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On Masculinity and Home Improvement

Tristan Bridges of Inequality by (Interior) Design recounts his trip to the local big-box hardware store, where a nice lady made him feel only slightly less of a man:

Now, up to this point, I hadn’t thought much about Carla being a woman. The small projects I have taken on around the house have often been in the company of women (my mother, my sisters, my wife, friends, etc.). But, I did start to think about gender with what happened next. Men in Lowe’s uniforms (which is basically a fishing vest with a Lowe’s patch over anything you want to wear) came from all over the place to watch Carla work. The first was a younger man, maybe 20 years old. He walked up and Carla quickly gave him a task. “Go get the next size up in spline. This one’s too little,” she said as she positioned the screen over the frame.

Great story about gender dynamics in typically gendered occupations.

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