Male:  "One of the reasons that I solo (which I know is considered "taboo" in most circles) in the competitiveness that chasing has grown into. This crap of: "It's 'my' storm, not yours." is for the birds. I've been on the earth too long [...] and learned too many lessons of dealing with people [...] to be bothered by people who either belittle one's personal efforts (no matter how futile) or who regard one as an outsider 'cause you don't fit the mold.  Bottom line is sex shouldn't enter into play. In the end, it's the expertise, interest and companionship that one brings to the table that counts the most."

Emmett Redd, Ph.D.:  "Your "Rant #1" was titled, "Why aren't there more female storm chasers?"  Would you similarly rant, "Why aren't there more male nurses?" or "Why aren't there more male primary school teachers?" or "Why aren't there more male day care providers?"  And SHOULD those questions raise great discussions and calls for more access, mentors, special programs, etc. for men to participate in those activities?  It seems to me that I often see rants about male dominated activities making more room for females, but I hardly ever see any about making more room for males in female dominated activities.  Therefore, one might conclude that gender equity arguments are  gender biased.  Note:  I have not made a strong case for that conclusion, but I think that it is worthy of discussion.  I hope you do too."

Female:  "If I were that woman joining six male storm chasers, I can tell you EXACTLY how it would go.  Since I don't know any of them well, I would politely greet them, listen for a few minutes to decide who was alpha male of the group, and subtly start flirting with him and use his power to back myself up.  For example, I would say, "Oh, yes, I agree with you on this and then this andthis," and "What do YOU think of this?" and render him my mentor without his realizing it.  On the occasions when that fails, I simply present my input as a human being and I KNOW they're thinking "belligerent witch". "

Female:  "Absolutely.  Let me tell you something about myself. [...deletia...]  But, guess what? I can post to WX-Chase..and be ignored. Just like that woman at the table would be unless she raised her voice or used body language to "butt in." I've seen kids (male) post and get immediate responses. I've seen all kinds of (male) people post and get some kind of response.  I've been posting, off and on, to that list for....slightly more than 2 years now.  And guess what? Only one other list member has ever spoken to me, *other* than a potential chase partner I almost hooked up with in another state.  There's an "in crowd" there..which is normal, it happens everywhere. But this "in crowd" might as well hang up a sign saying "boy's club, no girlz allowed." "

Male:  "You hit the nail on the head--it IS intimidating for men as well as women to ask for help in a field such as chasing. I'm new to it, and I feel lost and inadequate and quite stupid most of the time among those who brag and swagger and strut their intelligence. I almost don't feel like taking the risk at asking questions for the fear of being shot down. So often I stay silent, unless I can find the right "mentor" who doesn't mind seemingly silly (to them) questions.  And this doesn't even address the problem women would have in a simlar situation. . . "

Roger Edwards  (he sent me a long essay all set up with HTML encoding, so he gets his own page)

Chris Novy:  "While I can't speak for everyone, my own experience (as a male and founder of WX-TALK and WX-CHASE) is that most women don't have an interest in meteorology.  When I do severe weather talks the audience is almost exclusively male.  The women are generally there just to accompany their husbands.  The same goes for amateur radio, dirt biking, flying, etc.  I've never met a woman who wanted to go storm chasing.  I've tried really hard to find a "Twister" girl friend but women think I'm crazy for chasing storms.  In the TX/OK area, where storms rule and competition abounds, I'm sure the machismo attitude drives many women away.  I know *I* wouldn't want to hang around with most of "Top-20" chasers because their egos wouldn't fit inside my Ford Explorer."

Daphne Thompson:  "I read your essay on women and chasing and thought I would respond.  I am a female meteorologist [...personal info deletia...].  I can't say I have ever had a bad experience chasing with men.  My husband and I have chased together, but many (probably the majority) of times it has been with others.  When I was in college at OU, the guys would invite me to chase with them.  If I wanted to go out, I had no problem finding a seat. I have chased with plenty of, at that time, grad students, a prof or two, and other meteorologists. I am not sure if I ever chased with many women except for when we were assigned cars in field projects.  Why did the other gals in my class not chase?  I don't know for sure.  I was roommates with one and she was never very interested while in school.  She always felt studying came before everything else.  Another one had many other things going on and just didn't have the time.  One other just wasn't a big fan of long car rides which don't include many pit stops.  Sure, the guys were impressed with seeing the most hoses and the largest ones.  But then again, the more tornados I saw, the happier I was too. I enjoy letting others know about my chases and how many tornados I have seen.  We used to meet at fast food places and compare notes afterwards.  I don't remember anyone claiming to be better than someone else because they saw more or bigger tornados.  Sure there was jealousy, but not outright boasting except in jest. Or at least, I treated it as jesting and ignored those who acted as if they were better than everyone else.  I have realized that it is hard to get a word in edgewise with guys.  They just have louder voices than me and once they get wound up, I might as well just let them go and get my comments in later.  Maybe chasing is getting more aggressive lately.  I don't know for sure.  I have known many of today's chasers since they were students and just begining in this hobby. So, I probably have a different view than those who are new to chasing.  There will always be more male chasers than female.  It's not a bad thing, it is just the way the cookie crumbles.  If women really want to chase they will find a way.  I did and no bad vibes follow me around as far as I know."

Eric Nguyen:  "Okay, I have to say that *every* man is guilty at being sexist sometime in their life and those who claim they haven't are wrong.  Now this varies from kids yelling "coodies" to the executive promoting a young male with less credentials than a female who has exceeded the criteria.  I think its the way they are brought up from the parents.  In the family I grew up with, women and men are equal and eventually I was taught that.  I know for a fact that they are not treated that way in the real world.  I see that taking place at my wifes work [...deleted workplace name...] where "women are objects to be fu##".  Sorry for the language but thats basically how those "dogs" think.  I know not every guy there thinks that way at [...ditto...], but the bosses are not doing anything about it.  Thank god were moving to Norman so she doesnt have to mess with that anymore.  I think bringing this up should definitly open some of those chasers eyes that think this way.  I'm guilty of the macho guy vs. guy thing and this essay has opened my eyes on that one.  I'm getting better though.  Now I'm not as bad as those who "dont talk to newbies."  If we were not like that, then  the world would be perfect.  Another thing I want to point out is that in nature, the females choose the males who are *more matcho* or are stronger.  Now, I'm comparing humans to animals since we no longer belong to nature that much anymore.  But if we were still monkeys, then thats the way it is.   For me, if a female jumped into a conversation (which has happened) I consider her help/info/knowledge as beneficial as a male's."
 
Melissa Bond:  "After chasing since 1992, I always had male chasers that treated me the same as one of the guys.  Until "Twister" came out I noticed a change.  After, having the web page of our team put on the web, I received three responses from three very well known chasers, at least well known movie star wise, not scientifically.  They contacted me saying: "that is not a tornado in your picture" "I do not like the terms you use for structures" "you are a dangerous driver, I saw you speeding at 150 mph" "You watched "Twister" too much, you look like Joe" etc., etc.  I have even lost a few members because they did not think a woman could run a chasing team properly.  All of the "men" who ranted on me have never even met me, or never even chased with me. I also asked the two who said I was speeding what color my car was, and they said a wrong color. So the statements were just intended to be cruel. I wondered also why they did not contact the other main members who were on the page.  The only conclusion I came up with was I was the only woman.  There is actually only a few men out there who have blinded themselves from female chasers, which is their loss.  My chaser colleagues I chase with from my team, which range from police officers to engineers, are very intelligent and treat me the same as a 30 year old male veteran chaser.  They also do not cut down people and try to have IQ wars. I have numerous women on my team, all show an amazing itch for chasing and weather.  There are alot of female chasers out there.  The only thing that makes some chasers stick out more than others is if they are out there for mother nature, or are they out there to get on the six o'clock news.  And unfortunately to some high-and-mightier if you do not make the six o'clock news, you are a yahoo.  I have also seen some of these persons who rant about people being yahoos actually being the chasers I try to avoid on the road to prevent from being killed by them, and finding out afterwards that these are some very well named chasers. While most chasers are out there for mother nature, there are a few who think they are "elite" that are out there for there own personal gain.  Those are the ones who will cut down, lie, cheat, call everyone yahoo, and say they are the best chaser and know more than you.  Those are also the ones that chasers, female or male, need to enlighten on what chasing is.  Then maybe we will be able to see women and men chasers all getting along equally, all supporting each other equally, and all working for the same thing, mother nature.  If this does not happen, chasing will be regulated and we all will lose."

Steve Courton:   "I agree with you that there is a lot more competion among chasers since Twister. Before then chasing was more civil. Now many are chasing the big bucks and they will do almost anything to beat other chasers. Many chasers now ignore safe chasing practices in order to get the closest video. They create web pages hinting that they are better than other chasers. They try to get media attention to boast their fame. Its mostly just a hype game however since the well known chasers are not really any better at chasing than others, they are only better at promoting themselves. I think women are turned off by this competion.   I personally don't think that there is much difference in chasing skills among chasers who study storms and have 100+ chases under their belts. The main difference is the amount of free time to chase, the amount of money to chase, the willingness to travel, and the amount of equipment. Chasers publically become famous by their postings to WX-CHASE, showing videos at gatherings, getting on TV, and web pages. Some seek more fame than others. However it is not true that those with the most fame are the best chasers. Some of the best chasers may not even seek fame at all and be nearly unknown to the chase community.   There has been a huge increase in the amount of "extreme chasing" since Twister. All the money and fame from specials has many chasers taking huge risks in order to get the best marketable video. Surely a chaser will be killed in the next few years, there have already been several close calls. The worst Yahoos are not the new chasers but long-time veterans. So far these Yahoos are being rewarded with even more fame and praise from other chasers. Any criticism of them in a public forum is scorned upon. This does not bode well for the future of chasing or for encourging women into entering chasing.  Many chasers would be happier seeing 2-3 good tornadoes and beating all others than seeing 5 good tornadoes and being beat by most other chasers. The competition has become more important than the science or pure joy of seeing storms for way too many."

Cheryl Chang:  "I appreciated your rant. I think it brings up a lot of issues that would take many, many replies to address. I'll just respond to a couple issues here.  For the record, I have only had positive experiences with other chasers. Everyone I've met has been more than willing to help and share information, and I personally have not experienced sexism in the chaser community. Now, that is NOT to say that I haven't observed some chasers that seem to be a little top-heavy when it comes to egos, but I've also noticed that they seem to believe in their own version of equality - i.e., they treat everyone badly regardless of gender.  I'm wondering if the issue is more one of "territoriality" rather than sexism, at least when it comes to storm chasing. In every profession or discipline there are people who feel that they have more of a right to the piece of the action than others, and they definitely don't like others honing on what they consider to be their turf. With Storm Chasing these people are more likely to be men because there are way more men that chase. In other fields, for example Social Work or nursing, those people are more likely to be female since these professions are female-dominated.   When it comes to storm chasing, I think any idea of "territoriality" is absurd - AS IF anybody owns the sky!!!!!!!!! It seems that what works best is to quietly go about one's business and ignore those who like to bluster about their turf. There are many chasers who do just that - I know a number of them and respect them a great deal - they've clued into the fact that nobody owns the weather."

Female:  "All of the chasers I've met have been nice, fun, and some extremely helpful, though I do think that the men sometimes see women as alien creatures. And I think that partly has to do with chase culture being a geek culture. This is NOT a bad thing -- I'm always drawn to geek cultures, which I see as insular groups in which one has to earn acceptance, partly through insider and esoteric knowledge and partly through a passion for the subject at hand. And the truth is, geek cultures tend to be male-dominated (chasing, collecting, science fiction, ham radio ... see what I mean?). And at least some of the men in these cultures perhaps throw themselves into them so wholeheartedly because the mainstream of society isn't as accepting of them or their passion. (Storm chasing wasn't always "cool.") So they're used to hanging around men and communicating as men do, in a "safe" environment in which they are not judged in the higher-pressure setting where sexuality comes into play. (Call it what you will, that's what these gender differences come down to.) And that means that, as you pointed out, while they are not hostile to women, some may not be as comfortable with women around. So women might be less likely to be invited along, or encouraged to join a discussion, or whatever ... not all the time, but sometimes. So it makes it doubly hard for women to be accepted in the culture. This is a gross generalization, of course, and women have their own insular cultures that men find it hard to enter. But frankly, how many men want to go to baby showers? (I'd rather chase a storm any day.)"

Ralph Forsythe:  "I have not experienced the sexism specifically in chasing (I usually chase alone anyway), but have seen it in other aspects (well, every other aspect) of society, and can imagine how hard it is.   Being a guy I don't claim to have to deal with it either, but know that I hold NO harbors against female chasers, and would simply treat them like any other person out there (including myself) in asking that whoever it is gets some training beforehand, and doesn't pose a serious risk to themselves or anyone else. Beyond that, enjoy and learn - that's the point, after all.  Why not post this in the WX-TALK/WX-CHASE lists along with the other 15 gazillion replies? Because there's 15 gazillion other replies, and with the stunning flood of ego and rage going on in there it would get lost and be useless.   Besides, I don't care what a narrow-minded, sexist idiot thinks about my post or me - I do what I do with what I have and try to make it the best I can, and chase because I find it very fulfilling, emotionally and intellectually. I'm not in this to be "one of the guys", especially if it means I have to treat other people like this."

Nancy Bose:  "Could it just be so simple as this: the weather makes fools of us all, and while men can abide looking foolish with each other, if a woman is added to the equation...the situation becomes uncomfortable.  I earn my living in a male dominated profession (auto sales) and dancing around the male ego, though a sell out, is expedient.  It has become second nature to me.  I think the reason I haven't encountered a lot male opposition in chasing is that I am non-threatening.  I don't use my knowledge and abilities to show off or usurp authority; I simply make sure its in place when its called upon.  The respect, tho slow to emerge, is much more valued by me because it is a voluntary submission and acceptance, rather than a begruding surrender."

Linda Kitchen:  "I can say that for the most part my experience has been positive.  My chase partner, Kathy Velasquez and I are the only all female chase team that I am aware of.  We have been chasing the plains since 1994.  When we first started chasing, the only other woman that we met was Betsy Abrams.  She was very encouraging to us.  Male chasers didn't take us seriously at first, but after seeing us at different storms, I think they began to realize that we love severe weather as much as they do.  That's a common bond that we can understand about each other.  I have to say that we have been treated well at almost every NWS office that we have been to.  It can still be intimidating to walk into a room full of male chasers that we have never met, we just introduce ourselves and hope for the best.  I have seen competitiveness among male chasers, but I don't feel singled out because I'm female, the competitive chaser doesn't care if you're male or female, they just want to be the one who catches the best storm. In the last two years I have seen that more women are getting involved.  Hopefully we can all get along!  We really felt accepted when one of the most well known chasers said it was nice to meet other chasers of the right kind!"

Chris Sokol:  "Just my two cents worth...........I have been chasing for almost 11 years now, and I am proud to say that my current partner is also my girlfriend, Summer Cook. I say this NOT because of that fact, but because it is true...she is the BEST partner I have ever had. She has a fantastic sense of direction when it comes to plotting courses on chases, while simultanously monitoring all of the radios for messages AND running video. She is currently working on her amature radio license and becoming Skywarn trained. Her thirst for knowledge and adventure is equal to any chaser that I have ever known, and she never wants to back down from a storm (even when I do!). In my opion, all chasers in the field who are responsible and knowledgable are equal, male or female."

Female:  "I'm forty-one, have returned to college with intent to achieve a degree in meteorology, and am currently a local storm spotter.  I have found that the men in my own spotting group tend to treat my reports as if they are not important, and of the many times I've tried (I literally mean tried) to communicate with others in the meteorology/chase community, I am routinely snubbed or treated like a "chase groupie."  I find this most annoying.  I'm not a groupie. I genuninely want to learn, I want to someday chase either as a hobby or as part of my job, but I find the men tend look down their noses at me or are sickingly condensending whenever I try to communicate with them.  I could give you a list of the people I've tried to communicate with, but I feel it would lower me to their level of back- biting, and I prefer not to do so.  At this point in time, I feel as if I will need to learn most all the information on my own and must learn to chase alone, despite the numerous dangers of such a practice.  I'm an intelligent person, I want to learn, and it would be wonderful to share/gain some knowledge from others "in the business."  I feel it is neccassary to learn all I can before I go out and attempt to chase; knowledge is obtained from formal schooling and by aquiring mentors.  It would be ludicrous to try and chase without knowing what you're doing.  Spotting storms is one thing, and I have learned from it.  But chasing is another.  You need to know what you are doing, and my sense of responsibility to myself and others demands I learn more beforehand.  But in light of the general attitude which permeates the chase community, I would rather take it upon myself to aquire the knowledge/expirience on my own than to tolerate such arrogance.  As it is, I am a 'lurker' to WX-Chase; I want no part of the constant immature temper-tantrums or back stabbing that is a routine part ot the postings.  I've also learned to keep to my self at any Spotter's Workshops or Forecasting Conferences I've attended.  My interest in meteorolog has been life long, and no less intense or important then the men's.  Yet I realize I'll never be taken seriously, simply because I'm not part of the "Boy's Club."  While I sincerely hope that women will be considered more than second-class citizens sometime in the future, I simply don't see it occurring any time soon.  It's a shame,  really.  We have much to contribute, if given the chance."

Brian Curran:  "Far be it for me to keep *my* opinions to myself...but I feel a lot of what you're saying is right, but perhaps not for the reasons you postulate.  I find it hard to avoid generalizations here, but it's been my experience that a fair number of male "chasers" behave as they do not out of competition, but rather of insecurity.  Male ego and all that.  An insecure male finds a challenge to his ego more painful than a kick to the 'nads.  The competition is a mere facade, a defence mechanism.  Doesn't matter whether the plumbing is indoors or outdoors.  The challenge is there, nevertheless.  It can be bad enough when the challenger is a man, but when the challenger is a woman, it's all the more threatening to the male ego. I believe this much:  99 percent of the people on this planet are *ssholes, and I'm not entirely sure of the other one percent.  As long as you're comfortable with yourself, then who cares what others think?"

Randy Zipser:  "I enjoyed reading your essay in ST Online about women and storm chasing.  You pretty much covered everything very well, and in my opinion, are right "on target" with your views.  The only thing I can add from my experiences, chasing in the presence of the one-or-two female chasers who were around at the OU Meteorology Department in the early 1970s, was that the majority of young, male chasers:  1.  Made an effort to behave themselves better;  2.  Exhibited better manners;  3.  Used less foul language;  4.  Took fewer risks (e.g., speeding, etc.);  5.  Made more of an effort to complete chases by dark so as to avoid the uncomfortable situation of staying overnight in a hotel (frowned upon by wives, and reportedly to have led to some divorces);  6.  Generally were more sensitive to fellow chasers, and less loud, wild, and obnoxious than usual!  I am convinced now that the "calming" influence of women in the chase car is, in some way, responsible for this "transformation," even though, looking back, we probably didn't fully realize this at the time.  You are very perceptive about noticing that the "gamesmanship" among many storm chasers has, indeed, gone way too far!  This, however, is nothing new as a product of our current times; it has always been "cutthroat," at least among most of the serious "old time" chasers who "blazed the path" through Norman twenty years ago.  Even then, a chaser's worthiness (in terms of being accepted by the clique-ish "in-crowd" of chasers at the time, all of whom were male) was solely measured by how many chases one went out on and tornadoes one could photograph (we didn't have--and couldn't afford--video cameras back then), analgous to how many "notches" a haughty gunslinger might have on his pistol grip.  As a chaser on the "outside" wanting into this clique, the key to success (whether male or female) was to align oneself with the "hot" chaser of the moment, so as to get to be the chosen one to get to ride along on the next chase.  This insured some degree of success for the lucky chosen few, but also created a lot of ill will among friends otherwise.  I was acutely aware that this was going on, but not wanting to be left out of my share of "war stories" and "bragging rights," I was as guilty as any of playing along.  Back then, we were younger men who were "sewing our wild oats," but many of us, older and wiser now, look back on those times with fondness toward the "sport" we competed so hard at, still chase, and remain in contact even today."

Male:  "I do have some comments about the segment on women and chasing and about chaser behavior. I believe most chasers behave fine. Some however, behave like attention-seeking morons. Very competative toward who has the best video, the best storm and the best equiptment. It's kind of like hunters bragging about who shot the largest buck and who has the best gear and skill to win. I don't have a problem with women chasing so long as they are not driving any of the chase vehicles as this would increase the roadhazards to other chasers and motorists. Yes, women have the same skills as men do to be good @ chasing but lets consider other factors. When you look @ the formation of gossip circles and clicks, whether in the workplace or @ college or in any other group--women are always @ the center of these and initiate them. Women are even more competative and vindictive than men are. I feel that if the chase community were more women dominated there would be even more gossip and BS to deal with. The reason is is that the general type of women wanting to enter into it would be of the "I've got something to prove" Feminazi hypersensitive type. Sometimes women go out of their way to stir up a perfectly balanced environment to create cotroversy and argument--simply because they want to piss men off. Most of the men do not want to bother or treat women any differently than men, they just want to be left alone. Also, women tend to use men as emotional tampons. Can you imaging a three hour drive to a storm and having to listen to personal problems you couldn't give a damn about? What would happen if men decided to invade the world of Mary Kay? Women would have a fit. If a women is single I think it is ok for her to chase and be merry. If she is married then she should be @ home cleaning the house and had better have a hot meal on the table for her husband when he gets back from a long day of storm chasing. I do not think I am being an asshole in saying this. These are the simple requirements of the marriage contract. The bible indicates that women should be submissive to men and respect them--to be silent when men speak. Make it so."

Douglas Kiesling:  ""One thing I have noticed is that some male chasers will attempt to belittle the experiences of others behind their backs."

Sure, and women are different? I have watched a lots of women rip each other to shreads behind their backs just on their looks alone. Whos hair is better, who is fat, who got a boob job or nose job.

My last girlfriend drives a 4x4 with 36" mudders and owns several guns and is not lez. My current girl friend and new storm chase partner was a total storm nut but timid until we got to know each other. Now its all I can do to hang on for dear life.

Don't go and get holy on me because once in a great while I actually flex my storm chasing/internet muscle. Women are no different then men except for the design of the package. If someone wants something, they will get it or do what it takes to get it, women or man!

You say, "Picture a group of, say, six men sitting around involved in a serious but informal discussion about current meteorological research, theory, and chasing. Now picture another guy joining the group. Now picture a woman casually doing the same thing. Imagine none of these people know each other very well at all. I've heard men say that such a situation would be intimidating to the woman. Why? Why is it intimidating to the woman and not the man? "

I Say WRONG!!! As a matter of fact, that did happen. Last spring at the confrence in Iowa. Several women came up to me and my friends while we where talking about storms and stuff and guess what. We welcomed them in with out a problem. I ended up spending over an hour just talking about how to photograph storms with some girl from NE. After that I went to relax in the Sauna and ended up talking shop with 3 women from St Cloud State for while sitting in the hot tub.

The other reason your WRONG, have you ever seen five guys sitting around talking about weather? Its not that pretty and the guys, well lets just say, do to the lack of dating, would let ANY women in the converstation.

Its hypocritical and not true along with reading like some left wing liberal political correct B.S.! Do you think Bill Clinton was a victim of a republican scheme too? And Monica was a victim of the media. The world is a cruel place you can sit by and watch it go by or you can make a stand. Your Essay, being your point of view sounded more like your where whining the life's not fare and that all men are out to get you and hold you back from your dreams.

Now why are there not more African Americans, in storm chasing? Now why are there not more Asians Americans, in storm chasing? Why is the minority participation in Sky Diving so low? Because its a White Male Dominated Sport like Golf? WRONG!

Why? Tell Me Why? I want to know? Why is storm chasing White Male Dominated? Because where the only ones stupid enough to do this. And I'll be the first one in line to put the smack down on any kind of racism that I see around me. But the fact is 99.9 x10 to the power 999999999999999999999999999 percent of the world out there thinks we are all f***ing nuts for chasing storms."

Laura Duchesne:  "I read your rant about female chasers on your home page. It is nice to express how a female chaser, like yourself, feels towards a male dominated hobby. I am a female storm chaser myself, who happens to live in Canada.

When I watched the "Tornado!" series aired on TLC last winter, especially the "Chasers" segment, I could barely believe what I was seeing... the show featured a female "chase team". I thought it was nice to make the public realize that females can chase storms as well, however, making us seem like "yahoos" is not what I was expecting. The chasing team would yell and get too excited, plus they were about to risk their lives chasing the tornado... another storm chaser advised them to take a different route because the road they were on was dangerous. The females said, "I can't believe he told us to turn around." Later in the show, one female chaser stated that she wanted to see a tornado about 20 feet away from her. Crazy!

Now let's be realistic. Not every female will act like a "yahoo". Perhaps the production company just "hired" your everyday neighbor to chase for the show, hence they seemed to know little about chasing with safety. I am kinda offended by what the show aired on TV, however. Will this show make the public think that this is how women chase? I hope not because I as sure don't act like that. I am a responsible chaser who happens to respect others, property, and the storm itself. I even chase with safety.

Society as a whole thinks females are more gentle and careful than males. The male, in general, wants to be seen as "tough" and "macho". As you have said in your rant, some males think competitiveness is important. When it comes to chasing storms, it's not so important at all... from a woman's perspective anyway. I was told recently in a chat by a male SKYWARN spotter, "I chase better than you!" I took action and replied with "Stop being sexist. Females can chase too. And if you think you are a good chaser, then at least show some professionalism!" That made him quiet. Perhaps there are female chasers who happen to "chase better" than males. I don't mean to sound sexist, but I am looking at this with reality. I am not saying I'm better than the other top chasers in the country... I've got quite a ways to go yet.

I wish the media and other people would realize that we are just like other chasers. Just because we are female, we should not have to stand out in the crowd. I've had the media contact me several times because I was a female chaser, and they've even stated that in their email.

I guess I've done enough ranting for now. Until then, happy chasing!"

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