August 15, 2006

Women too hot for sushi .....

....which is rubbish, but still the industry remains very, very male dominated. To my surprise tonight in the sushi place we went to they had a female sushi chef working. It was the first time I'd seen it with my own eyes. Humans can't really handle much change in their core temperature, so it seems silly to say that gender means that yours is above or below average just due to that. As for the fish warming up aspect - the general recommended temp for cooking fish is 230 degrees celsius, so a hand touching it briefly will have little effect (of course serving it up on a body is another matter and has been discussed here before). And how about the generally accepted fact that the majority of flaming superheroes are actually men? Forget even just preparing it - several groups recommend that women and children shouldn't be eating it due to the mercury levels in fish and seafood. Which is gonna cause trouble because according to 2001 survey toro (fatty tuna) rates as the favourite among women at 40%, while the least favourite is the virtually non-mercury bearing uni(sea urchin). And if all these links have worn you out why not relax with a wasabi face mask?

  • Nice post, gomichild.... thanks... I hadn't thought about the fact that all the sushi chefs I had seen had been male... interesting.. "''I want to have a place that is all female sushi chefs,'' Mr. Sone said. ''It's nice to see beautiful ladies.''" and...of course... "SushiHooters" is just a step away here in the good old U S of A....
  • Actually I didn't mention it in the original post but a lot of known chefs in general are male - and I'm very curious as to how that came about too. But that's a whole nother topic I suspect...
  • My thermogenesis is really weird: I emit ooldes of heat (the bed is still warm where I've slept even 30 minutes later), and yet I can handle extreme temperatures (about 110°F, but I like 90°F) without being uncomfortable. However, when the apartment gets below 77°F, I start getting really cold. I suppose I could never be a sushi chef. Which is probably a good thing, since I never wash my hands.
  • temp converter - just in case
  • Why So Few Women Are Great Chefs Including the Five Major Arguments! Also, The Observer weighs in I think it's because girls are icky.
  • Not icky, Pete. Unclean. Girls are unclean.
  • You, like all icky girls, say to-mah-to
  • Anyone know why Japanese women weren't allowed to work past 10PM? Aside from the uncleanliness, natch.
  • You, like all icky girls, say to-mah-to 'Maters. *digs finger deeply into sinus cavity*
  • Of course none of us want cooties on our fish. Jeeze!
  • I thought this was going to be about 女体盛り. Some images may be NSFW
  • Guys like dirty girls. Dirty, dirty girls.
  • Girls are not dirty! oops
  • Um... Your hands are your extremities, not your core. Their about as opposite as your core as you can get. I'm not siding with their "girls have warm hands" thing, but there is plenty of variety in hand temperature between different people. There's people with super warm hands, people with super cold hands, and people in all ranges in between. It's silly to bring up altering temps at all, core or otherwise. I don't understand why you did that. It's not about altering hand temps, it's about that natural state their hand temp is in. It sounds like you are saying people don't/can't warm up their hands when their hands get cold. Or that people's hand don't/can't get cold at all. I don't believe them when they say that the reason they don't want women sushi cooks is because their hands are warm. But I am even more shocked to hear the claim that people all have the same temp hands at all times. generally accepted fact that the majority of flaming superheroes are actually men? I also highly disbelieve this sentiment.
  • Interesting post, gomi. I imagine that since fine cuisine is considered an artform, that like painting, architecture, composing music and writing great literature, it would have the same long male-dominated tradition. I imagine that the great masters of any of the above-mentioned arts would balk at taking on a female protege, because women belong in the home raising children. The only excuse that sounds sincere from your first link is, "women can't become sushi chefs because behind the counter is a sacred area, and that women are all silly". Boys have always been stupid like that. It's the reason why they smell bad too.
  • You comin' on to me? Ay, not like Idon' like it! hey hey!
  • Well Mr Knickerbocker I had to bring up something with body temperatures because the common belief was that the temperature of the hands is the reason for why women can't be sushi chefs. It was tricky enough to find any information on gender temperature differences which is why I linked to some information on body temperatures in general. As for the superhero claim - show me at least one chick superhero who flames up buddy!
  • As for the superhero claim - show me at least one chick superhero who flames up buddy! Magma, of the new mutants was always quite warm... Farenheight of Stormwatch, (who set off a smoke alarm while having sex once...) And Jean Grey/phoenix was always visually flameful, though they were more of a display than function. (Note, the combination of "Girls" "fish" and "nerd trivia" will clearly delurk me)
  • Firestar, Thermal, Nova, Farenheit, just off the top of my sad, otherwise useless head. Conveniently enough, Wikipedia has a list of fictional pyrokineticists. They really need to bring Scourge back.
  • *hopes she doesn't lose her license for teh interwebs from being pwned by nerds*
  • The impression I get through my own personal observation is that great chefs are usually even greater assholes. Since assholery has only lately come to be seen as a desirable quality in women, previous generations have trained girls to avoid it, therefore disqualifying them from high rank in the kitchens of the elite. My own experience working in kitchens has also been that a deep and broad knowledge of cussing (another skill women have traditionally been discouraged from developing) is a basic skill a chef must posess. Or maybe we just can't see the cooktop through our damn boobs
  • MonkeyFilter: the combination of "Girls" "fish" and "nerd trivia"
  • A former house mate of mine went on to become a chef and she ended up being a pastry chef, which I understand is considered the girl's side of the kitchen. Perhaps it was because her swearing was sub-par, but I've always wondered whether the association of women with pastry-making was related to the traditional association of women with bread-making.
  • "Oh, to heck with this gosh darn tarte tatin!"
  • Oh, dear! Which of you fellas spilled sauce on my mis-en-place? Heavens, it's a mess, and my brioche is burning! Darn it!
  • In my line 'o work, when fellas spill sauce on yer mis-en-place, we call it the money shot.
  • Ralph, you're not allowed to cook me dinner EVAR.
  • There are two women preparing inarizushi for me at this very moment. Yum.
  • > As for the superhero claim - show me at least one chick superhero who flames up buddy! that was just another way to flush out lunch-money marks, wasn't it?
  • I'm the firestarter... ...twisted firestarter
  • Luckily there were others who could back me up flaming femme superheros. I know there's alot, just not their names. But the only guy one I really know of is The Torch. Unless you count Ghost Rider. Does he count? I always thought it was well accepted that they generally made fire superheros women, to transfer other implications of the word "hot" onto them. I think you'll find alot more corresponding lifestyle and location to hand temp, rather than gender. Like a two-pack a day smoker will have colder hands than a 6-pack a week drinker, or a Minnesotite having colder hands than a Floridosian. I doubt gender plays any part, except where gender influences lifestyle. You know, pretty much every woman I've made hand-to-hand contact with (all two of them) had hands much colder than mine. I radiate A LOT of heat. I have to refridgerate any candy bar I eat else it'll be very melty before I finish it.
  • Maybe if you ate the candy bar inside the fridge...
  • Hey, and then you'd be able to tell us if the light goes off in there.
  • That'd make the fridge warm.
  • Around my house, the rule is you catch it, you clean it. Icky stinky fishy fingers. OOOK!
  • This sounds like a job for the Icemaiden!
  • sushi sign