered, many topics are serious and cover all manner of things relating to grandchildren, politics, the world around us, cooking, health, hobbies, religion, history. There is one on genealogy which encompasses history, I for one am very interested in history, as indeed many others are, but that doesn't mean we can't have something lighthearted from time to time

It's good to hear from men of course, but as I imagine there will be a much higher ratio of women posting then it's quite inevitable gender issues will come up. I like many others like the "perfume" thread, some of us posted about perfumes we wore once and hence there was a nostalgia element involved. I can only echo what others have said on GN, surely if it doesn't interest you, then find something that does. There are plenty of threads on GN that don't interest me such as the current one on rugby, but who am I as an individual to dictate to others on their interests or discussion. Live and let live.

I found my present perfume through a thread (elsewhere) about them and it was one of the most useful thing on the Internet!
There is a huge selection of topics and you can ignore those that don't interest you.
I would zoom on down through most of the topics mentioned by OP.
As an ex teacher I can't see the point of smart clothes when you are going to be sitting on the floor with 5 yrs olds, getting covered in paint etc!
I don't come on here for anything serious - it is light relief. However quite happy to see serious subjects discussed.

I don't expect that OP would approve, but Gransnet was most helpful to me in choosing a wedding outfit. I don't see why it had to be avoided because grandfathers were not interested!

The views of Grandads would be welcome in all the threads and "In the News" especially.
Relationships too - I've often thought the arguments on here, although interesting, need some balance. Which I get at home from a husband who has very strong views about most things.

ps maybe it's the name of the site which puts men off. "Gransnet" definitely sounds feminine.

But you have posted on other threads Realgranddad so I am not sure I understand what your issue really is.

Is it the fact you think Gransnet should not have female related issues discussed only cross gender threads?

Have you read the forums related to education, science , grand parenting etc? They are there just waiting for you to start a thread.

If the title of this thread had been something like "What about our Grandchildrens eduction" (or maybe even "our grandchildren's education") then you would have got replies about that, from both grandmothers and grandfathers.

All you need to do is to start a thread on a subject you would like to talk about, and someone will talk about it. Try it!

I see no reason why some threads shouldn't be gender specific. After all there are different genders and their interests ,needs and requirements will differ.

There are very many forums on GN and many different threads contained within.

Instead of taking an option away realgrandad start some you ARE interested in.

Clicking on Last Hour there are 20 discussions - only two could be described as 'feminine' topics.

What are your views on these , Realgrandfather:-

"The stigma of illegitimacy in the sixties"
"How will you vote in the EU referendum"
"Wash your hands!" (after using the loo)
"Civil relationships v marriage"
"Charities and their communications"
"One small thing that would make your life better"
"Trump - no longer a joke"
"Hospitals"
"The Queen's mall street party"
"Doctors' strike"
"Google and backdated tax"
"Are you an ex-Christian?"

not to mention lots of threads on political matters. Scope for opinions from men as well as women on them.

When you have finished adding your comments on subjects that are already there, think of some others that seem neglected, and start conversations on those. I am sure you will have some good exchanges with both the many women on the site and the men - who are in a minority but are definitely here, and post quite a lot of sense.

That's what I am struggling with as I noted he has posted on the News and Politics Forum . [ confused]

I shall no doubt learn in time. There are so many diffent sites (forums) I Was not sure which to use. As for my fragrant I use Aramis but I don't call it a perfume, prefer to be macho and call it after shave.
I also love cooking and having been organizing cookery classes for older people who have never cooked until they lost their spouse or partner.

Love ballroom dancing and my lovely wife and I have taught all of children and grandchildren to dance.

Our favourite past time is travelling and we have been very fortunately in being able to Travel far and wide, we love cruising on smaller cruise ships. Hate the huge cruise ships that are damaging the envirionment and infrastructure around small ports of call that cannot cater for mass tourism of 4 or 5 thousand arriving for a few hours. Especially if two or 3 cruise ships of such size arrive within a few hours of one another.

Chat again in the week, cannot get on every day because I do lots of volunteering. Bye for now

There are no doubt some women who also have no interest in posting on a thread about perfumes, knitting, etc. etc., but it is there for those who are interested.

Everybody is free to start a thread on a subject that interests them (and to ignore threads that are of no interest to them) so I can't see what the problem is. It's not as if men are forbidden from joining Gransnet or from starting a thread. It is up to them to join Gransnet. I wonder why it appears that so few of them do.

I expect it is quite unusual for a man to feel that the issues which particularly affect him, and subjects that are of particular interest to him, are being under represented - it is something that women experience every day.

Guidance please, reading some of the snips at me, I realise that I need to response, especially when my comments are taken out of context. How do I do that? I pressed on the "add comments", but no link came up and I did not want to link via private message.

By the way, I do enjoyed reading many of the so called female columns and views expressed. I have no criticism of such columns. Because I had read on Twitter so many nice comments of gransnet, I had expected the Home page to be far more engaging for both gender, so was disappointed when I found it almost 100% weighted towards feminist subjects on the days I visited the site. I had no intention to be rude, arrogant or even macho in my comments.
In future I am sure I shall be more polite towards the opposite sex, I do prefer your company rather than so many ignorant male loud mouth know alls. I love history by the way, but as a school governor I get carried away when I learn that nothing is taught about the history of the 20th century and our industrial revolution in the UK.

When you press "add comment" you get a text box at the foot of the page. Isn't that where you posted the comment that asked "How do I do that?", that was a comment. Are you sure you're not having us on a bit, Realgrandad?

About history - I think the history syllabus covers modern Britain better than you think. for instance, in 2015, Key stage 3 included:-

" challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

In addition to studying the Holocaust, this could include:
Examples (non-statutory)

women’s suffrage
the First World War and the Peace Settlement
the inter-war years: the Great Depression and the rise of dictators
the Second World War and the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill
the creation of the welfare state
Indian independence and end of Empire
social, cultural and technological change in post-war British society
Britain’s place in the world since 1945"

That was from this page - www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study

Realgrandad regarding 20th century history, when my children were at school about ten or so years ago,over the years they covered The Suffragettes, The First World War, The Russian Revolution, The Weimar Republic, The rise of Nazism, The Second World War and when one did History A level he did The Cold War, Northern Ireland troubles including, Bloody Sunday in the 1970s and The Easter Rising in the 1920s Indian Independence and the partition. In fact, in my opinion, they should have covered other important eras in more depth such as The Norman Invasion and they barely touched on the English Civil War and The Hanovarians and The Industrial Revolution. Didn't learn anything about The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, so I can't agree with you about 20th Century History.

Guidance please, reading some of the snips at me, I realise that I need to response, especially when my comments are taken out of context. How do I do that? I pressed on the "add comments", but no link came up and I did not want to link via private message.

See what I did there realgranddad? If you want to respond to a specific post, but there have been several posts in the meantime, you can copy the post (or relevant part of it) and paste it into the message box. You can, as I did here, add a ^ at the beginning and end of the quote, which will then italicise it and emphasise the fact that it is a quote.
Then you type your response underneath. That way it is clear whose post you are responding to.

Meant to say, Welcome to GN

I also love cooking and having been organizing cookery classes for older people who have never cooked until they lost their spouse or partner

What a great idea and a good thing to do!