Brad said it, I believe it, that settles it.
It cannot be denied that women are being excluded from chainsaw ownership. I have little doubt that, should a woman appear at Home Depot and request to buy a chainsaw, she will be subtly guided over to the more “ladylike” gardening tools. Why are chainsaws not advertised in Marie Claire or Vogue? Clearly the manufacturers are targeting their advertising to men, to convey their subliminal message: “these tools are not for women.”
This is particularly fiendish in that, unlike Bitcoin or Linux, chainsaws are instruments of death and destruction. (Let us not neglect the fact that they are an especially violent phallic symbol. How often have you seen a man — always a man — holding a chainsaw at waist level, with the bar pointed outward?) This discrimination not only places gruesome weapons in the hands of men; it reinforces the message that women are to be victims — victims of the “chainsaw culture” that is maintained by men, for men.
Rare, authentic picture of Joel before he grew up and got a man’s chainsaw…
But have you seen the “chainsaws” they sell at Home Depot? Wimps. Husqvarna Rules!
Shameless publicity still from the freebie on the sidebar. Men Only!
(Annotation for satirical purposes only, not to be construed as actually excluding any gender construction other than men. Don’t hashtag me, Sis.)
I have a chainsaw, though I have not used it much. We always had one or more of them around, but I was never able to handle the big gas kind. So, I bought a small electric one that gets the job done and is not too heavy for me to use. I am VERY careful with it, of course. It got slightly snagged once and about flipped me right over. My arms were sore as hell for days.
Don’t know about other women, but you men can have that tool. If I need something cut with it, I holler for one of the boys to come cut it. 🙂 I’m not too proud to admit the thing scares the crap out of me. But I will use it if I have to. 🙂
OK, we need Pink chainsaws for women! Kinda worked for guns, why not give it a try? Husquvarna…Stihl….somebody?
If you lived where I live you’d wait a long time for a woman with a chain saw to cut your wood and probably die in the cold. Walk into the tool department of my local Ace Hardware, Lowe’s or Home Depot (Lowe’s and Ace are the worst) looking remotely like a female and the “customer service” people will turn around and walk away. Ask for information or details about a tool and you get a mumbled non-answer response often accompanied by demeaning put down sarcasm. Try to buy anything with a revolving blade (like a chainsaw, any color including pink) and you get a blank stare off into space. (And while you are being treated like that, remember that these are men who are being paid wages and benefits to treat you like that.) Darlin’ (or Sweetheart, whichever you prefer), there’s nothing subliminal about the exclusion and sexist message. I believe the products of any “serious” tool company (like Husqvarna) that marketed to women in Good Housekeeping or Vogue or Marie Claire would be removed from the shelves in a month. Stifle the snarky remarks, please, until you’ve learned more about the Real World Experiences of tool buying females.
So…….women don’t use chainsaws because of nasty salespeople? OK, that explains that. I had always thought it was because they had better things to do like make my dinner.
Has anyone developed a chain which can withstand female use?
Back in the days when I used to use a razor – and lived with a female, pity help the razor if the female got hold of it.
Whatever she did with it, it took huge chunks out of the blade. same for any other blade in the house.
Looking at the bushy growth in the photo you (Joel) posted a day or two back, one of Monsanto’s products (packaged in pink) might be better suited to the task than Husqvanna or Stihl’s.
Just asked my wife whether she would like to have her own chainsaw(didn’t mention pink, she hates pink with a passion) she replied” why keep a dog and bark yourself!”………
I’ll take that as a no then!
As a tool buying (and using) female, I say wah wah wah, cry me a river to Anonymous’s idea that nasty sales people make it too difficult for women to buy and use tools. Bull poop, horse apples, cowflop, sheepdip…what ever.
There’s this big ol’ world out there called…shhhh, it’s secret!…the internet. Research the tool you want, walk into the damn store, pick it off the shelf and go pay for it. Take it home and use it.
No muss, no fuss, and even less whining and complaining about the plight of “tool buying females.”
Really, anonymous. What WolfSong says.
Though I do know the phenomenon of being talked down to because you’re female (it happens, though less & less all the time in my experience), it’s not an excuse.
I’ve earned the respect of the guys at the local hardware store and lumber yard. If I didn’t get courtesy and service from them, the owner of the store would hear about it — big time! But it’s never been a problem. If it was a problem and remained a problem after I spoke up, I’d just buy my tools on Amazon or from Northern Tool and make sure the local store knew why it was losing me.
As is, though, the guys are great. I can go in there and get what I want, and when I really need help with something, I don’t have to fear admitting what I don’t know.
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Oh yeah, and Brad’s article is a HOOT!
Damn. I have 4 chainsaws and not one of them is pink. I think that’d be a hoot.
My brother introduced me to electric chainsaws. I thought they were wimpy (and unless you are cutting 12″ plus thick routinely, they are compared to the large engineed gasoline models) but man – are they convenient. Just plug it in and go – no fuel to be mixed or purchased. Around grid, pretty darn handy. I can finish the job quicker.
Then again – that just means more work to do, yeah, there is a downside, lol.
There is a whole untapped market here, designer protective gear like chaps and headgear (You do use protective gear don’t you?). Boots and gloves etc.
Next a TV reality show with women loggers in Oregon.
Undiscovered country!
FWIW, Husqvarna makes a bitchin’ good sewing machine.
My Mom, Dad to for that matter, don’t handle chainsaws anymore because of athritis. Dad’s last chainsaw was electric, he could even use it off grid by running a converter off his pick up (required rigging a proper throttle). I was taught to use a chainsaw by a little old lady from the Ozarks. It was an electric chainsaw and she taught me the proper way to handle it and cut stuff with it and how to sharpen the chain. I did yard work for her when she finally gave it up in her 80s. Yup, chainsaws is for women too.