Lay off the builders. They’re not all wolf-whistlers

I’ve witnessed greater sexism in office environments than when working on a building site, so let’s crumble this tired stereotype

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/06/lay-off-builders-wolf-whistlers-sexism
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As the daughter of a feminist, leftwing, university-educated builder, I have always found the cliche of the sexually aggressive construction worker both reductive and uncomfortable. It speaks of snobbery, of the worst kind of us and them-ism. If you are able to talk about “typical sexist builders” then I’m going to hazard a guess you’ve never gone on holiday with a builder; never had dinner with a labourer or spent a day working on-site alongside bricklayers or plumbers; and never sat on a set of scaffolding and discussed religious faith with a roofer. The stereotype, like a poorly mixed sand and cement render, quickly crumbles once you look at the facts.

I have witnessed far greater sexism in a creative, office environment than I’ve ever known when working on a building site. As my friend Martin, a systems engineer, says: “If IT guys worked by the side of the road in gangs with their laptops, no one would ever complain about builders.” When a creative director at an ad agency told me that women only bought football shirts for their husbands, nobody raised an eyebrow. When friends of mine have been cornered by bosses at Christmas parties, their complaints haven’t even proceeded to the internal hearing stage.

And, in fact, I don’t get harassed in the street by builders. I never get wolf-whistled, taunted, cat-called. Yesterday, I climbed on to the white scaffolding truck of two self-employed brothers to ask them if scaffolders do still wolf-whistle passing women. “Yes, of course,” one told me, “but we also compliment the men.” The latter doesn’t forgive the former, but it’s at least a more equal opportunities approach to lechery than I was expecting.

While street harassment and intimidation are absolutely unacceptable, labelling all builders sexist pigs is as unpleasant and inaccurate as labelling all PE teachers lesbians. It is reductive, dismissive, wilfully unrepresentative and speaks of your prejudices just as loudly as it does of their wolf-whistling.
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