Here is an excerpt from my new informative pamphlet/zine/etc entitled

"Everyone is Welcome in Our Shop: A Guide to Understanding Women's Night"

Feel free to discuss or ask questions. 

I am being prompted to post this because of the increasing number of men who think that it is ok for them to use the shop during our women's program.  The entire pamphlet is available at our shop and online in our "printable fliers" folder. Thanks for looking!

Q & A

Number 1 – Why?

Q: Why do women need a separate night to work on bikes? Don’t women already receive equal treatment because of suffrage, civil rights, etc?

A: I founded the shop that I work at over 2 years ago, and I still have people (both men AND women) double check something I have told them with a male mechanic, or ask if they can talk to a mechanic when they are already talking to me.  I have also had men interrupt me while I am explaining something, hit on me or unload all of their emotional problems on me while we are trying to fix their bike, or take a tool out of my hand. These things have never happened to me at Women’s Night!

Number 2 - Segregation

Q: Isn’t separating a group of people based on race, gender, class, etc. called segregation, which is a bad thing?

A: Think of society like a big ladder, with the people who control resources, labor, money, politics, etc. (people with power) at the top and the people with no power at the bottom. People with some power are in the middle. Men are higher up on this ladder than women (see government and income as examples in first world societies, women’s health in third world societies). When a group that is higher on the ladder tells a group that is lower on the ladder to go away, that is called segregation.  When a group that is lower on the ladder tells a group above them to go away, that is called “organizing.” When and ONLY when a group has the initiative to organize can they gain power by helping each other.

Number 3 – Oppression for Everyone!

Q: What about a night for gay men, or people of color, or children? Aren’t there other oppressed groups besides women?

A:  Good idea! In fact, any group that wants to run a program is more than welcome to do so in our shop, as long as it is consistent with our mission statement and principles of equality, and one of our staff members is willing and able to sponsor it.

Number 4 – The Gender Bender

Q: What if someone is transgendered and male bodied, or male bodied but otherwise identifies as female, or identifies as female only some of the time, or is female-bodied but identifies as male, etc etc etc?

A: We simply call our program “Women’s Night” in order to avoid isolating any people who may not fit a traditional definition of the word “woman” but as long as someone relates to the experience of being a woman on a daily basis and is being genuine, they are welcome to use our shop during women’s night.  And no, you cannot come if you are man wearing a wig/dress, and we are tired of that joke. We won't even fake  a laugh.

Number 5 – Just One Person

Q: I am a man. Can I just come by and fill up my tires really fast?

A: I frequently have men ask me if they can “just” come change their tube or put air in their tires during women’s shop hours. They get offended when I say no or think that I should do them a favor. Let me explain it this way: when someone comes to women’s night, they are not expecting men to be there. Even if you are just changing your tube, you are using the shop and anyone who comes in will see you using the shop. And no, you are not the only person who asked me if you could be the exception that day!


* some additional thoughts:

1) sending a woman to do something for you on women's night is completely unacceptable because you are using a woman to meet your needs at her expense. it is doubly disrespectful of both that individual woman and the group of women running the program. 

2) if women's night did not exist, men still wouldn't be able to use the shop that night because it would be closed. so just pretend it's closed.

3) The Myth of the "Person Who Knows Everything"

Q: During our regular shop hours we default to the guy who knows the most about bikes when we have a question. How can we have open shop hours without him?

A: In any group of people, there will be one person who knows the most. In the world of bike shops, that person is often a man because of the years of experience that women missed out on when they weren't allowed/socially accepted as mechanics. When you form a new group of people (all women), there will inevitably be one person who knows the most about bikes, only this time it will be a woman. My point is that the man who knows everything does not actually know everything, it only seems that way relatively. Get a manual, the internet, some tools, and start wrenching. Soon YOU will be the "person who knows everything."