During the summer, I am freezing 80% of the time: I freeze in my office building at work, I freeze while teaching at BYU, and I freeze when at church. And I'm not the only one. Virtually every other female I know is similarly freezing in these locations. I've long wondered why, considering both the financial and environmental costs of blasting the AC, these buildings are kept so frigid.
A couple of people have suggested to me that arctic temperatures ensure that men in polyester suits aren't hot. I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical of this theory, though it did seem probable. But then today on NPR (yes, I listen during the fund drive), there was a story about Japan's fight against global warming, which has included turning the majority of the country's air conditioners up to 82 degrees. And to make such an increase in temperature tolerable, there has been a movement to get men to stop wearing suit coats and ties! And everyone's happy! The reporter even mentioned--as a side note--that the women in these offices are relieved by the warmer temps.
And so I ask you, what temperature would your office/church building/business be if women were in control of the thermostat?
6 comments:
well, my dad is from Rexburg, so I grew up in a freezing cold house. he would turn the heat off at night during the winter so it felt like "home." so now i'm conditioned so that I have to be freezing all the time--i keep our house cold enough so that I'm comfortable reading under a blanket.
I must be the exception to the rule. I would much rather it be cold when I work and at church. Come to think of it, it would depend on the type of work. I often overheat while entertaining students...but can't think of anything worse than doing construction in the freezing cold. I hate to be hot, so I'm with the men on this one, cold please.
If I have to choose between being cool or being warm, I prefer cool, especially when I'm working. Cooler temps help keep me awake when I'm tired. And cool temps just seem more comfortable to me. That being said, our office is a little bit too cold for me sometimes, especially in the summer when the AC is turned way up. The thermostat in the office could be turned up five degrees or more and not cause a problem for me.
By the way, I heard the latter part of the story on NPR about raising the thermostat temps in Japan to help combat global warming. I loved the part where they mentioned how, at one point, people were considering designing short-sleeved suits for men. I have a hard time visualizing that. That sounds hilarious!
You know my feelings about men and temps. If men were uncomfortable with the cool temps in offices or at church, I venture to say that "the problem" would be much less common than it is. Because men are less affected by the temps, I think that they are generally indifferent to the complaints of women.
I think that the cold temperatures is to help them with their image as well. Have you noticed that the bishopric regularly falls asleep during the meeting? Imagine what it would like if the chapel was a comfortable 70 or 75.
As you probably already know, I am always cold too. Jeremy and I battle over the temperature all the time. We both notice a difference if it has changed 1 degree. I would prefer to have it set at 74 in the summer and 76 in the winter. Jeremy prefers 68 in the summer and 68 in the winter. We try to leave it at 70 in the summer and 69 in the winter. Yep, I am cold ALL the time. He claims I have it easy, all I have to do is put on more clothes.
I teach sunbeams, I'm always pretty hot. We don't sit down very long and I am usually wresting with one to not climb out the window or have a couple on my lap. I'm too busy to worry about the temp. In fact I haven't even thought about it until now.
You may think I'm kidding about the window thing, but I'm not.
Although, as we speak my fingers are cold and so are my feet and we don't turn on the heat. So I'm with you on this one at least for tonight.
Post a Comment