Women Just Loooove to Talk! (Or Do They?)

Over the course of the past few years, I’ve made the following (highly unscientific) observation: Women (myself included) remain mostly silent in the presence of men. From a professional work meeting to a social hour with friends, I’m noticing again and again that men constantly dominate conversations. Just watch: The next time you’re out for drinks with friends, notice how often the conversation is about sports or cars (or some other very “guy” topic) while the women all sit there looking incredibly bored, and then notice how often the conversation is about fashion or relationships (or some other “girly” topic). I bet you’ll never observe the latter. I’m dumbfounded as I watch and wonder, “Wait…why is it said that women are the yappers? These guys just blab, and blab, and blab…”

While I believe the reasons for this social behavior are many and complex (e.g. we’re socialized into letting the men take center stage, we’re raised to be “quiet, good girls,” etc) I believe one of the reasons is that we feel intimidated—especially when it comes to “guy” topics that we may wish to explore more (e.g. investing, car maintenance, etc.). I believe there’s a fear that if we ask questions and give our opinions on traditionally male topics, we’ll be spoken down to or made to feel stupid (And to be clear, I’m not saying that all men do this on a conscience level, or that all men do this at all). I have been there so many times, I cannot even count: I think of an idea, stay silent because I don’t think it’s a good idea, then kick myself when one of the guys voices the same idea…and everyone agrees it was good!

So what does any of this have to do with my personal vision? I desire to create a safe place where women in my target audience can speak up without feeling intimidated. By offering a blog that is packaged and tailored towards women who want to learn how to tool around—whether they want to for fun, or whether they have to because they don’t have a tool-savvy man in their life—I wish to offer a judgment-free space that embraces and enhances our feminine side, our masculine side, and everything in between.

Becoming a Voices of Our Future Correspondent would provide me with the tools and coaching I need to become a better, more influential writer. It would open opportunities to expand my vision and my voice to a larger audience—via magazines, websites, and newspapers. As World Pulse and Voices of Our Future program partners such as the Op-Ed Project know very well: The world is in desperate need of more women voices. We must recondition ourselves to believe that our questions are worth asking, and that our ideas our worth sharing. More women need to speak up! And I would like the opportunity to lead the way.