At the risk of being irrevocably branded as Feminist...

Gailann Schrader · #1 08/15/08, 11:39 AM

I truly do not understand why a recurring thread over the years I've been on Homesteading has been: "Can women farm?"

What on EARTH do you think we've been doing for thousands of years?

I don't understand how estrogen and periods and size are limiting factors.

What's the difference between a 5'2" man and a 5'2" woman when all sexual factors are ignored?

The OTHER pertinent question is: "Can MEN farm?"

And it's the SAME answer for both - some can, some suck at it, and some are not able at all.

It seems the actual, unspoken question is: "Are women SMART enough to farm?"

Only a sexist fool would think not. Why not substitute the word "farm" with "be a CEO" or "drive a car" or "build a house" or "become president" or "balance a checkbook?"

I guess I don't understand why this question continues to be posed.

I long-term dated a guy in high school whose mother farmed 300+ acres. Pretty much by herself - row crop. Corn and soybeans. She hired out the combining (which a lot of folks do), but kept her farm going for many many years. She farmed for at least 50 years. It was her sole source of income. And she raised two children. And taught them to farm. And kept house.

watcher · #2 08/15/08, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gailann Schrader

I truly do not understand why a recurring thread over the years I've been on Homesteading has been: "Can women farm?"

What on EARTH do you think we've been doing for thousands of years?

I don't understand how estrogen and periods and size are limiting factors.

What's the difference between a 5'2" man and a 5'2" woman when all sexual factors are ignored?

The following are technically sexual based but I'm going to take the chance you are not being that technical on the term.

Statically, the man would have more muscle mass, especially in the upper body, making him stronger. He would also have a larger heart and lungs allowing him to work longer and/or faster. For the same weight he would have a better muscle to fat ratio which would allow him to deal with working in hot weather (fat is an insulator).

Before ya'll jump on me as a male chauvinist pig you should know my wife is a former airborne qualified Army officer who drives an tractor trailer rig hauling new cars. So I KNOW what some women can do.

sewtlm · #3 08/15/08, 02:16 PM

The Question in the former post of "Can Women farm?" was about a family conflict about learning to operate heavy equipment. The OP of that thread couldn't get her spouse to train her about using large equipment because of the manly idea of " I'll do it myself" not " A woman can't do this job".

We that answered have faced this question head on in our own families and did learn and have male instruction. In my case it was my dad instructing against my grandpa's wishes after we took over operating the family farm.

Any woman or man at 5'2" will have a hard time farming anything due to their lack of body mass period. Since women are normally smaller they DO have a harder time man handeling large things and they must think more and work harder.

I have the privilege of being a larger than average female and can out lift most but I still think about how to do things easier without hurting my back.
In High school I competed in rodeos with goat tying, they used 20lb babies and I saw many of the girls struggle to tie those little goats when I could carry off one under each arm.

NWoods_Hippie · #4 08/15/08, 02:37 PM

I was carrying a 40 pound puppy up and down the 2nd floor deck stairway to get to our yard for a few weeks, but then I am taller than most women and have more upper body mass also. Actually I am taller than my Grandfather, a lifetime crop farmer from East Central Illinois, was in his prime...however he taught me how to lift and move things properly so as to not get hurt.

When I first moved to the Northwoods I painted houses, exteriors ONLY, and worked on many houses that "male" painters didn't want to work on because of the height or the difficultly with ladder and scaffold placement. All a woman needs to do is go a bit slower, think things through and not try to be "manly" and muscle something to make it work.

Thank you for your OP Gailanne!!

Margie

Farmerwilly2 · #5 08/15/08, 03:34 PM

So does this mean that 'yes', they can? Seems to be the general opinion. I'd say yes, and that they can look cuter doing it.

NWoods_Hippie · #6 08/15/08, 03:55 PM

I wouldn't say I look "cuter" when I am working outside or on my family's farm, but I get the job done!

Margie

Windy in Kansas · #7 08/15/08, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWoods_Hippie

I wouldn't say I look "cuter" when I am working outside or on my family's farm, but I get the job done!

Don't you know how attractive farmer's daughters are to guys when hiding your face in the shadow of a cap bill, perhaps with a ponytail sticking out, how great you make a pair of overalls look or vice versa? Men are always attracted to Tom boys although a Tom boy type and a farmer daughter aren't necessarily alike in the least.

Cuter when out working on the farm--you bet even if only in minds eye.

Gailann Schrader · #8 08/15/08, 04:11 PM

"THEY" would indicate that the female of the species would be able to farm and that this would somehow be a surprise to fairly educated people - which we are.

Making the "THEY" mistake can be deadly...

...and self-limiting...

Wolf mom · #9 08/15/08, 06:39 PM

The more I do, the more I find that anyone can do "man's" work. Just has to take a little research on how to do it.

We women just have to think smarter rather than "muscle" everything... therefore, are we women smarter??

Farm? you better believe we can do it!!

ELOCN · #10 08/15/08, 07:40 PM

Good for you for farming! And good for your former boyfriend's mother for farming 300 acres and keeping house! You have my admiration and my respect.

Old Vet · #11 08/15/08, 08:04 PM

Any body with much sence wilol agree that Women can do just about anything they want to. Now comes the hard part how many women want to farm? Farming expectaily row crop farming is hard work for long hours. It is easy to be in the field for 16 to 18 hours per day and then come home and work the books not every day but enough to get you real tired. I know I did this for many years. It is not just the farming but equipment repairs. You can't hire out repairs all the time and make any money.

Alice In TX/MO · #12 08/15/08, 08:16 PM

The reason it keeps being asked is because in the real world, little girls are still being raised to think it's cute to be helpless.

I gave my brand new granddaughter a pair of John Deere socks. From the reaction of her mother, you'd think it was a snake.

Sigh.

Edited to add:
I'm looking forward to her being old enough to spend the summers with Gran. Hehehe. We're gonna get dirty and build things and milk goats and make cheese.

willow_girl · #13 08/15/08, 08:36 PM

Gailann,

You talk as if being a feminist is a bad thing!

Heh.

hotzcatz · #14 08/15/08, 09:10 PM

Some of those East Coast big universities did a study and they found out there are gender differentiated differences between boy babies and girl babies. Apparently, boy babies are geared towards action and girl babies are more passive. Given a situation to either move or wait, many more boys will move than will wait and it's the reverse for girl babies. Boy babies are also quicker to cry if they can't see their moms. So there are some differences.

However, any motivated adult can pretty much do or figure out how to do just about anything else any other adult can do - in a general sort of way. There are some things such as singing with perfect pitch that would be impossible for many folks but that isn't specific to gender.

How the folks get to be adult and the training they have had along the way goes a lot towards what the adults will feel they are able to do. Personally I think every adult should be able to make cookies, weld up a tool, hem a shirt and do basic house repairs. 'Tain't rocket science and gender ain't got nothin' to do with it.

FarmboyBill · #15 08/15/08, 09:52 PM

I took cooking in 4-H cause I fully intended to be single my life. Made a cake, and stuff, Got married 3 times, and kinda looking now. Aint cooked or baked, and seldom fried anything in 40 yrs

Farmerwilly2 · #16 08/15/08, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWoods_Hippie

I wouldn't say I look "cuter" when I am working outside or on my family's farm, but I get the job done!

Margie

I've seen pictures of me bent over--yikes!!! Farmin wimmin just got to be cuter weedin. It don't take a rocket engineer to farm, just a little sweat and a little grit, and I know plenty of gals that got grit.

Rocky Fields · #17 08/15/08, 10:08 PM

Hey.

My neighbors down the road have 350 acres and lots of livestock. Her husband had a stroke, so she is working the farm by herself at the age of 74. It all depends on the woman and how determined she is.

RF

willow_girl · #18 08/15/08, 11:20 PM

Yeah, one of the herds I tested was a small family farm -- husband, wife, grown bachelor son. I don't think the wife had much of a hand in it really until her husband fell off the combine and broke his back. They were both in their early 60s. She took over feeding and milking the cows, and when he recovered enough to hobble around, he took over her household chores. She'd brag that he'd have breakfast waiting for her every morning when she came in out of the barn! Now there's a lady with a lot of grit, and a feller too, now that I think about it. No complaining, just did what they had to do to keep things going.

FordJunkie · #19 08/15/08, 11:56 PM

After 13 yrs or maybe 14 yrs together my wife has went from cute office worker who couldn't drive a stick shift to being able to drive a semi and does pretty well on the old tractor. I drive a truck OTR so she has to run the homestead by herself all week.

If I'm out working on fence she is right there helping to pull fence. I believe the one's who say women can't are the women who don't want too and the men who are afraid they'll lose there manlyness.

And yes I can outcook a lot of folks men and women as I spent a lot of time in grandma's kitchen as a youngster. I also can sew and mend clothes. So not sure where that puts me on the list either.

My hats off to the lady's that do.

Tony

minnikin1 · #20 08/16/08, 07:49 AM

I think it's hard for women to farm.

A person of any gender, given a task, will perform to his or her physical ability.
When the task is too big, too heavy, too hard, the solution is to turn to a tool.

The problem, IMO, is that our society has designed tools based on the
physical limitations of males, not females.

So - the average bag of feed (or bale of hay) is comfortable for the average man.
Tools are designed to fit comfortably in the hands of men.. and so on.

Sometimes the strangest things can be a problem for me on our farm -
like giant, ungainly doors that are too heavy for me open.

So I agree with the folks who say women have to think harder in order to farm. You have to figure out a way to overcome the limitations of our
cultures tools.

In addition, it costs me more money to farm than it would for a man. Since my farm wasn't designed for a person of my physical ability, I have to modify things more often. I have to pay for outside help more often.
Feed costs more in 50 lbs bags than it does in 100 lb bags....

Nevertheless, this problem is not limited to farming. It's the standard across the board in our society.
"It's a man's world"!!

So women might as well do what they want, it'll be hard -whatever we pick.