Do you believe equality is beneficial or detrimental to society?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by marie

Myka, just because you can't keep up with your job does not mean another women couldn't do the same job "working that hard" and be happy.

That's not what I said at all. I said:

Originally Posted by Myka

I can keep up to the men (and outwork many) I know I can't work this hard for many more years.

My body has worked very hard. Take a look at the size of my biceps, my "6-pack" abs, and the callouses on my hands (all of which I find embrassing btw). I don't go to the gym to get that. I have been in male-dominated industries for 10 years. I have done forest fire fighting, carpentry (I'm 6 months away from journeyman), and now I drive a vacuum truck which involves more heavy work than driving. I have always preferred to work a physically strenuous job to keep myself in shape, and maybe I've taken it a bit too far.

There are other women doing jobs I have done (I haven't seen or heard of any vac hauler women though), but there are few, and even fewer of them can keep up to the guys. I'm a perfectionist, and can't handle not being the best at what I'm doing. Keeping up isn't good enough. I will outwork most men at my job, and my body now feels that. I'm 5'8" and a petite 120 lbs, no butch here. My body is not made to work as hard as it has for an entire lifetime, and both my chiropractor and my doctor have told me I should find a less strenuous job for the future because the wear is starting to show, and I'm only 27.

Sure I'm only one woman doing a man's job, but I'm still part of the statistics. When the time comes that I can't keep up anymore, I will find a new job because I don't feel it's fair or safe for me to have a position where I can't keep up. I'm sure that time will be well before I hit 40, which is also well before retirement.