Thread: Ladies on a shaving website.

Hehehe Kelly! My you know how to make a lady blush.

I think I was about the 6th lady member here and over the last year it has been awesome to see Ladies Corner growing and going from strength to strength.

I really love this forum and have felt like part of the family from the start. I thought there would be more resistance to "women in a man's realm" but my journey has been nothing of the sort.

I have found more help and encouragement from the Gents here and the level of commitment of all our members is outstanding in itself. I am honoured to be part of this wonderful group, have made many friends and now I'm able to offer support to the new ladies turning up all the time.

i can kind of understand what they're doing, i dont agree with it, but it makes sense in a way.

i'm a bladesmith by trade, and some of my hobbies include tobacco and homebrew, and textiles. the textiles forums i've been active in people are shocked to see a straight male on (i suppose with my preferred handle its easy to mistake me for a woman). i'd noticed people were uncommonly open with me when they interacted with me in a textile context, and most of those people were women, because i guess its a bit of a sorrority due to the perceived innappropriate nature of men weaving (even though it was a man's trade until the mid 1800s). homebrew is a pretty equal oppurtunity hobby, but when its broken down into beer, mead, and wine, i find beer forums rarely if ever have women on them, and the conversations take a different timbre that would honestly disgust or offend most women i know, because its a "man place". likewise with tobacco, pipesmokers forums tend to be incredibly male dominated, to the point where some of them have male epithets in the name (brotherhood, fraternity etc). while i don't doubt they would welcome female pipe smokers, it might make them uneasy as it is an activity perceived as masculine. most male smokers, myself included, refer to their tobacco stash or smoking room as "the man cave".
for me, shaving was always a man thing until i got engaged. i knew in a general sense women got fuzzy without maintenance, but shaving was a thing guys do, and using a straight razor was way more manly (in the sense that it reflects a better image of masculinity than how many chicks you can score or how badass/tough you are) its something my father should have taught me, kind of a rite of passage. i can understand why some men would perceive women trying to share in that as an encroachment on masculinity, though, as previously stated, i don't see it that way. my fiance watches me shave, helps me pick shave soaps and aftershaves, has been known to help me out in the shop when its not anything particularly boring, knits while i weave and helps me work out new recipes for homebrew. my man cave is accessible to her and she has a very active role in helping me choose tobacco (i think she considers me a portable incense holder sometimes).

i guess its just a matter of having a place where you can be a man, if your perception of your own masculinity requires the absence of women.

sorry for the diatribe.

A few of your points really resonated with me:

using a straight razor was way more manly (in the sense that it reflects a better image of masculinity than how many chicks you can score or how badass/tough you are)

I live in a frat now and you wouldn't believe the drawjops I get lol. And last year a lived in a dorm with coop bathrooms and both men and women were

helps me pick shave soaps and aftershaves

If its any part of shaving my GF approves of its this aspect. She herself makes her own shave scrubs, but still stick to her cartridges lol.

i guess its just a matter of having a place where you can be a man, if your perception of your own masculinity requires the absence of women.

I think this is the cause of the discrimination in some forums, but honestly, my perspective on life is my views should affect me only- if I feel shaving is more masculine, great- I'm a man therefore I should shave. I wouldn't restrict women from shaving because they aren't me. And I feel like thats why this forum is so great, because a lot of people are conscientiously considerate of other peoples views and beliefs. Except of course in the infamous parlour threads....

Hey Guys,

I appreciate all the opinions and would only ask one thing as we continue the discussion:

Let's stay away from comparing other forums by name to ours here.

We made a conscious decision to include females on our site, we aren't the only ones (we are the only real Straight Razor focused site doing this).

We are proud to have female members and we look forward to helping anyone with their discovery of this art.

-Rob

Hello, everyone:

How empty a gentleman's world if not graced by the elegance of woman? Or put another way: For without woman, the gentleman's world is like dust in the wind.

Regards,
Obie

Hi everyone, I jumped the ocean, back now!

While was I packing up my stuff in NZ, I had my razors out on my desk, and I had a friend over to say goodbye.

At one point he picked up one of my razors and went "What the hell is this!?"

I gently plucked it from him, because he was handling it like a kitchen knife and I was worried he was going to hurt himself, or it, and told him it was a straight razor.

"What the hell do you need this for!?"

"Shaving."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Wow. Where have your balls been hiding?"



I proceeded to tell him about it, point out my strop, soap, brush, and suggest he should try it. He was not so keen on the idea. Despite how carelessly he had handled the razor itself, he seemed absolutely terrified of the idea.

From the couple of people who have figured out somehow that I use a straight seem to be a little bit scared of me, in a way I don't know if they would of a man, but also very intrigued. They always want to look at me legs, probably to see if I have any stitches.

I think men and women can both have a desire to do something like straight shaving, for a variety of reasons. Reasons more commonly associated with men, but the times are changing, and we're coming to realize that some women share those traits as well.

I'm new here but on my into post I was told to go to the Ladies' Corner by two members who presupposed my gender without asking when I made the question of how to make a good lather. I thought the Ladies' Corner was for people talking about how to shave legs but apparently it seems to be more about gender than the location one shaves?

I personally don't see why anyone would have to make a conscious decision to include women on a shaving site, don't more women shave their bodies than men in the first place(I'm a beard person myself so I wouldn't be shaving my face, ever)?

The reason I'm using a straight razor is to move away from throwing out cartridges or even worse, entire disposable razors. I didn't even know there were "women's" straight razors, and only did it out of novel convenience and a conscious effort to reduce pollution, so the entire gender thing actually blows my mind. Perhaps it is also that I am used to occupying a "man's realm" or that in Canada, we don't treat the gender lines as being so clear cut and thick. I do kendo and am the only female in the class, and the only other forum I frequent has many women passing by but none of them stay. I didn't think shaving was so manly though!

I for one would rather have a mixed group of individuals. I like variety and couldn't imagine not having women around. I think just about the only place they should stay out of is the mens Bathroom-Lockerroom. there are so many hobbies that are better if they are shared I don't understand why you would want to limit who you share them with.
I am actually curious of how many of the women here that use straight razors here hone there own razors and if there are any that actually make razors. I think it's cool when women can do stuff that is usually perceived as masculine especially when they can do it good and still stay feminine and visa versa.

I see that this is an old thread, but since it's been reopened, I'll put in my $.02..

I like women! And I'm glad to see them here!
At first, I couldn't fathom why a woman would want to be on a shave related BB... After all, they do not have to shave their faces as we do... It never occurred to me about shaving their legs, or wherever they feel the need to shave.
I participated in gundog and upland bird hunting forums for a long time. We also had a few women at those places, and they were, by the vast majority, treated as equals and valued members, which they are, even on a site devoted to male dominated sports.
I train dogs and have hunted with a woman that forgot more about the subjects than many, maybe most of her male counterparts..


I enjoy the ways in which men and women differ, and I also enjoy the ways which we are the same... Long live women... Where would we men be without them?

Thornapple Welcome to SRP. Honestly I don't think anyone meant to demean you as being female or make you feel like you didn't belong anywhere other than the ladies corner. The ladies corner was set up to give support and encouragement to any ladies that want to use straights as there can be difficulties in shaving certain areas and to help up more easily connect with other women that have ventured into using straights. Please feel free to explore all areas of the forums and fully participate. There are no gender lines here, we are all just one group of straight razor shavers.

Carrie