Chicks With Guns

October 27, 2011 12:24 PM

Chicks With Guns
posted by crunchland (115 comments total)

First three photos: bedroom, bedroom, holding baby. Way to break those sterotypes!
posted by yerfatma at 12:30 PM on October 27, 2011

Nothing gets between me and my AK.
posted by phunniemee at 12:32 PM on October 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Well after that almost every picture is a hunter with a rifle, which seems more skewed to me.
posted by 2bucksplus at 12:32 PM on October 27, 2011

More like hot chicks with guns, amirite
posted by fusinski at 12:32 PM on October 27, 2011

Good for them.

But not in my home. Never in my home.
posted by Windigo at 12:33 PM on October 27, 2011

That first photo is a bedroom? What kind of bedroom is that?
posted by shakespeherian at 12:33 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Imagine if only women could own guns.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:33 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

> Never in my home.

Cool, I didn't see anything about compulsory residential gun storage in that book, so you're probably fine.
posted by pts at 12:34 PM on October 27, 2011 [11 favorites]

Well after that almost every picture is a hunter with a rifle, which seems more skewed to me.

Is everyone else getting a different link than me or what.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:35 PM on October 27, 2011

Fun game: why are they holding guns?

Photo 4: because policewoman.
Photos 7: because biathletes.

All other photos: no apparent damn reason whatsoever.

(no, none of them are dressed for hunting)
posted by gurple at 12:35 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Cool, I didn't see anything about compulsory residential gun storage in that book, so you're probably fine.

Sure was no reason to take that tone, methinks.
posted by josher71 at 12:36 PM on October 27, 2011

Imagine if only women could own guns.

Everybody shut up I'm writing this YA fiction book RIGHT NOW.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:37 PM on October 27, 2011 [15 favorites]

ALL OF THOSE WOMEN CHICKS HAVE GUNS
posted by everichon at 12:37 PM on October 27, 2011

yerfatma: First three photos: bedroom, bedroom, holding baby. Way to break those sterotypes!

In regards to photo #1, from TFA: In another, an older woman stands in the middle of her living room surrounded by dolls and teddy bears (above).

So that's living room, bedroom, holding baby.

Followed by suburban hill over looking the city, museum/taxidermy studio, woods (or woodsy backdrop), field (with biathlon gear), under a tree (and sitting on a rope swing), in a field, in the gun room, in a field, another damned field, ooh-it's the woods again, and a manicured lawn.

So the stereotype setting falls fast.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:38 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

I am not calling any armed woman "chick."
posted by Devils Rancher at 12:38 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

YES
posted by 200burritos at 12:38 PM on October 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Imagine if only women could own guns.

It would reverse the historical power differential between the sexes, and we'd have hell to pay.

With both genders in possession, guns function as a equalizer -- though they would have served women better in less civilized times.
posted by troll at 12:40 PM on October 27, 2011

Hope it has a shot of Lois Scott pulling a pistol out of her bra at a union meeting as seen in Harlan County USA. Now that was a chick with a gun.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:40 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

So that's living room, bedroom, holding baby.

Followed by suburban hill over looking the city, museum/taxidermy studio, woods (or woodsy backdrop), field (with biathlon gear), under a tree (and sitting on a rope swing), in a field, in the gun room, in a field, another damned field, ooh-it's the woods again, and a manicured lawn.

So the stereotype setting falls fast.

These are all places I'd expect to see gun enthusiasts posing for photos. Stereotypes are all still there, as far as I can tell.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:41 PM on October 27, 2011

Fun game: why are they holding guns?

Photo 4: because policewoman.
Photos 7: because biathletes.

All other photos: no apparent damn reason whatsoever.

(no, none of them are dressed for hunting)

Well, many of them actually are hunters, which seems like a pretty good reason to me. Are you just upset they didn't dress accordingly?

Great gallery, and I enjoyed reading each woman's story.
posted by BurntHombre at 12:41 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

I believe the lady in the first photo was the former mayor of her town. And now goes out with the girls to see who is the best shot. Somehow that just makes her all the more cool
posted by infini at 12:42 PM on October 27, 2011

(no, none of them are dressed for hunting)

Except for the the 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th pics that is. (Some of the hunting outfits are of the "landed gentry" sort rather than the "Backwoods Bubba" type, but both types of hunting dress are represented here)
posted by deadmessenger at 12:42 PM on October 27, 2011 [9 favorites]

This is a pretty cool photo essay. Thanks for posting.

gurple: "(no, none of them are dressed for hunting)"

There's a girl in camouflage and a woman with a waist and shoulder strapped thingie for carrying ammo/supporting the butt of the rifle. They seem to be dressed for hunting (the second one says she likes to "dress up" for hunting or something similar).
posted by falameufilho at 12:42 PM on October 27, 2011

Cool, I didn't see anything about compulsory residential gun storage in that book, so you're probably fine.

Cool, I didn't see anything about compulsory Metafilter snark in the FAQ, but you're probably fine.

(The way Metafilter works is that people post links and we comment on the content of the links - what we think of them, how they make us feel, what can be learned, so on and so forth. Discussion! Opinions!)
posted by Windigo at 12:42 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

All other photos: no apparent damn reason whatsoever.

Also, the woman in photo 2 is a detective, though I don't know if she's dressed for detecting. You learn a lot reading the descriptions.
posted by BurntHombre at 12:43 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Well after that almost every picture is a hunter with a rifle

Actually, most of them are 20 gauge shotguns.
posted by exogenous at 12:45 PM on October 27, 2011 [6 favorites]

(no, none of them are dressed for hunting)

Except for the the 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th pics that is.

OK, apparently there are places where hunters go hunting without wearing bright colors? I grew up in Utah, where all the hunters wore bright colors. So as, you know, not to die. But I'm not a hunter, myself, so maybe there are, like, death-cult hunters who don't do this?
posted by gurple at 12:46 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I want Chicks with Needle Guns and Space Helmets. Do that next.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Why are these ladies wearing wheels on their feet in a grassy field? Are they on a game preserve that's paved with concrete pathways for leisurely hunting?
posted by troll at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011

I think I like the one of Greta the best... though others are equally evocative.
posted by crunchland at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Also, the woman in photo 2 is a detective, though I don't know if she's dressed for detecting. You learn a lot reading the descriptions.

Actually she was a detective, past tense, she is now in "law enforcement" whatever that means:

"Being in law enforcement and having been a detective, I am acutely aware of things that can go wrong. Since I’ve been in law enforcement, I’ve always had a gun in my nightstand that I keep loaded, no safety on, ready to go, one in the chamber, because that’s the only way I feel it’s effective. If I had kids it would be a different story. I would never, under any circumstances, have a loaded gun in the house if there were children there. That is extremely unsafe. I can’t think of a worse thing to do."

Call out not, lest ye be called out.
posted by 2bucksplus at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I understand hunting. I understand hunting for food. Or for sport. Or to thin off a population. I do not understand why anyone would choose to mount a couple of dozen dead animals on their walls. It seems fetishistic.
posted by zarq at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Most of the photos display good trigger discipline, and not one of them involves someone pointing the gun directly at the cameraman like an idiot -- gold star!

...oh, wait, were we talking about outfits?
posted by vorfeed at 12:48 PM on October 27, 2011 [12 favorites]

also cool: Pink Pistols, a group whose mission is to "educate the LGBT community in the safe and legal use of firearms."
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:50 PM on October 27, 2011

Why are these ladies wearing wheels on their feet in a grassy field? Are they on a game preserve that's paved with concrete pathways for leisurely hunting?

They are training for biathlon, which does not, in fact, involve either concrete pathways or hunting. Training for winter biathlon involves practicing cross-country freestyle skiing; when weather does not permit this, there are rollerskis that simulate snow skis.
posted by vorfeed at 12:52 PM on October 27, 2011 [5 favorites]

troll, they are biathletes who are training in the off-season
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:53 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

These are all places I'd expect to see gun enthusiasts posing for photos. Stereotypes are all still there

Alternatives:

- BASE jumping
- alongside the calandria of a nuclear reactor
- in a bank
- inside the barrel of an even bigger gun
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:55 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

I suppose I would have known that if I had read the caption...
posted by troll at 12:56 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Actually, most of them are 20 gauge shotguns.

I actually was most surprised about this. Especially with all of the double barrels and over/unders. What happened to single barrel pump-action or semi-autos? Fighting in the upcoming zombie apocalypse is going to be a bitch when you are reloading every two shots.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 12:57 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Imagine if only women could own guns.

Then only women would own testicles, and they would be in fine decorative displays like Faberge eggs.
posted by rahnefan at 12:59 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Apparently it has been lost to time but in college we played a great RPG called "Big Breasted Babes with Guns."

It was a favorite with the women if I recall.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:59 PM on October 27, 2011

I want Chicks with Needle Guns and Space Helmets. Do that next.

Needle Guns? I thought Gyrojet guns were the proper Space Helmet accompaniment.
posted by dragoon at 1:00 PM on October 27, 2011

Come Gomez, grand-mama is having one of her, episodes...
posted by Splunge at 1:00 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

More like hot chicks with guns, amirite ArmaLite
Sorry, but I had to FTFY.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:02 PM on October 27, 2011 [7 favorites]

What happened to single barrel pump-action or semi-autos?

They are expensive, difficult to clean (compared to break action), and notoriously unreliable.

Break actions are basically impossible to jam.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:03 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

gurple, in the state of Florida, blaze orange is only a requirement when hunting deer, on public lands. This requirement does not apply during archery season.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:03 PM on October 27, 2011

Apparently it has been lost to time but in college we played a great RPG called "Big Breasted Babes with Guns."
Are you sure it wasn't MWWG? Because that if not, it was a sick, sad little rip-off. Most things are.
posted by The Bellman at 1:04 PM on October 27, 2011

These two ladies are apparently trying out for the role of Zaroff in the gender-flipped version of "The Most Dangerous Game."
posted by Iridic at 1:04 PM on October 27, 2011

I hate to be judgmental, and think that youngsters can be taught to use guns appropriately.

But there is something as "too young to own a gun":

I was only seven or eight months old when I received my first gun, a gift from a longtime friend of my parents. A miniature stocked Colt 1861 Navy revolver, it has a personalized inscription with an engraved stock. I still have it, of course."

(also: behind you, a LIVE DEER, kill it already!)
posted by el io at 1:07 PM on October 27, 2011

Imagine if only women could own guns.

It'd cut the divorce rate in red states in half overnight, that's for sure.
posted by pjaust at 1:08 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

gurple, in the state of Florida, blaze orange is only a requirement when hunting deer, on public lands.

In practice, though, are there really places where the majority of hunters go hunting without bright colors on? Why would they do this?

I'm not going to get all spoilerrific, here, but many of us just saw a fantastic example of why hunting and subdued clothing don't mix so well, on ye olde television a couple weeks ago.
posted by gurple at 1:09 PM on October 27, 2011

Actually she was a detective, past tense, she is now in "law enforcement" whatever that means

I don't parse that sentence as meaning she once was a detective and is no longer, although I appreciate the ambiguity of the perfect passive participle.

Call out not, lest ye be called out.

By all means, please call me out when I'm wrong, whether or not I call others out!
posted by BurntHombre at 1:10 PM on October 27, 2011

Speaking of women with guns, I bought this for my wife as last year's anniversary present. Beautiful and light weight.


In practice, though, are there really places where the majority of hunters go hunting without bright colors on? Why would they do this?

For upland game, blaze is not required. Most everyone wears at least a a hat or vest though, just to be safe. But these were posed shots, I wouldn't take them as representative.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:12 PM on October 27, 2011

It depends on the kind of hunt.

Duck or goose hunting, well, mostly your targets are in the air. So not much need to positively identify targets on the ground.

Feral pig hunting is done at very close ranges, often with dogs subduing the pig. So again, not much need for blaze orange on the hunters.

For deer, which are pretty sensitive, people tend to take longer-range shots, at levels that people also genereally occupy. So identifying what may be another hunter is crucial.

"Be sure of your target, and what is beyond it."

on preview, also posed like Pogo_Fuzzybutt says.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:14 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

All other photos: no apparent damn reason whatsoever.

So the women who go target shooting are required to be photographed at the gun range? Or the women who have a gun for self-defense are required to be photographed shooting someone breaking into her house?
posted by scody at 1:15 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Old-time China style.
posted by Abiezer at 1:15 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

ie. -white and mostly upper income chicks with guns.
posted by bonobothegreat at 1:16 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

In practice, though, are there really places where the majority of hunters go hunting without bright colors on? Why would they do this?

Deer are red-orange color-blind and the weapons that are used to hunt them tend to be effective at long range, while birds have good color vision. If you are on your own property, you can hunt alone and be pretty sure that no one else is hunting.
posted by 445supermag at 1:17 PM on October 27, 2011

bonobothegreat

Previously on MeFi
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:20 PM on October 27, 2011

So the women who go target shooting are required to be photographed at the gun range? Or the women who have a gun for self-defense are required to be photographed shooting someone breaking into her house?

Right -- this, really, is my only point, and it boils down to my personal distaste for gun culture, which I see as distinct from the necessary use or ownership of guns. And, so, of course, it's purely subjective.

If you take a picture of someone using a gun for its intended use, you're describing what that gun is used for, and the professional/recreational relationship of the person to the gun. If you take a picture of someone sitting around holding a gun for no apparent reason, you're describing the emotional relationship of the person to his or her gun.

From photos 1 and 4, I get the message "these people have these guns because they're going to use them". From the rest, I get the message "these people really like the way guns make them feel".
posted by gurple at 1:24 PM on October 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

I prefer the Tommy Shaw version.
posted by tommasz at 1:25 PM on October 27, 2011

So... I haven't run the numbers. But my immediate reaction, having flipped through the whole album, is that most of the women depicted seem between "somewhat" and "very" well-to-do. Yes, there's the cop. But there are an awful lot of upper-class-signalling clothes, some incredibly expensive-looking interiors, and a ton of other wealth markers floating around. And I sure as hell don't see a lot of modest one-story houses or city-dwelling women who, say, own a handgun for protection, go to the range regularly, and are confident in its use but don't hunt.

It's not chicks with guns. It's upper-class white women with hunting rifles and shotguns.
posted by Tomorrowful at 1:37 PM on October 27, 2011 [7 favorites]

These chicks don't want to be fed they want to hunt! Can't just suppress millions of years of gut instinct.
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:37 PM on October 27, 2011

> (The way Metafilter works is that people post links and we comment on the content of the links - what we think of them, how they make us feel, what can be learned, so on and so forth. Discussion! Opinions!)

I really appreciate you taking the time to explain to me how MetaFilter works.
posted by pts at 1:40 PM on October 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Is the woman in the last photo not aiming at the photographer's kneecaps/groin? Because, you would think that's a topic might be covered in the in the safety class, manual, handbook, or pamphlet that came with the actual gun.

Also, that's Cinderella's evil step mom, right?
posted by crumbly at 1:40 PM on October 27, 2011

Well, sure. If men can cradle hunks of metal which are at the same time phallic objects and representations of the false power of firearms, why the hell can't women? Women should be allowed to make the same mistakes men are.
posted by koeselitz at 1:41 PM on October 27, 2011

I passed the New York state bird and small game course and got my license when I was 13 . From what I remember you would not wear bright colors while hunting turkey.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:46 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

If you take a picture of someone using a gun for its intended use, you're describing what that gun is used for, and the professional/recreational relationship of the person to the gun. If you take a picture of someone sitting around holding a gun for no apparent reason, you're describing the emotional relationship of the person to his or her gun.

True, but that emotional relationship is predicated on its use. It's a similar dynamic to one a person might have with their car; they might even name it. Guns represent power -- self-protection and self-determination -- the same way cars represent intangibles like mobility and affluence; they bleed into other aspects of life because they are more than tools -- they are symbols. That's why your asshole neighbor hand-washes his Corvette twice a week through the winter and likes to show off his "gun den" at every opportunity. Certain tools can't be compartmentalized according to their function because they're integral to the identity of the user.
posted by troll at 1:46 PM on October 27, 2011

troll: “Why are these ladies wearing wheels on their feet in a grassy field? Are they on a game preserve that's paved with concrete pathways for leisurely hunting?”

vorfeed: “They are training for biathlon, which does not, in fact, involve either concrete pathways or hunting. Training for winter biathlon involves practicing cross-country freestyle skiing; when weather does not permit this, there are rollerskis that simulate snow skis.”

Not only that, but the quotation under their picture (from one of them named Carolyn) is the most interesting one in the series:

“I have enjoyed shooting as part of biathlon because of the unique combination of endurance fitness with fine motor control and concentration. I haven’t done any other shooting, because firearms also make me uncomfortable.”

Gosh, thanks for sharing your discomfort with firearms with us, Carolyn. Hope you enjoy being part of a book that celebrates firearms!
posted by koeselitz at 1:53 PM on October 27, 2011

Coming soon: Dudes With Baking.
posted by Soulfather at 1:53 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

YAY GUNS! This is truly the gender parity we have sought for so long!
posted by basicchannel at 2:10 PM on October 27, 2011

Are you sure it wasn't MWWG?

No, it was more like Charlie's Angels with bigger weapons. Stiletto heels could be used as throwing weapons as well.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:10 PM on October 27, 2011

The only thing I find remotely objectionable is the lack of color. I mean, is it so hard to find darker skinned women who pull the trigger every now and then, or is the whole point to drive home the idea that gun use is a fundamentally wasp-y thing to do?
posted by 2N2222 at 2:15 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

I'll be in my bunk.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:23 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Interesting, how this works. It's how you can make a movie about a 16 year-old girl assassin like Hanna, but do the same film about a 16 year-old boy and the words 'Columbine' and 'Virginia Tech' and 'offensive' will appear in reviews.

Consider the poster for this year's Canadian Air Gun Grand Prix. You put a hot chick with a rifle up at the top where everyone will see it. Not everyone will scroll down to see the bald dude at the bottom. But should you attend said event, you'll find the number of overweight, older guys is far, far greater than the number of hot chicks with guns. But old, chubby guys with guns aren't sexy, unless you have an Elmer Fudd fetish.
posted by grounded at 2:28 PM on October 27, 2011

Did they include any *black* chicks with guns? Or would that have been too scary? 'Cuz looking at that slideshow was like walking through the fevered dreams of the Southern Aristocracy.
posted by mr.curmudgeon at 2:29 PM on October 27, 2011 [13 favorites]

Edit: 2N2222 beat me to it.
posted by mr.curmudgeon at 2:29 PM on October 27, 2011

This post makes me want a 20 gauge.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:31 PM on October 27, 2011

'Cuz looking at that slideshow was like walking through the fevered dreams of the Southern Aristocracy.

Aren't women with guns more of a Western thing? I thought the belles of the Southern Aristocracy were supposed to sit around in petticoats.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:31 PM on October 27, 2011

Do YOU come with the g...*BANG*
posted by panboi at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I suppose I was raised correctly not to instantly connect women with the word, "Chick," but it is disappointing when I click on the link and don't find adorable fuzzy baby chickens sporting firearms.
posted by Atreides at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

Here you go Atreides.
posted by quin at 2:36 PM on October 27, 2011 [8 favorites]

Awesome.
posted by Atreides at 2:39 PM on October 27, 2011

Some of you may have already seen these, but in 1989 my mom posed for a series of photos as an anniversary present to my father (who is a gun dealer).
posted by hermitosis at 2:41 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

(They are no longer together.)
posted by hermitosis at 2:44 PM on October 27, 2011

(That last comment refers to my mom and dad, and also to mom and the gun.)
posted by hermitosis at 2:44 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'll be in my bunk.

Maybe you only meant that you are attracted to strong, independent women, nathancaswell, but I'd like to say that I'm glad none of these were overtly sexual.

I despise society's conflation of violence and sex.
posted by Specklet at 2:49 PM on October 27, 2011

I despise society's conflation of violence and sex.

The erotic impulse and the death impulse have always been very closely linked. It's not a problem with society, it's a problem with biology.
posted by hermitosis at 2:51 PM on October 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

FWIW I've liked guns longer than I've liked girls.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:55 PM on October 27, 2011

Death impulse?
Must be something wrong with me then.
Antisocial probably.
And I didn't really like the "chicks" that much either.
posted by jan murray at 2:59 PM on October 27, 2011

90+comments and I haven't seen THIS??!

Are you people asleep or something?
posted by HuronBob at 3:06 PM on October 27, 2011 [5 favorites]

I suppose I was raised correctly not to instantly connect women with the word, "Chick," but it is disappointing when I click on the link and don't find adorable fuzzy baby chickens sporting firearms.

My downstairs neighbor's wireless network is named "Chick with a Gun." She is an ass, imo. /anecdata
posted by mrgrimm at 3:27 PM on October 27, 2011

(They are no longer together.)
(That last comment refers to my mom and dad, and also to mom and the gun.)

I am pleased to hear this, as in the second picture she has her finger inside the trigger guard in a non-shooting situation. Unless your mother left your father by offing him during a photo session, of course.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:32 PM on October 27, 2011

You can keep 'em. And the "chicks".
posted by Decani at 3:53 PM on October 27, 2011

In regards to photo #1, from TFA: In another, an older woman stands in the middle of her living room surrounded by dolls and teddy bears (above) [blah blah blah blah] . . . So the stereotype setting falls fast.

Let me just make sure I understand: you're calling me out for not reading the captions. In spite of the fact this is inherently sexist. If this were "Broads Who Pretend to Use Tools", would it matter what the captions say? The whole premise is ridiculous: "women who somehow obtained an object that only men are supposed to be interested in" - wowsers!
posted by yerfatma at 4:04 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've used firearms. Never was I wearing makeup, though.
posted by hal_c_on at 4:21 PM on October 27, 2011

I don't think a lot of these women are pretending.
posted by hermitosis at 4:31 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Chicks dig scars...and apparently also breech-loading shotguns.
posted by jnnla at 4:41 PM on October 27, 2011

What happened to single barrel pump-action or semi-autos?

They are expensive, difficult to clean (compared to break action), and notoriously unreliable.

You're correct about semi-autos, but single barrel pump-actions are very cheap (Mossberg 590 or Remington 870 models are around $300) and very easy to clean. They're a lot cheaper than over-unders, and excellent protection against zombies as long as they're not the type that are attracted to loud noises. A war hammer is probably best in that case.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 4:49 PM on October 27, 2011

Let me just make sure I understand: you're calling me out for not reading the captions. In spite of the fact this is inherently sexist. If this were "Broads Who Pretend to Use Tools", would it matter what the captions say? The whole premise is ridiculous: "women who somehow obtained an object that only men are supposed to be interested in" - wowsers!

What a silly string of words you've written. Firstly, captions are context; context is meaning. Read the captions before you comment (I demonstrated this lesson for you here). Next, you're being sexist by denying these women recognition of the legitimacy of their interest. Believe it or not, women use tools (to build!) and guns (to hunt!). These women in particular are genuine enthusiasts, and your attitude is demeaning and ironically regressive.
posted by troll at 5:08 PM on October 27, 2011 [5 favorites]

Not enough nudity.
posted by jonmc at 5:11 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Chicks dig scars...and apparently also breech-loading shotguns.

not to mention powder actuated nail guns
posted by clearly at 5:27 PM on October 27, 2011

So did anyone else not know that Abercrombie & Fitch used to manufacture guns??
posted by Deflagro at 5:31 PM on October 27, 2011

Chicks with bricks come
Chicks with blocks come
Chicks with bricks and blocks and glocks come.
posted by sunshinesky at 5:54 PM on October 27, 2011 [6 favorites]

(can you tell my toddler has been forcing me to read Fox in socks over and over lately... I liked it , but now I think I might want to shoot something)
posted by sunshinesky at 5:56 PM on October 27, 2011

I really appreciate you taking the time to explain to me how MetaFilter works.

You seemed a bit lost. Glad I could help you out!
posted by Windigo at 6:34 PM on October 27, 2011

Rich blonds with guns would be a more apt title.
posted by warbaby at 8:18 PM on October 27, 2011

I think the caption for the last photo really ought to be "No, Mr. Bond....I expect you to die."
posted by crunchland at 8:39 PM on October 27, 2011

It's not chicks with guns. It's upper-class white women with hunting rifles and shotguns.

Gun ownership is highly racially correlated (in this chart, white households are more than twice as likely as black households to own guns; chart 1 in this article also supports this). And gun ownership is strongly correlated with income -- poor people have fewer guns than rich people. (Both are kind of commonsensical, but go against many of the stereotypes of impoverished but highly armed hillbillies preying on lost city slickers, or armed blacks invading the houses of innocent white people, that we have all seen in thousands of movies.)

In other words, those upper class women with guns are somewhat representative of female gun owners, more so than would be a cohort of women who match the overall US demographics.

That said, if any woman reading this thread has ever been even slightly tempted by the idea of trying out shooting, I'd highly recommend looking to see if a Women on Target clinic is offered anywhere near you. Yes, there is an NRA connection. Yes, some of the nice old guys helping run it are probably founding members of the John Birch society. But in reality what it is, is a supportive and fun (and either free or very cheap) way to give shooting a try without any of the testosterone or other cliches that keep a lot of people away.
posted by Forktine at 9:54 PM on October 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

These women in particular are genuine enthusiasts, and your attitude is demeaning and ironically regressive.

But why is it notable?
posted by yerfatma at 7:08 AM on October 28, 2011

I'll leave the ambiguity in there.
posted by yerfatma at 7:09 AM on October 28, 2011

Some of these people look like they're auditioning for the next Harry Potter movie: Muggles Revenge!!1!
posted by sneebler at 5:44 PM on October 28, 2011

High-powered rich blonde white chick with guns (NSFW) guarding her assets.
posted by cenoxo at 8:02 AM on October 29, 2011

High-powered low-class blonde white chick with gun looking for assets.
posted by cenoxo at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2011

High-class rich sometimes-blonde white chick with gun acquiring assets.
posted by cenoxo at 9:09 AM on October 29, 2011