Harriet Whitehead wrote:

"I'm now quite used to meeting male birders (including youthful ones) whose
condescension, competitiveness and intolerance of female contradiction is
enough to sour an otherwise very useful birding excursion."

That is so sad!!! I know it exists and have fought it for years (and done
it unknowingly for more years). If this thread (obviously a lot more
popular than even gull identification) accomplishes anything, I hope it
makes everyone reading her words think about them. If one male in every
group made it a point to say, "umm, Bill, I think you
interrupted/contradicted Mary there, and she had something worthwhile to
say" (and, having said that, you'd be less likely to play the "Bill" part
in the future), maybe we'd move more rapidly away from this problem. And
please remember, this is a stereotype too--not all males are like this.

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416