First you must realize that women and men are more similar than you think – if you let go of your stereotypes about them. They can be even more down to earth, skillful, and strong than men are – but they can also be just as clumsy or reckless. Guides in the Philippines often blame women for slowing down the pace – “May kasama kasi kaming babae” – but surely you know better. Some of the people I look up to in the outdoors have been women: There’s Carina Dayondon – one of the first Filipinas to climb Everest – and my great mentor Jo Steven, the “Iron Lady” from New Zealand who caused both of my legs to cramp after a continuous ascent in Korea’s highest peak. Surely after seeing her hike nobody can say that “women are slow”!
But you must also realise that women and men have fundamental differences. When I speak of differences, I don’t mean in any way that they are not equal – we should no longer be debating about these things in this century. What I mean is that there are undeniable specificities of being a women that you should try to understand. There are times for instance when a girl has her menstrual period. How do you hike with a “bad day”? I don’t even know the answer (I should invite a female hiker to write about this) – but what I know is that it can alter their experience of the hike. Surely, you can try to be more understanding.
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Answer:
First you must realize that women and men are more similar than you think – if you let go of your stereotypes about them. They can be even more down to earth, skillful, and strong than men are – but they can also be just as clumsy or reckless. Guides in the Philippines often blame women for slowing down the pace – “May kasama kasi kaming babae” – but surely you know better. Some of the people I look up to in the outdoors have been women: There’s Carina Dayondon – one of the first Filipinas to climb Everest – and my great mentor Jo Steven, the “Iron Lady” from New Zealand who caused both of my legs to cramp after a continuous ascent in Korea’s highest peak. Surely after seeing her hike nobody can say that “women are slow”!
But you must also realise that women and men have fundamental differences. When I speak of differences, I don’t mean in any way that they are not equal – we should no longer be debating about these things in this century. What I mean is that there are undeniable specificities of being a women that you should try to understand. There are times for instance when a girl has her menstrual period. How do you hike with a “bad day”? I don’t even know the answer (I should invite a female hiker to write about this) – but what I know is that it can alter their experience of the hike. Surely, you can try to be more understanding.
Explanation:
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