Okay...I'll jump in too.
I was raised by parents who didn't think my life should be governed by gender. As far as my Mother, I learned how to do everything a girl typically would.
As far as my Father... His mantra was that "His Daughter Would Never Be Dependent On A Man" so....at a very young age he had me in his shop cleaning parts for the cars he restored and helping him rebuild them... at 14yrs old I got My first restoration project to be completed before I turned 16...a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix.
My father was a hunter and fisherman...Most vacations were centered around that as well as going pond fishing during the week and to the lake fishing on weekends or the farm hunting on weekends depending on the season. My Mother didn't carry a gun in the field but she loved going and watching the dogs work if it was just Dad and I going and not his friends along.
Before I was big enough or old enough to carry a gun in the field..If I went with him, which I usually did, even though I hadn't shot any Quail, Pheasants, Turkey or Deer...I had to clean and dress half of them as if they were my kills too. When I did start carrying a gun, anything I killed, I cleaned and dressed it alone...I still do. That's part of the hunt. On the deer, since he only shot one back then, I'd do half the work. When I shoot my own, I do the field dressing.. I Choose to take them in for processing at a friends plant because I like the way they do the marbling. I Can do the butchering of deer, elk, moose, cows and hogs if I choose to. It's part of it. I would never Expect a Male to do it if I wanted it done, although I think it's great for couples to do things together...equally.
Personally I think it's disrespectful to take the life of any animal or fish and not be willing to clean it or eat it.
As far as fishing, if I wanted to fish, which I love to do too, if I was using bait instead of lures, I baited my own hook, I cleaned my own catch. That's part of it. As a courtesy to my Mother, if she was there, either my Father or I baited her hook and cleaned her catch, she could, can and would bait her own hook though. She cooked all the game caught or killed and wanted it that way. She Still Cooks Every Wild Turkey I Bring Back for the holidays....She loves doing that.
I don't think most women that go out on these trips expect men to do things like this for them... I think men set the tone for it because most nice men have a protective or paternal nature. That's the difference. Women, a lot of times think it makes the men feel more manly and try to respect their chivalrous nature. I hear it all the time with guys I hunt and fish with...'I'll do it, don't worry about it' even though they know I can and want to see it through to the end. It puts Women who want to do it in an awkward spot...We don't want to insult or hurt a mans feelings or ego by insisting to let us, but also don't want them to feel like they have double the work by us being there...if that makes sense.
I'll ask you guys, Do You Want to do these things for women or Don't Really Want To, But think that You Should as a man?
My father got me interested in metal detecting...He had some experience with it in the military and had even gone out to Utah, mining for Uranium. My parents bought me my first Radio Shack detector. My Mother would go with me during the summer days when I was young, she gets a kick out of it too. I love detecting...digging is part of it.
My experiences Detecting alone though is that it does attract men... most are Very Nice... a few, not so much. I always carry a .380 when I go out anywhere. Some weird ones will approach sometimes... I've had men in boats come up to the bank where I'm Detecting at the lake, it does make a lone woman feel uneasy when they all get out. So,more often than not, if I'm going by myself, I take Rocco, pictured in my avatar. He's learned how to find paper money and is a great protector and deterrent as were my Rotties and Labs before him. A Bite or a Bullet. Problem Solved.
I do take the youngsters in my life hunting, fishing and detecting... the 10-12 year old girls read this forum too, just like the boys do, unless there's kind of an age inappropriate topic or comments that are derogatory to women going on and then I wait for it to leave active topics before I let them read the forum.
I Feel Very Blessed The Way I Was Raised.
Terry, You Always Post Great Topics!
Kace
Take Your Kids Hunting Instead Of Hunting Your Kids!
