Dare I say it, and I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've never in my life had a women show any interest in my various hotrods over the years. They sure attracted the attention of boys and men, though. They'd want to see the engine, want to know what modifications were done, etc. The women, would just turn away. I don't know any women who took a car apart to see how it worked. None who build electronic circuits for fun. None who filled trash bags with hydrogen gas. None who hung out in the machine shop and begged the shop foreman to show them how to use those machines. None with gas powered model airplanes. And so on.
And yes, I'm sure there are exceptions. Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with men and women having different interests.
I'm sorry for what happened to your sister and friend. That was unfair.
Note that my original comment was about difference in how doing something irresponsible is treated - in one situation it is a cool thing and in another proof of stupidity. And dang comment was literally about someone interested who was told no. I have never seen "she is cool because of risking blowup story" with a girl protagonist. It was always she is dumb.
I was personally told that plane kids club is boys only. And like, it took courage to ask in the first place, because I did felt I will stick out. And I have seen boys being pushed into technical clubs whether they want it or not. None of that has anything to do with expectations on responsibility or how mistakes are treated.
In reply to yours, boys doing stupid things are called out for being stupid. They aren't praised for doing things that could blow their hands off or burn the house down. The only ones impressed are their peers.
> In reply to yours, boys doing stupid things are called out for being stupid. They aren't praised for doing things that could blow their hands off or burn the house down. The only ones impressed are their peers.
I mean, this is not true and I have seen that both online and in reality. It is literally in peoples comments. Even in the comment I responded to you dont see them go "this was stupid" and moving to cut the occasion out. If whatever op did was not approved, he simply would not had access to materials. You can prevent a kid from doing dangerous things with "electricity, chemistry, firecrackers and rockets" easily - you just refuse to buy firecrackers if they refuse to deal with them responsibly. And parents frequently do - including boys parents.
The fathers comment was affirming, the irresponsible act is not a proof you would be dumb, it is proof you are right kind of a boy.
My evidence is when boys know they do bad things, they try to hide it. Also, I was punished when caught doing these things.
I've never heard of a parent encouraging their boy to play with fire or explosives. My dad went to great lengths to try to stop me from that. I even built a flamethrower once (he didn't know about that!). Weirdly, my interest in such things evaporated when I was 16 or so, and have had no interest in it since. Maybe it was because I got my hands on a Mustang!!
I once acquired several vacuum tube TVs from a repair shop. I had a lot of fun tinkering with them until my mom got rid of them, as she was sure I would be electrocuted. I shocked myself a few times which is funny in retrospect but not at the time.
My dad taught me how to use tools, but only under close supervision until he was sure I wasn't going to stab myself in the eye.
I concealed a lot from my parents and the authorities. I didn't have any illusions I'd be celebrated for that stuff.
People may celebrate it in comments when the danger is long past, sure. But that's something different.
> You can prevent a kid from doing dangerous things with "electricity, chemistry, firecrackers and rockets" easily - you just refuse to buy firecrackers if they refuse to deal with them responsibly.
My dad's great disappointment in me was I hated baseball in all its forms.
My obsessive interest in electricity, chemistry, firecrackers, and rockets was what led me to study engineering at Caltech. My fellow students there were the same type of boy as me. If I was beginning my career today, I'd be sleeping on the doorstep of SpaceX until they hired me.
I've never met a single man who took a car apart just to see how it worked, not even my father who worked as a generator mechanic and later a car mechanic.
Nor one younger than said father (mid-50s) who built circuits for fun -- and he's the only one!
Nor one who filled trash bags with hydrogen gas.
Nor one who even used model airplanes in any format. Nor one who flew drones, either.
And so on, and so on.
I'm sure there are rare exceptions, like you, who've done everything you've personally done. I'd honestly love to see a video or photo of some cars you've fully disassembled; I do maintenance on my volkswagen, and even just changing out the timing belt was quite time consuming!
But seriously, what's the point of your comment? Even separate from if there is some implicit and totally comprehensive difference of interests, I can't discern its relevance to the posts you replied to, especially not in context of stories that sum up to something like "yeah, i did try, and I got socially rejected at multiple stages of early development."
And yes, I'm sure there are exceptions. Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with men and women having different interests.
I'm sorry for what happened to your sister and friend. That was unfair.