I continue to be shocked again and again how the Girl Scouts are brought out as examples of trends. The Girl Scouts have been teaching their members how to fix their own stuff for years. I'm 30 years old and the Ms. Fix It badge was around when I was in middle school. I'm fairly certain that more than 15 years puts something out of the realm of fad.

"Men's domesticity has always been a group affair; they fixed the faucets and built the shelves not for themselves but for their wives and children."

That's ridiculous. If you live alone, you fix things for yourself. If you live with others, you fix things for everyone. My grandfather fixes things and he lives alone. And my mom's more likely to unclog a drain or paint a room than my dad-- she's hardly doing it for herself.

I'm better at installation and assembling furniture than my dad, mostly because if something's heavy I'll ask for help and if something needs cutting I go get scissors instead of using my pocket knife, cutting my finger open, and going to the hospital. I help people with household repair all the time because it seems like I'm the only one who's able to use logic and directions and tools at the same time. My "self reliance" means that when my boyfriend buys a new shelf I can assemble it for him, and when my roommate needs to assemble a fan I have tools to loan her. That's soooo terrible.

Also, if you ever have daughters and can find a good troop, get them into Girl Scouts. It's where I learned not to fear bugs, how to perform first aid, how to build a fire, how to change a car tire and how to make furniture (I have a lovely leather upholstered ottoman I made from a plank of wood and craft store supplies, using a nail gun). Girl Scouts can be an absolutely wonderful thing for kids.

The last paragraph sited is vomit inducing. However, up until that last paragraph, I have to say that I disagree with your general assessment of what's going on. I think it's awesome that there are so many women out there who want to use tools that they're now targeting women for classes and books. I'm an engineer, and I love tools and fixing shit around the house instead of having to wait around all day for someone else to do it for me for way more money than I can afford. I really love Home Depot classes (although I haven't seen any targeted at women). And when it comes down to it, sometimes I do need to do things a little differently than the normal (read: male) way, even including the occasional use of different equipment, because I lack the upper body strength of the average man. I'm glad the extra equipment and info on how to tweek the processes are available to me.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that while the last paragraph is so shitty that it really does color everything said in the article, the trend itself is something I find really great.

I think we can all agree the trend of women's self-reliance is great, roro80.

It appears the author of this piece does not. That's where Samhita's criticism comes in.

Pretty sad that WSJ can't get past their misogyny.

I think the Girl Scouts have been helping women fix thngs since the 1960s.

The article from WSJ is yet another reason as to why we need to get rid of these rigid gender roles.

The WSJ also seems to be missing the point that carpentry skills aren't just for fixing up happy homes, people actually make CAREERS out of them. I work as a volunteer techie, building sets in theatres all around my area. I don't think I'm doing so as a substitute for marriage.
And power tools are amazing things :).

Ick. Yeah, that last paragraph is a mighty easy target - but I had some serious troubles with this one:

No, the pink-hammer brigade is less interested in expanding career opportunities for women than in enlarging the traditional art of homemaking. Not so long ago, custom limited women's activities in that area to cleaning, sewing, cooking and perhaps a few crafts projects for those with extra time on their hands. Installing smoke alarms and reconfiguring a closet are simply an extension of the old domestic urge... It seems that you can take women out of the kitchen and nursery, but you can't take them out of the nest. - Emphasis mine.

WTF??? So women want to fix their homes because of those goddamned vaginas again. Not because, you know, something needs to be fixed or anything. This seems to be pandering to assholes here - "don't worry, women might be learning how to do shit that only you could do for them before... but it's only because they're nesting; they wouldn't DREAM of challenging you at your own game!!"

cherylp: Haha, yeah, because installing smoke alarms? TOTALLY nesting. That's definitely something silly womenfolk would do. REAL MEN would rather let the house burn down. /sarcasm

When I was in high school, I learned everything I needed to know about leaky faucets, sticky doors, and wall studs from "The You-Don't-Need-A-Man-to-Fix-It Book."

It was written in 1953. This is SO not a new trend.

Pink hammer brigade? How fucking condescending could she possibly get?

Silly women, thinking we can do anything more complicated than run the vacuum.

Dykes have known that women could fix things since the beginning of time... what's your point, WSJ?

By the way, I think my girlfriend will take it hella offensively that I "would like a good man to share my house with". I didn't recaulk the tub, put in new shelves, put on new faucet heads, install a washer and dryer, etc... just so i could date a man?

(But not to be homosexist -- I think its wonderful that all women, gay and straight, are learning the power of fixing stuff by themselves. Why should we ask (or pay) a man to do something we can do ourselves? And why does the WSJ think that just because we do something, it's just to please a man?)

"Selfreliance isn't everything"? Okay, that's awesome, but, um... I'm single and I need to put up shelving. Do I have to get married? It's not like there's a man standing here begging to help and I'm shoving him out of the way.

Although if there were, I'd tell him to hold it up while I hammer and we'll get it done faster together if we both know how to do it.

(Oh, and my hammer is yellow.)

While I understand what roro8o is saying, I'd prefer that this "trend" of "empowering" women to do it themselves was in a non-profit sector. Trends are usually created by people who want to make a buck, not empower people.

I placed "trend" in quotes because women fixing stuff is not a trend, and "empowering" is in quotes because you don't have to be empowered to, say, unclog a crap-filled toilet.

This might be a stretch, but this is how my mind works. This made me think of how women are always marketed pink tools and "girl friendly" video games and all that...I was shopping for weight gloves at Moddell's the other day, and I swear, every female sized pair was pink or had pink trim on it. They were also more expensive than the men's. So I bought a men's small out of protest. If I had smaller hands, though, that wouldn't have been an option.

I know, shocker, a girl who wants to lift weights but not in pink? I mean, c'mon, they'd clash with my red iPod (j/k)

Honestly, I'm a bit perplexed at your apparent anger at self-help books about fixing things.

They aren't "capitalizing on treating women like they're helpless".

They're capitalizing on the fact that if someone doesn't know how to do something, they're probably going to want to read HOW to do it, before they attempt it.

If I had never read how to replace the faucets and pipe in my kitchen, would I have automatically known how to do it? Of course not.

I don't really get the opinion about the books, honestly. People, male or female, don't just automatically know how to do something because they're independant. The average person of either gender isn't going to be a skilled carpenter, tile-layer, drywaller, or plumber.

That's why things exist to teach them these skills, so they CAN do them themselves.

I think a lot of your angery seems misplaced, and I'm forced to disagree with some of your conclusions.

And, I'll forgive you, since you aren't male, but talk to a few of them.

When I fix things in my house, (I am single), I fix them quick and ugly, just so long as they work, and will continue to work.

When my contemporaries, (who have a girlfriend or wife fix things), they fix them UP. They want to impress someone, be told they did a good job.

A lot of why many men will try so hard to be useful in the manner of fixing things isn't "You're a dumb woman, you no do that!", it's because they think they're good at it, they want someone to be proud of them, and they want to feel useful.

Men are taught early on that we are not so much people as we are walking pieces of equipment that earn money.

To that effect, a great deal of men like to feel useful, which is why they will tend to do things for others.

While I don't doubt that some men will in fact refuse to allow a woman to touch tools because they think she's stupid, I wouldn't be so foolish as to act as though all of them do so.

Oh, tiredness. I screwed some of that up good.

"Angery" should be "anger"

"(who have a girlfriend or wife fix things)" should be "(who have a girlfriend or wife) fix things".

Shame there's no edit button.

88mph: Women do the same thing-- if I'm fixing something for me, it doesn't matter what it looks like, but if I'm assembling something for my mom, I'll try to make it look very nice.

The objection to this article seems to be a) the assumption that it is somehow new or remarkable that women actually can fix things without needing help, when women have been fixing things for generations and b) that they seem to think women can't use normal tools and normal self-help books. When I need to fix something around the house, I can use the same self-help book and the same not-pink tools that a guy uses. They actually tend to be better.

I don't think anyone's objecting to guys being helpful, the problem is more with the assumption that it's weird that girls can do the same thing. I for one would be thrilled if my boyfriend could unclog a sink drain, but I'd be a bit insulted if he told me I couldn't.

the term "female-friendly" seriously rubs me the wrong way.

the term "female-friendly" seriously rubs me the wrong way.

the term "female-friendly" seriously rubs me the wrong way.

im all for women learning how to do these things ourselves without relying on men...but to me it seems like theres an assumption that women dont already know how to do these things, which is insulting. why cant it just be "do it yourself! how to ____" directing it towards people in general and not just women. do women need it to be saturated in pink and all that shit in order to find it appealing? :(

i also dont like a lot of those women/do it yourself things cuz they have an air of "awww, cute, look at the little woman fixing the chair. she can do it herself! ::pat pat:: "

"Installing smoke alarms and reconfiguring a closet are simply an extension of the old domestic urge... "

I am SO FUCKING SICK of being told I have domestic instincts. I don't. Period. In some ways I definitely fit the mold of a stereotypical female - hell, I think we all do, there's a pretty big range of stereotypes to choose from - but I'm NOT DOMESTIC. Lol. My room is a sty, I'm a complete slob, and I'm happy with that.

It just bugs me because I'm in college & guys I know in frats are huge pigs, but when you live in a sorority - as I did until recently when I finally got the hell out of there - you're expected to be fucking pristine. And it also bugs me because I just don't get women like the author of this article who think that just because THEY happen to be domestic or in love with the idea of being a homemaker, this means all women must inevitably feel the same way. Argh.

So right Samhita - the juxtaposition you point out at the end is sick-making.

Before we renovated my Mum's apartment a few years ago, we attended one of those DIY-clinics for women. The clinic itself was free, the instructor was a woman, and although they were obviously fishing for business, we would have shopped there anyway, so we didn't mind. The thing itself was actually a totally different experience to doing this with men around. For one thing, there was no urge to use my (not-pink) hammer to bash anybody's head in for comments like "Remember, ladies, the table legs should all point downwards!"

I agree with what has already been said. Women fix stuff out of necessity. And I'll lso admit to owning pink tools. I coated the handles of most of tools in a bright pink silicon grip. It keeps the guys I work with from walking off with my stuff, mostly because everyone knows who the bright pink screwdrivers belong to.

On another note, I feel like I need to mention the Vermont Works for Women program, that was mentioned in the first paragraph. It's not just a self-help DIY class. It's a program aimed at teaching women a trade in order to earn a livable wage.

There are so many more things wrong with this article it's hard to fit them into a comment.

1. Women are just over 50% of the population, a group that crosses lines of class, race, occupation, age, family status, and every freaking aspect of life. That writers can still talk about women as if we are all the same and get published just astounds me.

2. That women should stick to activities that don't involve too much physical exhertion or the skills that are more highly valued by society is not new, but has only ever been reality for a small group of women. It's far from a universal experience throughout history. In the 1800's the town I live in had a big gas & oil boom and was one of the early areas to use natural gas rather than having to burn wood. To attract women to the area, their motto became "our women don't chop wood." Because at the time, it was commonly a chore of women to chop wood. So much for the manly stereotype.

You have to ignore most of history (and non middle-class or upper-class women) to suggest that women haven't been doing many of these things already.

What does she think women of the pioneer days did? Sit around in the wagons being pampered?

3. The trend is really the marketing to women, not that women are suddenly doing these things. It's obvious to anyone who doesn't live in the fantasy of the 1950's middle class housewife.

4. Apparently all these women who can use a hammer are single! No married woman could possibly be doing the basic plumbing or repairs.

So...women only fix things in the house because they're single or because they're tired of asking their man to do it for them? My bf doesn't know the difference between a flathead and a Phillips screwdriver and wouldn't know what to do if our car got a flat tire. Waiting for him to do something when I know how to (and LIKE) doing them myself would just be stupid. Isn't it possible that some people are good at and enjoy doing stuff around the house? And that some women are admitting that, gender stereotypes be damned, they like getting shit done? Grargh.

Uh, yeah, perhaps this author needs to meet my roommate, who is rehabbing not one but two completely derelict houses in our "ghetto" neighborhood by herself with no budget. She is a blacksmith by trade, and fixes her own car. Or my best friend, who is rehabbing a burnt out, partially collapsed six flat by herself in our same neighborhood. Everything on her block had been abandoned so long that she had to put the city block back on the grid because it no longer had gas, water, sewer, electric, or phone service. She moved in before she had plumbing, and I moved in for a while before there were windows in the window holes.

Last time I checked, none of us handy North Side of St. Louis gals needed a man to help us along, and I'm pretty sure our hammers are regular old utilitarian colors.

When I was eight, I helped my dad build a treehouse. When I was ten, my uncle (a diehard Republican) got me a toolkit for Christmas. When I was twenty, I went on a Habitat for Humanity trip; the older men working on the house I was assigned to made sure they did all the "hard" stuff, so we "girls" all gravitated over to the house being built entirely by women, where I helped shingle the gooddamned roof. I'm almost thirty now. I am not mechanically inclined, but the idea that a woman could grow up without knowing how to use a hammer (or a table saw) was unthinkable in my house.

My first reaction to the Fix-It-Herself-as-singles'-night thing was, "Ew, men preying on women who just want to learn something cool." But then I thought, "Mmm, guys who think it's hot that women use power tools...I'D like to date those guys." So, thumbs up from me!

Pink hammer? Gag me. Women choosing to buy a home and then *gasp* fixing things in it, is not a trend, it's a fact of everyday life. I did it when I was single, and now my husband and I do projects together. I've even taught him a few things. Why do articles like this want to divide taking care of a house into his and her jobs instead of "our" job?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the article. Mostly cry, because of the whole "trend" language. I mean, women knowing how to fix a toilet bowl, unclog a drain, or hang a picture frame is like men knowing how to sew a button on a jacket or pair of pants, or how to cook a balanced meal.

That is to say, there are plenty of people who don't know how to do these basic things, but I can't understand how anyone wouldn't want to learn. Personally, I like the library for that sort of information. Plenty of handy and crafty books, and you don't have to pay for them unless you're late getting them back.

I thought now would be a good time to link to the best web comic ever: http://www.nataliedee.com/110607/susan-b-anthony-did-not-die-in-battle-so-i-could-fix-a-shelf-WITHOUT-my-pink-and-dainty-screwdriver.jpg

I'm still sad that I lost my crowbar and plumbing-related tools and parts in my last move. A girl's first crowbar is a special thing!

And I taught myself how to dismantle and put back together a faucet from a Better Homes and Gardens DIY book from the 60s-same three-ring binder style as the cookbooks, and my Dad remembers getting a copy from my mum's father when they got married. I learned my to rewire stuff/build a light fixture from a nice guy in a hardware store in Montreal-you know the kind of place where they sell nails by weight, and will discuss projects with you, and how best to carry them out.

I always buy my Dad tools for Christmas, because they are something we both like. I used to go with him to the hardware store, lumber yard etc. as a kid, and I still love them! I even had my own little toolbox, saw, and hammer as a kid.

I'm really feeling nostalgic now. My birthday is coming up-I think I'll ask for a new crowbar.

You know, the pink hammer nonsense used to bug the crap out of me. But I hear women who work with men saying they did it to keep the guys from swiping their tools. And I have a good friend who just likes pink and buys everything she can in the color... she's no less able or competent, she just likes pink and loves pink tools. So while I will never buy a pink ANYTHING because the color makes my stomach turn, the fact they're offering it doesn't bug me anymore, so long as the guy at Home Depot doesn't try to tell me I need the pink one instead of the yellow or green or blue one. He might not survive the incident.

Likewise, the "Do it HER-self" seminars used to make my blood boil. But I realized after talking to another friend that she'd be intimidated by a class at Home Depot that wasn't marketed to women, because she figured she'd be in with a bunch of guys who knew about tools & making stuff & she'd look like a moron. With a class marketed for women, she's not intimidated, and will go learn something new and get more empowered to take care of things herself. I'm all for that. Now, if someone teaching that class made a comment about women needing to remember that table legs all point down? See comment above about not surviving the incident with me.

I was raised by a father who probably wanted a boy, regardless he taught me to be self sufficient and if I don't know how to do something, I find a book or someone to show me. I don't shy away from home repairs, car maintenance, or anything else. I'm glad that there is now a movement for women to reclaim what historically was always ours... that independence and self-sufficiency. I just wish that the media didn't act like it's such a f'ing miracle.

This article is frankly insulting to both genders. Women only learn to fix things as some sort of substitute for their hysterical lady desires for children and a husband? And men only learn to fix things to be the big strong provider, and otherwise live in a state of absolute sloth? Any goodwill the author may have earned is totally dashed by that last paragraph.

I am so grateful that my father always included me in his projects, let me use his tools, etc. I never thought there was anything unusual about a girl building and repairing I was rather old before I realized this wasn't the case for most girls at my school.

Just the phrase "pink hammer brigade" makes my skin crawl. And it reminds me of the time I bought a sledgehammer when I was renovating an office building with my dad. Some old man came over and said "That's a mighty big hammer for a little girl like you. I hope you've got a good strong man at home to help you out." I replied, "No, it's for me," then went back to the office and knocked out some walls.

This article annoys me.

I do everything around my house. I mean EVERYTHING. If it needs fixing, I fix it. If I don't know how, I google it.

This, coming from a married woman who's husband doesn't want to fix things.

Apparently we are breaking some huge norms here. But it wouldn't be the first.

I haven't read the whole article, but based on Samhita's analysis and your comments, I have to say that there is one thing we're overlooking.

Of course we resent the classification of this as a new "trend" and the whole "pink hammer" talk, but we are pretty enlightened women here. We as feminists don't question our ability to do what men do. But the writer is probably summarizing the women's DIY movement from a mainstream vantage, which includes, sadly, a lot of insecure/role-bound women who do avoid fixing stuff. Maybe they're not comfortable with trying things traditionally in the men's sphere unless they get that extra push, like a class/book/toolkit especially for women. And while I would prefer that they buy the same stuff at the same price without all the martini-and-handbag humor, at least they are investing in themselves and their independence.

It may take several generations of normalizing this kind of role expansion before the pink accessories lose their novelty/function and it's just known that women do, of course, fix sinks as much as they wear pants and go to college.

I recently moved across the country and had to leave dad's tool shed behind (god how i miss having access to a table saw). I needed some basic tools for furniture assembly and needed a kit to carry them in, and I needed it all on a budget. Cheers to Diane's Tools for Her kit, which had everything I needed at a good price. Being a guy, i get some flak for having "female" tools and tool kit, but it gets most jobs done while I swap out the crap tools for proper ones.

You know, reading all these comments made me realize how lacking I am in fix it skills. Last winter, I purchased a bureau that had to be assembled. I happily gathered some tools and opened the box... a million pieces came out and I stood, hammer in hand, bewildered. Sadly, I ended up asking my folks for help. Next time, I want to tackle a project all by myself! I was really inspired by that episode of the Simpsons where Marge was a carpenter.

Geek, thank you for your perspective and comments. You completely summed up my feelings after reading this article...albeit in a much more succint and articulate manner because mine went a little something like, f**k you Kay and WSJ!

This is probably a flaky first comment, but the whole making things pink as marketing them to women annoys me too. I can respect that some women like pink, and I am 100% behind classes that teach tweaks for things that might be harder. Or things like smaller boxing gloves. I just wish they didn't have to be coated in pepto bismol colored paint. But it's really just a color issue.

My boyfriend and I bought a 120-year old house last year and are in the process of renovating it. With that in mind,

a) the concept of a "do-it-herself" clinic annoys me to no end. Is there a real reason women need a separate clinic than men do? I've been to one or two home improvement seminars that were co-ed and we all seemed to pick up the material equally;

b) Home Depot is nearly our second home these days, and while our local store has some of the best customer service I've ever seen, I am still annoyed when a cust serv rep reacts with genuine surprise that I don't need any assistance in the electrical or plumbing departments. (When I'm shopping alone, mind you.) My favorite scenario is when I'm dressed in a suit and heels on my way home from work and decide to drop in to pick up some wiring, etc., that we need. Surrounded by male contractors in dirty coveralls, I guess I do stand out in certain aisles. But the mock indignation I receive from the middle-aged male clerks never ceases to drive me crazy.

Long story short - screw the marketing "trends" and we'll all be able to continue our women's work in peace.

I love DIY and fixing things - and I learned it from my mom. It's true that it sometimes shocks people that I have a fully-stocked 'proper' (read: not pink) toolbox + socket sets + drill at 21, and that it was my HS graduation present from my mom. It also shocks them when they see I have no qualms about using them (and am eager to!). But I always hope seeing me with tools will help other women realize they're perfectly capable of doing the same.

Hey- yeah, I got that Ms. Fix It badge when I was a girl Scout- I gave my dad's 1980 Toyota Corolla a full tune-up. I still love to work on my Volkswagen and Nissan! Woohoo! And, uh, "pink hammer", WSJ? FUCK YOOOOOOOUUUUU!!!

I love it when my reason behind doing something is the fact that I lack a man in my life.

I'm not much of a fix it person, but that doesn't have anything to do with my vagina. It's because I'm lazy and I just don't really give a damn. That also has nothing to do with my vagina. Rather it's because I'm lazy and I just don't really give a damn. All the pinkest, brightest, glowyiest,perfume scented hammers in the world won't change this fact for me because its who I am. Our society would really make a giant progressive leap in our evolution if we could just get past all the lame cause-and-effect shit for brains explanations for every mundane facet of life.

I'm not much of a fix it person, but that doesn't have anything to do with my vagina. It's because I'm lazy and I just don't really give a damn. That also has nothing to do with my vagina. Rather it's because I'm lazy and I just don't really give a damn. All the pinkest, brightest, glowyiest,perfume scented hammers in the world won't change this fact for me because its who I am. Our society would really make a giant progressive leap in our evolution if we could just get past all the lame cause-and-effect shit for brains explanations for every mundane facet of life.

Listen, any of you guys out there love to cook and need a Ms. Fix-It? Seriously, I would give my right leg to get away from these smug Texas guys who'll literally grab the tool right out of my hand mid-job because they think I need their help.

With a class marketed for women, she's not intimidated, and will go learn something new and get more empowered to take care of things herself. I'm all for that.

Me too. I organized a Women in Radio conference and had some women-and-transfolk-only tech sessions (as had happened in previous years) because a lot of women don't learn technical when men are present. Most of us don't get taught things like wiring and soldering as little girls, so a lot of women end up feeling stressed out about learning it around men. I've spoken to other women who've said the same thing - one was an audio engineering prof who said she saw a 'step aside little lady' attitude from some of the men in her classes. I think it's cool for women to have a space to learn things without self-consciousness - and then go out and kick ass in the co-ed world.

As for the WSJ article, I give the writer minus a hundred points for so many things. Ugh.

One good thing that has come out of this female fix it craze is tools that are made with smaller hand sizes in mind.

I have small hands, which always made using my dad's and my uncle's tools something of a problem, usually resulting in bashed thumbs, crooked screws and cuss words muttered under my breath.

Now, I have my own set of tools (screwdrivers, power drill, ratchet set, etc) that fit my hands and make building shelves, replacing truck batteries and hanging pictures a snap. It also amuses me when the men in my life complain that my tools are too small. I tell them I can use them just fine, which is always what they told me. :)

The idea of women being interested in fixing things just because they are single and waiting for a man is irritating. I'm not single and I still have no problem picking up a (very big red) drill or a hammer (that's not pink by the way) or doing basic home improvements. Actually I'm interested in learning a skilled trade instead of getting a traditional college education. I think the trend toward women doing home improvements started a long time ago, but that channels like HGTV, DIY and Fine Living which also have crafting shows, have turned alot of women on to home improvement as well.