Btw..Life is a pig race.

...crit or road?

<rant>

This whole thread is such a load of crap on so many levels.

IMHO the vast majority of posters here ignore several basic, vital points:

1) Men are genetically programmed to notice physical attributes in women. Period. Get over it. Get used to it. It ain't going away.
2) Women are genetically programmed to notice physical attributes in men. They are. Is that a revelation?
3) Women who deny #2 are full of ****.

I work as a network consultant. I have about 30 clients and visit 2-4 a day, 12-15 a week.

I see more Brad Pitt, Gerard Butler, George Clooney, etc. pictures displayed on the desks and cubicle walls of women than I do any pictures of similar beautiful women in, on, or around men's workspaces.

Why is that?

1) Women are just as attracted to handsome, chiseled men as men are to beautiful, curvaceous women.
2) If men display such stuff they are automatically branded pigs, chauvinists, whatever. Women aren't. For women it's just "cute". Men can't risk the branding.

A few sites for your viewing pleasure that illustrate the point:

https://www.gerardbutlergals.com
https://bradpittfan.com/
https://www.clooneyunlimited.com/

Do you think the women who run these sites would be doing so if all these guys looked like Marty Feldman? Hmmm...I couldn't find a slobbering-all-over-you Marty Feldman fan site anywhere.

So for all you women who try to be offended when one of the guys says "was she hot?"...get over yourselves. Behind closed doors the vast majority of you are as bad or worse.

</rant>

Bummer, guess I have to tell my girlfriend that I'm straight now, since all women are genetically programmed to be attracted to handsome, chiseled men...

....is she hawt?

Not so much on this forum, which is the topic at hand.

Cool John Slattery avatar by the way, Mad Men rocks

Huh? That avatar is me. (When I was 100 pounds heavier...)

Obviously, every rule usually has exceptions...I think you know what I was getting at though.

Of course!

How come not being "straight" has to be an "exception"...huh?

You're totally missing the point; either that, or you haven't read a significant number of the posts.

Nobody is denying that people enjoy looking at photos of beautiful people. However, there is a HUGE difference between the types of comments posted here and the ones posted in the women's forum, or in Foo for example. The Road Cycling forum is a completely different atmosphere, and if you can't see that, then I guess we'll agree to disagree.

I'll quote some specific examples for you so you can read why women don't care for the road cycling forum:

It was an exception to the point I was making...

It's not about being attracted, or about focusing on physical attributes. It's about how that is expressed, and it goes over the line here more often that perhaps it should. I'm not offended by swimsuit calendars or even by all the Liz Hatch photos that get posted on this forum, but I am bothered by some of the attitudes (not all of them) that accompany (or lead to) those photos sometimes. A good example of the attitudes we're talking about can be found on another thread in the forum right now about how to bring more women into cycling ... it took very few posts before there was a crack about tampons and another about painting things pink. Those comments might have been meant as jokes, but they are poor ones that do nothing to make the female members of this forum feel welcome to add their voices to the discussion.

My mistake... the top half of your face very much resembles one of the greatest tv characters ever.

Yes.

Hmmm...John Slattery: Crappy cell phone pic of me (sans glasses):

Must be the prematurely gray hair...

Although I have to say I like his styling of it better I think

You want a hostile posting environment?
Try sailinganarchy.com. There are many equal opportunity offenders there.

Well, statistically...

FWIW, there's a ton of women who ride around here, especially of the "recreational cyclist" variety. I'd guess it's like 40-50% of the groups I see out on the road on any given weekend day. Lots of triathletes too, thank god.

Sorry, I digress. But when it gets into road cyclists who are interested in going faster, the numbers drop off pretty significantly, to maybe 10-20% of the groups I see being women. Certainly true for the racers, too.

What I think isn't being said here is that while cycling isn't necessarily a male-dominated activity, internet discussion forums sure as shootin' are. Women just don't seem to be as interested in geeking about bikes on the internet as guys are, and it shows.

Frankly, I don't believe there's a whole lot of women who would WANT to be a part of BF.net's RC forum, even if it was all sweet and nice.

Plus, I doubt a "kinder and gentler" RC forum would be very interesting for many men. I mean, really, internet discussion forums like this one are a guy thing for the most part. I'd be curious if anyone could point me to a bicycle discussion forum that has a very active female presence, and that isn't boring and slow.

Or, for that matter, I'd love an example of ANY discussion forum that has a similar level of activity to BF.net, in which women play a major part in the discussion. Anyone?

Well I'm going to be in the minority here and say that there is nothing in here that isn't common place in any of the 6 forums I belong to. Reality is cycling is a male dominated sport. Reality is there are more men on these boards than women. Statistically there will be a few bad eggs that I suppose may be sexist. That said, I think the world needs a chill pill on the whole PC thing.

For example there is this thread: AND there is this thread: Many of the people posting here also post in one of these two threads... so what's it gonna be people?!?! I'd love to see more people into cycling - I don't care if they're male or female. The two bike clubs I have belonged to both have a strong female presence. Is there some banter one way or the other? Sure but nobody ever seems to care. The point is to go out and have fun. IMO, if you're feelings get hurt on an internet forum the internet may not be for you anyway.

Lastly, stay away from any military/public service job. If you want true sexism that's where it thrives.

Cheers

Rob

For me, the popcorn came out mid-way through the 3rd page.

Yes, I'm a uckfwad.*

*that's a self-effacing joke referencing a previous comment in this thread

I've always been somewhat puzzled by the conflict in the ideas that
a) women are as capable as men and are strong and independent and don't need to be sheltered and protected by men
with
b)the insistence that men voluntarily alter their behavior in various ways, often even placing themselves at a competitive disadvantage, in order to make things more suitable for women's participation and success.

My life experience has led me to strongly believe "a". But "a" will never become the prevailing belief if we continue to insist on "b".

My for what it's worth commentary. Maybe there's something relevant to the topic being discussed.

My work over a dozen or so years includes working with comedians, most of whom are the up and coming, soon to be stars variety. Past clients are folks who are now very successful and well known, including folks like Chelsea Handler, Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong. I'd say a good 60% of the comics I work with are women. In fact, for the past 10 years I work with one of LA's longest running all-women comedian showcases. Over the years, I've heard all the stories about the inequities (real and imagined) between men and women, as perceived by audiences, club owners, bookers, misogynist attitudes from other comics, etc...

The women who make it in the comedy biz for the most part do it the exact same way the guys do, by working hard at it, developing their act, fighting for stage time and not giving up despite the odds against them. Those women who make it though those initial unisex barriers by and large get the same respect as their male counterparts. I don't look at men, women, black, white, gay or straight comedians any differently, and neither do most of the people I know in the comedy biz. The bottom line is: Are they funny? Do they make me laugh? It just so happens that there are more men who want to be comedians - standing in front of audiences and making fools of themselves.

There is one complaint the men comics often have about women comedians that is true. If a woman comedian is attractive, she will get attention quicker from agents and managers. Pretty women will always attract attention. Unfair? That's the woman's advantage. Always has been, always will.

Women are over rated.