Another Saturday morning, another early rise. For the 8th time in 2 months, I am waking up early because there is a tradesman coming over, and once again he is late. I am not sure what I am more resentful about, my loss of sleep, my 10 week renovation disasters, my anger at myself or hiring incompetent contractors, or just the patriarchy that allows ‘females like me’ to be taken advantage of by tradespeople.
Let me explain. A few months ago, i decided to finally bite the bullet and get a few things done around my house that i had been putting off for years, probably because i subconsciously knew there would be issues. To cut a long story short, a one week job has now been ongoing for 8 weeks, due to misunderstandings, oversights, and general bad workmanship. The only consistent thing along those 8 weeks is everyone telling me how ‘so many tradesman take advantage of females’ and how ‘hard this is all to navigate when you are out of your depth.’
Now, if I was experienced in home repairs, and enjoyed getting my toolkit out, I might be offended. But the truth is, they are right. I am a feminist but I dislike home repairs and am not interested in learning about the technical details of an air condition unit. I just want the people I paid to do a job, to do that job well, and not give me excuses. My point is, I am angry. Angry with the suspicion that if I was a male I might be treated with more respect in this process. Angry that so many people have commented that females get taken advantage. Angry that it turned out to be true, despite my researching and my attempts to be knowledgable. I can’t be alone in this. I am sure there are other women who are home owners who have also experienced this.
kkpills 