WTF: Women only know how to use household gadgets

woman-on-laptop.jpgThis morning we came across a study that claimed women check their phones first thing in the morning and don’t look at their partners enough (so what?!), and now this afternoon we’ve found some more female-slamming research, which claims women know plenty about household gadgets and very little about any other kind of tech. Charming.

No, you haven’t been transported back into the 1950’s, the research comes from a report commissioned by Amica kitchen appliances into the way men and women use gadgets and what they have trouble working.

According to the research that polled 2,000 adults, women have a hard time turning on their children’s games, getting smart phones to work properly and figuring out what that elusive PC does, but feel comforted by household gadgets, such as (you guessed it) hoovers, ovens and washing machines.

Now we don’t doubt that there are valid reasons why some women may be able to use kitchen appliances yet struggle with other products, but the general assumption that we’re all much more comfortable away from the real world in the kitchen just frustrates us and doesn’t set a good example for young girls considering a career in tech.

According to the study, these are the top ten gadgets us useless women just can’t get our teeny tiny brains around:

Laptop – The little tray we provide our husbands with so they don’t spill food on themselves?!
PC – A policeman?
iPhone – A phone for your eyes?
Blackberry – Oh like the fruit? We have a neat pie recipe that includes them!
iPad – Like a plaster for your eye? We’ll go into our medicine cabinet to get you one…
Mobile Phone – I have one, I don’t know where the on/off button is though…
MP3 – Is this our address?
Sat Nav – Is this the name of a new sci-fi film?
Games Console – A board game?
Digital Camera – I have one, I don’t know where the on/off button is though…

[Image via Mike Licht]
Becca Caddy

18 comments

  • This morning we came across a study that claimed women check their phones first thing in the morning and don't look 

  • Good on you, Amelia! So good to see a real woman standing her ground! Don’t back down, babe. The guys here agree this is refreshing to see your attitude and this is what we want!

  • Haha!! This is the most entertaining thing on the site, by far!! Some of the finest comedy I have seen all year! Bloody excellent…sent the link around the office here. Can’t wait for more.

  • I concur with our ungrammatical friend above. I prefer a woman who is most feminine, and find that those who can stand, or even enjoy, to wrestle with the likes of DIY, engines, PVRs, and other practical matters to be generally less attractive, at least to me. The girls at work are fine with operating their computers after a bit of practice, but they’re not interested in even the smallest maintenance job, such as defreagging a hard drive, while the guys seem to see it as a matter of routine. This difference is fine by me – as I say, I prefer a woman who is not like a man in any way. Believe me, there’s nothing more sexy, and I expect most men feel that way. I think it has something to do with natural roles and biological attraction, but either way it is undeniable. A woman with masculine skills is a quite conspicuous turn-off. I should know – my wife is a mechanic for Kwik Fit.

  • Oh, I say! How silly. No woman can be self-reliant. Apart from the physical weakness, there are so many reasons why we shouldn’t even attempt masculine activities – it’s just not dignified. I can’t believe anyone would argue otherwise. I only know one woman who is at all proficient with her gadgets, but she’s got a ‘girlfriend’ and dresses just like a plumber! I think some of the other contributors on this page are probably similar. Good luck to them!

  • Well excuse me for wanting to be self-reliant!

    Must you really sacrifice your femininity in order to operate a computer or whatever? Sorry I didn’t get that particular notice.

    Even if there are many women who enjoy relying on their men perfectly fine, it’s insulting to so heavily imply that the “kitchen and home” is the only realm that should interest us to those who actually know how to use their tech.

  • I’m a PC maintenance specialist who does a lot of callouts, and I can tell you that nearly ALL my customers are women, and they almost never understand anything about their computers and they don’t care! I for one am very glad of that – if they did I’d never get laid.

  • Well excuse me! Trying to force women into being more like men is insulting, not to mention unnatural and likely to rob a woman of her femininity that this species relies on. For thousands of years, men have been the hunters and the doers, and women have not. You think suddenly our role should change? You think that’s natural? Women are the source of emotion and family stability, and we are given the tools to get our own way with men – and yes, sometimes that does mean a short skirt and cute smile. All I said was that we should leave the complicated machines to men, who are much better suited to operating them. Personally, I’m glad I need a man to work my computer and other electric products (except one, of course) – I’m a girl, and I’d like to stay that way.

  • Wow, some women still run to a man whenever they have tech trouble? That’s… a bit pathetic really. Tech’s not going anywhere. Behaving like an incapable woman doesn’t do any of us favours. It’s rather irritating, much like that insulting piece of research. Well done Amica!

  • Not sure if Amelia is being a troll or is actually serious.

    It’s important for women to know how to use tech devices because the world is becoming increasingly digitalized. If I had to run to the nearest guy every time I wanted to turn on my laptop I look stupid and incapable.

    Stop encouraging women to rely on men all the time. It encourages this idea of male dominance that is too often used to discourage women from pursuing their many opportunities and goals.

    FYI, I’m a girl and other than my dad who studied mechanical engineering, I’m the most informed about tech devices, how to operate them, and how to fix them in my family.

  • The other lady is spot-on. I object to this view that women should be encouraged to use these masculine devices. Men make them, and men can use them because their minds work that way. Women should be women, and these things detract from our femininity. If we need help, we are fully capable of asking for it – that’s what eyelashes and push-up bras are for, after all.

  • Is this news? I know I’m clueless about anything that has buttons…knobs are fine (there’s something about twisting that’s easier to understand)! I just get my husband to work all the gadgets. I’ve just asked a few of the girls in my office and they say the same. We just don’t like to get involved with complicated stuff. That’s what men are for!

  • They must have surveyed the wrong women! Yes I love my kitchen gadgets, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love my tech. The only thing I can’t do is play boys games like COD and the like, everything else I love.

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