# What do you think of young women carrying parasols? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000 "2012-01-19T12:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/121 "2012-01-24T07:20:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’m pretty equal opportunity in believing a narrow standard of beauty makes a lot of people miserable and wastes an inordinate amount of energy without bringing anything new or constructive to either the individual or society. Unless they buy you a drink. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/122 "2012-01-24T07:27:25Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Change that to “regressive gender norms, male or female, anywhere in the world suck” and you’ll have a deal. Huh. Is that so. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/123 "2012-01-24T08:17:42Z")
> [@Beastly\_Rotter](#): > > Unless they buy you a drink. Or puts her personally on her own peer group’s “fuckable” list. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/124 "2012-01-24T13:14:17Z")
China is the only country on the planet where the female suicide rate is higher than the male. Think of all the bullshit-for-women countries out there from Somalia to Afghanistan. None get anywhere near the suicide rate of women in China. And rural China is where most of this happens. The female suicide rates are up there with Russian men. Schools would even have special suicide spots, where generations of girls would go to kill themselves. Mine was the roof of a dorm building. The last girl killed herself because her boyfriend raped her. This was normal, a part of the ordinary rhythms of the school year. We would remark in surprise if it made it to November without a suicide. Slow year this year, we’d say. Some places are better than others to be a woman. China, or at least rural China, is one of the more difficult places to try to live a long, happy, fulfilled life while also having a vagina. I believe a small part of this problem is rigid beauty norms. It’s not like the US, where we’ve had black is beautiful and Dove soap ads, and curvy Latinas on the same page as willowy blondes. The beauty standards in rural China are much narrower and the stakes are higher. and white skin is the most important of all. My students were under in incredible pressure, and generally not very happy. The parasols reminded me of all the absolute bullshit they have to worry about, like the exact shade of their skin, that neither Chinese men nor women in other countries have to waste their lives being unhappy about. I’m probably not going to change my mind on this one. People who carry parasols are not bad, and parasols are not bad. But they bring up some painful memories and nasty connotations for me. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/125 "2012-01-24T19:38:40Z")
How else are they going to snag a man? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/126 "2012-01-25T02:03:23Z")
I thought there weren’t enough young women in China now, since the one child policy and the terminating of pregnancies to ensure a son etc. No doubt it varies by region. Lots of American colleges have suicide spots, Cornell’s being one of the most famous. I think I’d be more worried about the suicides etc than parasol use, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/127 "2012-01-25T02:25:40Z")
Maybe the parasols are to slow their falls. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/128 "2012-01-25T03:56:49Z")
> [@Beastly\_Rotter](#): > > Maybe the parasols are to slow their falls. Bwah! That is hilarious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/129 "2012-01-26T01:56:57Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Sun block can cause rashes on some folk. Thanks for telling me…now!😃 The first time I used it, my face felt like somebody threw acid on it, and my face swelled up to the size of a watermelon. A parasol is an excellent idea. It keeps the sun off, and it keeps the face from burning up and splitting like a hot dog in a microwave for too long. I, middle aged white male, had to walk some miles in the hottest weather, in the middle of the day in summer, once. I used a huge golf umbrella, and it was a life saver. Also, it kept my skin from receiving the usual abuse that I get when out in the sun, and kept me from getting another sunburn. Sure, I looked like a real tool, but, who cares? If somebody doesn’t like it, let them pull their pants up, or get rid of their tats or lose some weight, etc… Plus, there’s that Southern Belle thing…never hurts! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/130 "2012-01-26T15:47:41Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Thanks for telling me…now!😃 > The first time I used it, my face felt like somebody threw acid on it, and my face swelled up to the size of a watermelon. > A parasol is an excellent idea. It keeps the sun off, and it keeps the face from burning up and splitting like a hot dog in a microwave for too long. > I, middle aged white male, had to walk some miles in the hottest weather, in the middle of the day in summer, once. I used a huge golf umbrella, and it was a life saver. Also, it kept my skin from receiving the usual abuse that I get when out in the sun, and kept me from getting another sunburn. Sure, I looked like a real tool, but, who cares? If somebody doesn’t like it, let them pull their pants up, or get rid of their tats or lose some weight, etc… > Plus, there’s that Southern Belle thing…never hurts! Carrying a huge golf umbrella? Dude. Get a hat. Much lighter and less conspicuous. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/131 "2012-01-26T16:33:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > “Parasol” encompassing any ordinary umbrella carried on a sunny day for the purpose of keeping the sun off one’s skin. “Young woman” meaning any lass under 30, I suppose. > > Have you ever seen it? > > Do you think the idea is baffling, silly but understandable, or perfectly normal? > > And are you male or female, and where are you from? What does the gender of the parasol-carrier have to do with it? It’s a reasonable habit, I guess, given skin cancer and thinned-out ozone layers & all. I’d find it cumbersome myself so I probably wouldn’t do it. Male (not sure what OUR gender has to do with this either), New York, US. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/132 "2012-01-26T16:34:50Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Carrying a huge golf umbrella? Dude. Get a hat. Much lighter and less conspicuous. The umbrella covers the face & any other exposed skin much more efficiently than most hats. “Dude.” Let me guess. You wear a baseball hat. Backwards… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/133 "2012-01-26T22:37:00Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > But I don’t think it includes singling out one habit that seems harmless and may do some good vs others that are truly damaging–dieting, bulimia, altering body parts, verbal expressions of self-loathing. Umm, you did read the part in the post you quoted where **even sven** mentioned instances where > [@](#): > > my female students chose not to attend a lecture or to skip a field trip or to otherwise limit their life and opportunities because of this norm (and they would often refuse to go outside if the sun was shining) That doesn’t sound harmless to me. :smack: It seems to me that she’s not condemning the parasol use _per se_ so much as using it as a visible marker of the deeper or broader “OMG, the Sun, HIDE!” thing. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/134 "2012-01-27T01:05:51Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Carrying a huge golf umbrella? Dude. Get a hat. Much lighter and less conspicuous. Well…I guess I neglected to mention the hat I was weaing…:smack: hh ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/135 "2012-01-27T14:59:12Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > The umbrella covers the face & any other exposed skin much more efficiently than most hats. > > “Dude.” Let me guess. You wear a baseball hat. Backwards… heh, no, I wear one of [these](http://www.villagehatshop.com/dorfman_pacific_mesh_crown_aussie_2X_3X.html) when I have to work outside or be outdoors for any length of time, because I burn easily too. I look like a giant dork at football games, but them’s the breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/136 "2012-02-13T11:45:04Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > See it more and more often here in Aus. > > Highly sensible, given local conditions (Skin Cancer Central) I’ve seen quite a few young ladies with parasols and umbrellas here (Australia), and as **Aspidistra** says, it’s for a good reason. Parasols I think are neat (and attractive with the right lady), but I think it just looks odd carrying a deployed umbrella when it’s not raining. Fortunately, as a Man™, I have something far better (from a social perspective, at least) than a parasol to keep the Daystar’s radiance at bay… an Akubra hat! After all, everything’s classier when you’ve got an Akubra on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/137 "2012-02-13T12:03:21Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > After all, everything’s classier when you’ve got an Akubra on. 😃 “There’s nothing like an Akubra for classing up the joint” – Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000/138 "2012-02-14T08:35:34Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > “There’s nothing like an Akubra for classing up the joint” – Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit. If Her Majesty had actually said that I think it would represent a Crowning Moment Of Awesome in many respects. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-young-women-carrying-parasols/610000.md?page=6)