Sexism or Being Practical?

On the train to Port Hope today, I noticed the whole car was mostly full of white haired people. I sat behind two elderly women, probably in their 70's, each travelling alone. They were showing each other photographs of their grandchildren. As the train started, an attendant showed the passenger sitting beside the emergency escape window how to open the window. The passenger was a middle-aged man.

One elderly woman said to the other, "It's nice they are showing a man how to do that. If we get in trouble, he'll push out the window for sure."

I strained a bit to see if she was being sarcastic. But I don't think so. Both women were nodding their heads as if they felt more secure now that a man would be in charge of the escape window.

I reflected on what the woman said. Was she expressing aged sexism - that life is better when a man is in charge, or was she expressing the practical wisdom of experience - that it's easier for a muscular man to kick open a window? I think I could have kicked open that window. But I would not have wanted to deal with the fear and panic that the seniors on the train may have showed. If they feel safer with a man, who am I to make them uncomfortable? I don't ever want a train emergency to occur just to prove I can so kick down a window.

Maybe it's an issue of division of labour. We each do what we're best at. If someone close to the escape window had kicked it down, I probably would have stood at the window to make sure people filed out in an organized way. Someone else may have tried to calm the panicky ones.

And an issue of what approach works best. A muscular man might have kicked down a window with sheer force. I might have been more strategic - kick down the window where it's meant to be kicked down.