Because men hate ceiling fans?
From the MSN home page, a link for their new lifestyle feature BeJane - Home Repair for women.
I was prepared to be offended, but the actual site isn't as horrific and pandering as I feared. There's lots of information on practical things like laying a walkway, how to paint over stain, and when you should break down and hire a contractor. And the interface isn't even pink. Still, the idea of a special home repair site for women... I don't know. It seems a little patronizing. To be fair, though, I'm probably not the the best woman in the world to evaluate this site:
1. I rent. I've never owned a house, and I have no idea what kind of work goes into fixing a house. Even as a renter, though, I've had the chance to do some home repair -lite (patching holes, painting, etc.). In these cases, I've always been able to rely on my ability to read a book (or do a frickin' google search) in order to learn what I needed to know*. And not some special home repair book for ladies, just regular, old books. The idea that women need specialized information on how to fix their houses implies that they won't or can't access more traditional sources, possibly because they're too manly.
2. I'm not married. Never have been. Additionally, when I have been in the position to cohabit with a man , they've been the sort of worthless layabout that, although good looking, would be overwhelmed by the experience of picking up a paintbrush. Perhaps in more traditional couples, the male half of the couple does the home repair - I wouldn't know. However, a ladies-only site assumes that women, married or not, need this information, while dudes already have it in their heads (possibly via osmosis).
Another thing I noticed about BeJane is that, unlike 99% of msn.com features, it's not an advertisement poorly disguised as a web feature. In fact, there's almost no advertising at all - just one little ad for LowerMyBills.com. Why no advertising? Wouldn't this be the perfect place for Home Depot or Lowes or something? Hell, even blogs with no advertising are rare. What's the purpose of having a site with a targeted audience (and it doesn't get much more targeted than single female homeowners) if you're not going to make a buck off of it? How very humanitarian of them.
I hate the fact that I'm poised to be offended by this site, even though it's done nothing patently offensive. There's just too must that puts my offense-o-meter on alert.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the first thing I do before undertaking any home repair project is call my mom, who is very good a practical quick fixes. Unless I need to fix my car - then I call my youngest brother. Not because he's a dude, but because he knows stuff.
I was prepared to be offended, but the actual site isn't as horrific and pandering as I feared. There's lots of information on practical things like laying a walkway, how to paint over stain, and when you should break down and hire a contractor. And the interface isn't even pink. Still, the idea of a special home repair site for women... I don't know. It seems a little patronizing. To be fair, though, I'm probably not the the best woman in the world to evaluate this site:
1. I rent. I've never owned a house, and I have no idea what kind of work goes into fixing a house. Even as a renter, though, I've had the chance to do some home repair -lite (patching holes, painting, etc.). In these cases, I've always been able to rely on my ability to read a book (or do a frickin' google search) in order to learn what I needed to know*. And not some special home repair book for ladies, just regular, old books. The idea that women need specialized information on how to fix their houses implies that they won't or can't access more traditional sources, possibly because they're too manly.
2. I'm not married. Never have been. Additionally, when I have been in the position to cohabit with a man , they've been the sort of worthless layabout that, although good looking, would be overwhelmed by the experience of picking up a paintbrush. Perhaps in more traditional couples, the male half of the couple does the home repair - I wouldn't know. However, a ladies-only site assumes that women, married or not, need this information, while dudes already have it in their heads (possibly via osmosis).
Another thing I noticed about BeJane is that, unlike 99% of msn.com features, it's not an advertisement poorly disguised as a web feature. In fact, there's almost no advertising at all - just one little ad for LowerMyBills.com. Why no advertising? Wouldn't this be the perfect place for Home Depot or Lowes or something? Hell, even blogs with no advertising are rare. What's the purpose of having a site with a targeted audience (and it doesn't get much more targeted than single female homeowners) if you're not going to make a buck off of it? How very humanitarian of them.
I hate the fact that I'm poised to be offended by this site, even though it's done nothing patently offensive. There's just too must that puts my offense-o-meter on alert.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the first thing I do before undertaking any home repair project is call my mom, who is very good a practical quick fixes. Unless I need to fix my car - then I call my youngest brother. Not because he's a dude, but because he knows stuff.
posted by La Blonde Parisienne at 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
I hate the fact that I'm poised to be offended by this site, even though it's done nothing patently offensive. There's just too must that puts my offense-o-meter on alert.
I, too, was a tad offended. I'm married and make payments on a house. However, I don't have 5k sitting around waiting to be used for rocks or specialty light bulbs!
Yes, too 'must' :)
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