Men's Shed | Hacker News Reader

Men's Shed

en.wikipedia.org

94 pointsreitanqild46 comments

A great idea taken over by cliques of old men who refuse to allow anyone new to take part unless you’re also their age and/or a friend of an existing member.

I’m medically retired but <50 and have tried going to multiple just to find stuff to do. Ended up using maker spaces instead which have a much much wider age group and a friendlier environment all round.

this seems to be a rather regular dynamic with clubs/groups/meetups where kind of an elite is forming which thinks of the club as theirs and organizes is in such a way that this state is preserved. newbies will be screened and usually only accepted if they display total agreement with the present affairs. this leads to progressive spiritual inbreeding and inevitable downfall. possible exceptions are if there is a leader who with regard to the groups goals does an exceptional job. benevolent dictators like linus torvalds come to mind. but even here cards are redealt as soon as that leader is gone.

What a great (and much healthier alternative) to pubs. I live in a small house in a small city, and one thing I don't like about it is that I have no place to put bigger machines, like a table-saw, CNC router, plot-machine, etc... I'd love to have a place where I can learn woodworking, painting,... from the local community.

Maybe I should try to set something like this up. :)

They exist in most places as makerspaces. Only problem is they are quite expensive making them inaccessible to anyone but the most avid maker.

I’m not really sure what could be done about it though since the machines and floor space is inherently quite expensive. Seems like something that should be somewhat government run like libraries to promote socialising.

Depends on the groups around the sheds, many seek sponsership or do some fundraising

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdws0rrfK6I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p1mQvyA7NE

others have a central interest (bookbinding | restoring ferries) and get grants based on the projects they undertake.

In the Australian rural district I'm in the local Men's Shed is more of a community shed (plenty of women using the space, doing related work, etc) with a lot of the equipment and land being pooled from the fully and semi retired who use the shed.

I have a tangential computer IT support|consult involvement, donate a bit of free time to give advice, and gave them a 48 TB NAS for pooling DVD collections of days gone by.

Also drones, gps, tractor hacking, etc.

If I'd start a non-profit organisation, I could ask the government for grants probably.

Maybe start a system where people could lend their devices to the space, so they could earn some money on them long term. Depending of the initial cost of a device, I'd pay 10EUR-20EUR every time I'd use a special device. 10% of the profit goes to the makerspace, 90% to the device-lender. With 50-100 uses, you'd start making money. I could see something like this work.

Most of the cost for running Makerspaces seems to go towards rent, at least here in Australia. :(

---

On that note, if anyone knows of good potential locations for a large Makerspace in Brisbane, Australia... "Hackerspace Brisbane" (HSBNE) is looking for a new home:

https://www.facebook.com/HSBNE/posts/pfbid0iAakLGAK39h8qDA7N...

Seems to be a bit of a problem where in low rent areas, people would just have a shed with all the tools, but in high density areas where you’d most want it, the rent is going to be highest.

Yeah, fully agree.

It's a shame that what was a good idea of having a space and community for all men really just turned into the space for that 5-10 year window for guys that are retired but not yet ready to spend their day in a nursing home. At least where I am they have a reputation for being filled with oldies that are a little slow and not friendly to plain hostile.

Hopefully all of them around Australia aren't like this, but I have heard this same view from many people independently

I went to one and when I was young and homeless.

Could never get a job anywhere. Never knew how to get a job, turned down by almost everything, then I heard one of the men's shed was doing some charity bike repair thing.

I figured I had nothing else to do, and chatted with one of the blokes, who had a brother that needed some IT help, and from there I was able to build up.

But exceedingly rare case, I'm aware

>that 5-10 year window for guys that are retired but not yet ready to spend their day in a nursing home.

Totally unrelated, but this was very bleak. I think people ideally should have a couple of decades as a functioning but retired person.

Retirement ages around the world are pushing towards getting every last bit out of you. Kind of a logical consequence of having fewer children too.

Gotta keep that downward pressure on wages.

Stand-alone garages are popular place for older men to hang out in ex-USSR towns. These garages are often refitted until they turn into man-castles.

They were built alongside commit blocks but some distance away so they represent a place of escape and socialization. Also, "garage economy" of small businesses run there is a thing.

A lot of weird videos from YouTube such as "remotely controlled Lada" or "a car on floor mops instead of tyres" were filmed in this setting.

We have one of these locally, but it's called a community shed, to not exclude women arbitrarily. At the same time, I still think it's mostly used by men, as it's quite focused around woodworking etc.

They were one of the first businesses to use my CMS for one of their websites, so they hold a special place in my heart :)

I had this idea a few years ago. I wanted a place where you could get access to say car lifts, welders, cnc machines, etc. The usual stuff that's hard to keep at your own home.

I lived in a condo where car work was prohibited. But I also wanted loud machines etc.

I wasn't concerned with cost, but what's the liabilities? What if someone kills themselves accidentally with this dangerous equipment. Also for this reason, insurance companies won't touch you and there's legal regulations which basically make it impossible.

For the record gender doesn't matter.

That sounds like a makerspace. I started one of those twelve years ago, with a group of friends, and put all my tools into it. We had none of the trouble you describe with insurance or regulations - perhaps such things work differently in the US, rather than wherever you are? The organization is still operating to this day, and while I am no longer involved, it was a good experience which has left me with a lingering sense of satisfaction. If it still interests you, I would recommend taking another look at the idea.

There seems to be one for the UK: https://menssheds.org.uk/.

I've always wondered why they need to be so sexist. Is it so terrible to have women around?

But not so long ago, I saw an article about women trying to open a similar shed but finding there was a funding program which was specifically only able to men's sheds. I'm surprised they can get away with it.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-21/huon-she-shed-project...

"While the local men's shed welcomes women, Ms Reardon said there were many women who wanted their own space."

It gets stranger and stranger.

Why would it be sexist to have men's only spaces for the purposes of men's mental health?

If it's good for men's mental health, wouldn't it be good for women's mental health too? I just don't see how using a community workshop is related to gender.

Men behave differently around women, compared to an all-male environment. It's mostly subconscious, but men (especially the older generation) would instinctively put up a tough front while women are present, and would be hesitant to show signs of weakness, so some would have trouble truly opening up. No doubt there are also male health concerns that men would feel more comfortable talking about to other men.

It's not sexist to want men only spaces, just like women only gyms and salons are not sexist.

I have to wonder how old I need to get before I understand the "older generation". I'm almost 60 myself. I'm not sure that it's really an age thing. There has always been a "hypermasculinity" culture of men who need to look tough, and you can find plenty of millennial representatives. But other men have no problem interacting with women.

That is true, such spots should exist as well.

But the point of the men-only ones is to allow men to socialize with other men and talk about problems that affect them only or problems they don't feel comfortable talking about in a mixed setting.

Would this argument hold up in reverse for a women's shelter?

They're already a thing though. ;)

No, the two sexes are different and we don't heal the same way or doing the same things.

>I've always wondered why they need to be so sexist. Is it so terrible to have women around?

I dunno, maybe ask the woman you quoted:

"While the local men's shed welcomes women, Ms Reardon said there were many women who wanted their own space.

"People like me that would feel intimidated going into what would traditionally be a man's space … want to learn with other women," she said."

The women themselves don't want to be around men because men are so horrible apparently.

Nobody said anyone was horrible. It's just that if a group is very dominantly male or female, you feel a bit like an outcast when you are the other sex joining in. Even if they are super welcoming, it's still feels a bit weird.

Also, each sex tends to have a bit of a difference preference on how a meeting-space should be. For example: Most of my male friends tend to hang out in garages/sheds some of the time. Never seen a woman choosing a those locations.

My experience is only that that people are individuals, and whether it's pleasant or educational to have them around or not doesn't have anything to do with gender.

It sounds like some of them have moved away from that, but I guess originally it started as a thing to help older men.

Women are not allowed there because they are violent and abusive!

Compare money that goes towards women's only shelters, organizations and charities. With money spend on those "sheds". Even dog shelters have better funding!

Domestic abuse is a real thing, I can understand the need for women's shelters.

This is kind of insulting.

Australia does not have domestic violence shelters for men (first very small opened two years ago), but there are "sheds", where you are allowed to work while healing! Even dogs get more resources!

Where's the insult?

Honestly asking, as I'm not understanding where there's an insult in any of it.

Disparity in gender based spending.

If woman is in trouble, she gets hotline, accommodation and all sort of services for free. If men is in trouble, he can build furniture!

Ahhh yeah. That I agree with. Mens Shed's themselves aren't insulting, it's just the extremely unbalanced treatment of the sexes which has led to their need.

I noticed there was no criticism section on Wikipedia (Hackerspaces has that section). Looking at this comment being downvoted.. Can anyone explain why men sheds should not be critisized?

The absence of a criticism section on a Wikipedia page has nothing to do with whether or not the subject of that page should be criticised..

It is notably missing

Men only spaces is very inflammatory subject. Bomb threads, SWATing, and so on.. It also leads to uncomfortable questions about women only spaces.

I am not surprised Wikipedia avoids this section.

> Bomb threads, SWATing, and so on..

You do not appear to have anything rational to add on the subject of Men's Sheds in Australia.

Do you have any evidence of bomb threats or SWATing wrt to Men's Sheds in Australia?

No direct evidence for Mens Sheds of Australia. I have a long list for in US and Europe. We can start with Erin Pizzey, and why she left UK!

Is SWATing even much of a thing outside the US? I get the feeling you are trying to hijack the thread.

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