Successful interventions for interrupting sexism
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to hurt
themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to hurt
themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it. And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.
You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8SrJTCc32uNVv7Q/viewform?usp=sf_link*
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to hurt
themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
For myself as a white cis-male volunteer, I try both to follow and to model the following: rotate through our workstands regularly and in the same order, simply asking "do you have any questions?" If the answer is "no", move on. If "yes", ask questions, offer options, and only use the tool yourself as a last resort (eg, if the patron is getting frustrated) and then only to show, not do it for them. To prevent hovering, encourage the volunteer to provide instruction on one discrete task the patron can do independently for a few minutes, and then move on to the next workstand. Instill something like this early and often with new volunteers, and emphasize giving patrons space to do their own work, intervening unprompted only for safety's sake or to prevent damage to the bike. I find this system helpful against (un)conscious bias.
I'm less good at intervening when I witness sexist behaviour, but agree that's necessary - Mary-Catherine's approach is what I would recommend and aspire to.
Brad pronouns: he/him bikeSauce (Toronto, Canada)
tir. 19. jan. 2021 kl. 10:10 skrev Mary-Catherine Graziano < marycatherine@localmotion.org>:
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it. And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.
You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8SrJTCc32uNVv7Q/viewform?usp=sf_link*
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to hurt
themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
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I also like Mary-Catherine's approach. In a lot of ways interrupting these things is a physical act that leads or administrators have to be responsible for; policy alone isn't really enough. Intervention has to be active, subtle, deflective, and very assertive. Making it apparent to the helper that you acknowledge their sincere (in most cases, in my experience) desire to be useful and helpful can be really useful in itself for navigating and mitigating the awkwardness that many people hoping to intervene might fear. Of course, don't spend more time on the grabby mansplainer than the participant.
One thing we always did, in terms of staff and volunteer policy-level solutions, was show the participant once, then be certain to leave them to do subsequent work on that module themselves. In the case where there was only one of that component on the bike, i.e. the front derailer (as opposed to a brake caliper or lever where you could do one and they could do the other) the adjustment or repair would be modeled on a different bike than the one that they were working on. Sometimes if a broken/maladjusted component wasn't available for that particular job, we'd deliberately miscalibrate or disconnect the component on another bike to serve for the demo. But yeah, having a simplistic and crystal clear policy limiting the circumstances under which you're allowed to put hands on someone's bike, touch the tools they are using, or insinuate yourself into a task, can be effective.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 15:38, Brad Wentworth wrote:
For myself as a white cis-male volunteer, I try both to follow and to model the following: rotate through our workstands regularly and in the same order, simply asking "do you have any questions?" If the answer is "no", move on. If "yes", ask questions, offer options, and only use the tool yourself as a last resort (eg, if the patron is getting frustrated) and then only to show, not do it for them. To prevent hovering, encourage the volunteer to provide instruction on one discrete task the patron can do independently for a few minutes, and then move on to the next workstand. Instill something like this early and often with new volunteers, and emphasize giving patrons space to do their own work, intervening unprompted only for safety's sake or to prevent damage to the bike. I find this system helpful against (un)conscious bias.
I'm less good at intervening when I witness sexist behaviour, but agree that's necessary - Mary-Catherine's approach is what I would recommend and aspire to.
Brad pronouns: he/him bikeSauce (Toronto, Canada)
tir. 19. jan. 2021 kl. 10:10 skrev Mary-Catherine Graziano < marycatherine@localmotion.org>:
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it.
And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8SrJTCc32uNVv7Q/viewform?usp=sf_link*
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to
hurt themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
The ThinkTank mailing List
Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.or...
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To clarify, Momoko was the one who first introduced physically returning the spanner to the volunteer--I was just echoing their excellent advice and adding on a potential script for the interruption of the behavior. I'm really glad folks are having this conversation!
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8SrJTCc32uNVv7Q/viewform?usp=sf_link*
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 4:38 PM Cyclista Nicholas cyclista@inventati.org wrote:
I also like Mary-Catherine's approach. In a lot of ways interrupting these things is a physical act that leads or administrators have to be responsible for; policy alone isn't really enough. Intervention has to be active, subtle, deflective, and very assertive. Making it apparent to the helper that you acknowledge their sincere (in most cases, in my experience) desire to be useful and helpful can be really useful in itself for navigating and mitigating the awkwardness that many people hoping to intervene might fear. Of course, don't spend more time on the grabby mansplainer than the participant.
One thing we always did, in terms of staff and volunteer policy-level solutions, was show the participant once, then be certain to leave them to do subsequent work on that module themselves. In the case where there was only one of that component on the bike, i.e. the front derailer (as opposed to a brake caliper or lever where you could do one and they could do the other) the adjustment or repair would be modeled on a different bike than the one that they were working on. Sometimes if a broken/maladjusted component wasn't available for that particular job, we'd deliberately miscalibrate or disconnect the component on another bike to serve for the demo. But yeah, having a simplistic and crystal clear policy limiting the circumstances under which you're allowed to put hands on someone's bike, touch the tools they are using, or insinuate yourself into a task, can be effective.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 15:38, Brad Wentworth wrote:
For myself as a white cis-male volunteer, I try both to follow and to model the following: rotate through our workstands regularly and in the same order, simply asking "do you have any questions?" If the answer is "no", move on. If "yes", ask questions, offer options, and only use the tool yourself as a last resort (eg, if the patron is getting frustrated) and then only to show, not do it for them. To prevent hovering, encourage the volunteer to provide instruction on one discrete task the patron can do independently for a few minutes, and then move on to the next workstand. Instill something like this early and often with new volunteers, and emphasize giving patrons space to do their own work, intervening unprompted only for safety's sake or to prevent damage to the bike. I find this system helpful against (un)conscious bias.
I'm less good at intervening when I witness sexist behaviour, but agree that's necessary - Mary-Catherine's approach is what I would recommend and aspire to.
Brad pronouns: he/him bikeSauce (Toronto, Canada)
tir. 19. jan. 2021 kl. 10:10 skrev Mary-Catherine Graziano < marycatherine@localmotion.org>:
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it. And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.
You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY <
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8...
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to
hurt themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
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I guess part of what I'm suggesting here is that in a lot of cases, the person doesn't see themselves as being sexist, they just think they are being helpful, and so playing to this goal in conversation with them, framing it as "how to do an even BETTER job of helping" is a more effective route than approaching them with the task of targeting part of themselves to shut down. Rarely can standout cases of this kind of behavior be permanently and comprehensively reshaped in one sitting.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 21:38, Cyclista Nicholas wrote:
I also like Mary-Catherine's approach. In a lot of ways interrupting these things is a physical act that leads or administrators have to be responsible for; policy alone isn't really enough. Intervention has to be active, subtle, deflective, and very assertive. Making it apparent to the helper that you acknowledge their sincere (in most cases, in my experience) desire to be useful and helpful can be really useful in itself for navigating and mitigating the awkwardness that many people hoping to intervene might fear. Of course, don't spend more time on the grabby mansplainer than the participant.
One thing we always did, in terms of staff and volunteer policy-level solutions, was show the participant once, then be certain to leave them to do subsequent work on that module themselves. In the case where there was only one of that component on the bike, i.e. the front derailer (as opposed to a brake caliper or lever where you could do one and they could do the other) the adjustment or repair would be modeled on a different bike than the one that they were working on. Sometimes if a broken/maladjusted component wasn't available for that particular job, we'd deliberately miscalibrate or disconnect the component on another bike to serve for the demo. But yeah, having a simplistic and crystal clear policy limiting the circumstances under which you're allowed to put hands on someone's bike, touch the tools they are using, or insinuate yourself into a task, can be effective.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 15:38, Brad Wentworth wrote:
For myself as a white cis-male volunteer, I try both to follow and to model the following: rotate through our workstands regularly and in the same order, simply asking "do you have any questions?" If the answer is "no", move on. If "yes", ask questions, offer options, and only use the tool yourself as a last resort (eg, if the patron is getting frustrated) and then only to show, not do it for them. To prevent hovering, encourage the volunteer to provide instruction on one discrete task the patron can do independently for a few minutes, and then move on to the next workstand. Instill something like this early and often with new volunteers, and emphasize giving patrons space to do their own work, intervening unprompted only for safety's sake or to prevent damage to the bike. I find this system helpful against (un)conscious bias.
I'm less good at intervening when I witness sexist behaviour, but agree that's necessary - Mary-Catherine's approach is what I would recommend and aspire to.
Brad pronouns: he/him bikeSauce (Toronto, Canada)
tir. 19. jan. 2021 kl. 10:10 skrev Mary-Catherine Graziano < marycatherine@localmotion.org>:
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it.
And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8SrJTCc32uNVv7Q/viewform?usp=sf_link*
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to
hurt themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
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I believe we've headed off some of the instances of this happening by making attendance at a volunteer orientation mandatory for anyone to work 1-on-1 with participants in the shop. Like, you can still show up as a drop-in volunteer (in the Before Times anyway; we're still working out how spring is going to go) or sign up to help with a whole bunch of different things at the space or events or what have you, but you can't volunteer to be a helper / mechanic unless you go through the orientation. In the orientations, we do role plays and talk about how this specific kind of patriarchal behavior is a theme in spaces like this. We think that this helps some people develop new skills and perspectives to avoid doing it, and gives us something concrete to refer back to when it does come up. "Remember when...?"
Josh Bisker | 914-500-9890 | Executive Director, Mechanical Gardens Bike Co-op http://bikecoop.nyc/ 2020 Year-End Donation Drive is ON! Support Bike Equity in NYC Today! http://bikecoop.nyc/donate Funkrust Brass Band http://funkrust.com/ | Kessel Run Radio Show on Maker Park Radio https://makerparkradio.nyc/shows/the-kessel-run-w-joshjoshjosh/
On Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 9:03 PM Cyclista Nicholas cyclista@inventati.org wrote:
I guess part of what I'm suggesting here is that in a lot of cases, the person doesn't see themselves as being sexist, they just think they are being helpful, and so playing to this goal in conversation with them, framing it as "how to do an even BETTER job of helping" is a more effective route than approaching them with the task of targeting part of themselves to shut down. Rarely can standout cases of this kind of behavior be permanently and comprehensively reshaped in one sitting.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 21:38, Cyclista Nicholas wrote:
I also like Mary-Catherine's approach. In a lot of ways interrupting these things is a physical act that leads or administrators have to be responsible for; policy alone isn't really enough. Intervention has to be active, subtle, deflective, and very assertive. Making it apparent to the helper that you acknowledge their sincere (in most cases, in my experience) desire to be useful and helpful can be really useful in itself for navigating and mitigating the awkwardness that many people hoping to intervene might fear. Of course, don't spend more time on the grabby mansplainer than the participant.
One thing we always did, in terms of staff and volunteer policy-level solutions, was show the participant once, then be certain to leave them to do subsequent work on that module themselves. In the case where there was only one of that component on the bike, i.e. the front derailer (as opposed to a brake caliper or lever where you could do one and they could do the other) the adjustment or repair would be modeled on a different bike than the one that they were working on. Sometimes if a broken/maladjusted component wasn't available for that particular job, we'd deliberately miscalibrate or disconnect the component on another bike to serve for the demo. But yeah, having a simplistic and crystal clear policy limiting the circumstances under which you're allowed to put hands on someone's bike, touch the tools they are using, or insinuate yourself into a task, can be effective.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2021-01-19 15:38, Brad Wentworth wrote:
For myself as a white cis-male volunteer, I try both to follow and to model the following: rotate through our workstands regularly and in the same order, simply asking "do you have any questions?" If the answer is "no", move on. If "yes", ask questions, offer options, and only use the tool yourself as a last resort (eg, if the patron is getting frustrated) and then only to show, not do it for them. To prevent hovering, encourage the volunteer to provide instruction on one discrete task the patron can do independently for a few minutes, and then move on to the next workstand. Instill something like this early and often with new volunteers, and emphasize giving patrons space to do their own work, intervening unprompted only for safety's sake or to prevent damage to the bike. I find this system helpful against (un)conscious bias.
I'm less good at intervening when I witness sexist behaviour, but agree that's necessary - Mary-Catherine's approach is what I would recommend and aspire to.
Brad pronouns: he/him bikeSauce (Toronto, Canada)
tir. 19. jan. 2021 kl. 10:10 skrev Mary-Catherine Graziano < marycatherine@localmotion.org>:
I very much like the idea of the physical interruption, and the returning of the spanner to the woman.
You can say something like, "thank you XX name, for helping out, you've done an excellent job of explaining. I think she can take it from here. XX woman's name--do you have the idea now?" Politeness is a particular constraint for people, and women especially are constrained by it. And age differentials are tricky too. Being a "newbie" confronted by a veteran, as well, provides social dynamics that make things tricky. It's the space manager's obligation to provide a dynamic shifter in these situations. You're going to be ham-handed sometimes. I have made mistakes on this front and insulted the heck out of people who have been overly dominant in a situation, but at a certain point, you have to try and fail and learn how to manage these types of interactions by figuring out what worked and what didn't.
You can have a rule in your space that if someone is shown how to do something, then they need to be actually also DOING the thing, because there's a huge difference between seeing it in action and doing it with your hands, so any help that is given must be followed up with an opportunity to do the thing.
You can also redirect the volunteer to some other task if you want to go the subtle route. "Hey XX volunteer, I need your help with this XX thing". You could even redirect them to another person who needs help, but tell them, in the intro to the issue, that the person who needs help should be doing the actual work, so their job is to walk the help-requester through the repair verbally and let them do the actual work, and thereby set a new norm just through direction setting.
Best, Mary Catherine Graziano Education and Volunteer Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion 1 Steele St., Burlington, VT 05401 phone: 802-861-2700 ext. 106 fax: 802-861-3096 www.localmotion.org
*Thank you for supporting walkable, bikeable communities. Check out our brand new video https://youtu.be/mbko2cjpsug and our Spring Newsletter https://www.localmotion.org/spring_newsletter_2019*
Tell Your Story
*We would love to hear your story about how our work has made a difference in your life! *
*SUBMIT YOUR STORY <
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0TrgaqfUS0PmdFikFCwgJhQ6F2UlVlHB8...
Have a walk/bike event that you want to promote? Go here to submit it for our calendar: https://www.localmotion.org/events
We offer: Kids' Bike Skills Programs for schools, recreation programs and summer camps: https://www.localmotion.org/bike_smart
Want to help your school community develop healthy, sustainable travel behaviors? Encourage walking, biking, carpooling and busing to your school, AND earn prizes! waytogovt.org
We also provide Bike Skills Programs for adults: http://www.localmotion.org/education/everydaybicyclingproject
To learn about our programs, go here: www.localmotion.org
http://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt http://www.twitter.com/localmotionvt http://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM momoko saunders analyst@bikefarm.org wrote:
When I see someone doing this:
I usually insert myself into the volunteer experience, as if to help, and then give the tool to the woman (or whoever if supposed to be holding it). Then model the behaviour I'd like to see. Maybe signal to another volunteer who knows the drill to take my place while I ask the "heart of gold" volunteer to step outside with me. I tell them right then that we want to avoid behaviour like this. You have to not hover over women.
If they are overly defensive, they should likely not continue to volunteer in a capacity that involves working with other humans. A bit of defense is ok. You let people say what they want to say - but in the end you say, this behaviour is not acceptable in this space.
On Sun, Jan 17, 2021 at 5:23 AM Dennis Wollersheim dewoller@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone
We ran a volunteer induction working bee today (photo attached), and despite our best intentions, sexism was a constant companion.
It wasn't over the top, just the everyday:
Woman: "how do I...?" Man: "let me show you..." 10 minute later, man still holding the spanner.
Many times, multiple circumstances.
Unrequested advice is another common form.
The problem is that it is baked into the cultural dynamics. It is tricky to interrupt without making everyone feel bad.
I've got a personal policy that I try to follow:
- don't touch bike unless requested,
- don't offer information unless questioned, or someone about to
hurt themselves,
- watch, listen
But that takes much patience, and comes after 20 years of anti sexism work. It is a bit of a stretch for our 75 year old volunteer mechanic with a heart of gold.
I'm looking for something pragmatic that we can implement, to interrupt the worst of it, to make some space. Does anyone have advice? Success stories?
Much love from Melbourne bike shed
Dennis Secretary ____________________________________
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participants (6)
-
Brad Wentworth -
Cyclista Nicholas -
Dennis Wollersheim -
Josh Bisker -
Mary-Catherine Graziano -
momoko saunders