guns-9

I’m not your typical gun owner. I have accepted this. I’m a female and small in stature. I’m not burly or muscular. I’m not manly and I don’t like the horrid abomination that is the “flip-flop.”  I’m me. I think of myself as a spunky young woman with spirit. I just got my hair cut and colored in a pretty drastic way. While at my appointment, the wonderful lady who did my new hairdo asked, “What do you do for a living, Sara?” This question makes me smile because . . .

I am always more than proud to say I’m a writer for The Truth About Guns … the best website on the interwebs. But that wasn’t all. She just stopped and said, “I’ve heard of TTAG. But you don’t look like a normal gun owner.” Of course that piqued my curiosity. I had to ask what she meant. She said “I only mean that you’re pretty and you come here to an upscale salon and you dress so nice.” I informed her that I dress the nicest I can to conceal a weapon. She laughed and she knew I was serious. I was packing and in my belly band at that time.

After she had put the finishing touches on my awesome new hair and I paid, I thought about what she had said. Is there a stereotypical woman gun owner? Of course there is. They seem to all “look the part.” They are thought of as frumpy, makeup-less, and style-less. But that’s not how I think of them. Take Eva Shockey, for example. Or Diana Hufstedler. Or Emily Miller. I wear heels, I wear makeup and I like being a woman. Just don’t come between me and my guns, my football (go Broncos) or my coffee and I think we will all be OK.

Gun-owning women don’t have to fit a mold. Break that mold, ladies. Break it any way you want. Being beautiful, having salon-quality hair, wearing makeup or heels doesn’t mean you are less of a gun owner. In fact, I see it as an asset. You can be beautiful and deadly if need be. If you hate heels, so be it. Just be you. Guns know no stereotypes.

 

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107 COMMENTS

  3. Broncos, eh? As a former Coloradoan, I tip my hat.

    There actually is a trait “typical” to female gun owners; they tend to not radiate “victim.”

    It’s tangible, and most alluring.

    • I agree with Russ. The most attractive women do not act like victims. They have their life together and they know what they want. They do not blame any setbacks on others. Instead they take responsibility for their own actions and more forward towards their goals. That kind of woman is very appealing to me and to many other smart, confident and successful guys.

      • Thank you Dustin. My confidence scares quite a few people. I was a victim once and only because I couldn’t get to my gun…….never again.
        I practice weekly with 3 guns and both hands. I hunt and I butcher what I kill and this surprises many a fella. So I am not a typical female and that keeps everyone on their toes. I grew up with a gun in my hands so I’m ahead of the game. I have very long hair, I don’t need makeup and i can’t wear high heels so you will find me in cowboy boots, even when I’m wearing shorts! But not with my swimsuit!

  4. They are thought of as frumpy, makeup-less, and style-less. My oldest Daughter might fit that mold but she is a hands on Equestrian and Horse Owner, and that means you are going to look, smell, and dress like some sort of Cow Girl. She most certainly does not smell like fragrances of Chanel perfumes. Essence of Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse maybe.

    • Women who might fight for their offspring, their partner, or themselves, are vastly superior to those who would prefer to say “It was so horrible, there was nothing I could do!” A man who chooses the latter is a damn fool.

      • Well, she’s kinda dead now, so no, but I’ll go along with it. I consider myself a sapiosexual, i..e, one who finds intelligence the most sexually attractive feature, and it’s that feature which, yes, I consider to have been most attractive about Madame Thatcher. This is the lady who sang, “Don’t Falk With Me, Argentina.” This is the premier who said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” Tell me that ain’t hawt.

    • Maybe it’s a Republican abomination, you know, an “Obamination”. Maybe I should trademark that before Fox beats me to it.

      • That’s funny! Reminds me of the NOBAMA bumper stickers. When I first saw them, I thought that everybody was tired hating on Alabama.

      • Obamination (or Obamanation) pronounced identically to abomination, was surely invented sometime in early 2008 when it became clear he was likely to win the election. I’m quite sure I used it shortly after that election and I have difficulty believing I’m the first one to see the obvious pun.

    • “Before I continue reading, what is an “obimintion”?”

      noun
      1.
      anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred.
      2.
      intense aversion or loathing; detestation:
      He regarded lying with abomination.
      3.
      a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.:
      Spitting in public is an abomination.

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abomination

  7. I like most all CCW people and although I am always alert I usually can tell when a person is most likely carrying. Its good to see different types gals and guys that carry Be cool and let’s all watch our six.

  8. Based on the varying shapes, sizes, colors, clothes, muscle builds, piercings/ink (or lack thereof) of women I’ve seen at various ranges over the years, I had no idea there was even a “mold” to be broken.

  10. *glances down at feet*

    …So, was I supposed to be wearing flip-flops this whole time?

    I gotta say, that is pretty obiminable.

  11. Everyone who’s a “typical burly, muscular” gun owner, please raise your hand.

    With 100,000,000 gun owners in America, I can confidently say there’s no such thing as a “typical,” or rather, “stereotypical” gun owner. With that said, I appreciate you emphasizing this point in your post, Sara.

    • “Everyone who’s a “typical burly, muscular” gun owner, please raise your hand.”

      Me! Me! Pick me! I am for certain a typical burly, muscular, OFWG gun owner! I would raise my hand if I could!

    • “typical burly, muscular”

      I think that is a myth. In my opinion, the macho, burly muscular guy may be much more public about his gun ownership, but he does not represent the majority. Most.gun owners will not.tell you they are gun owners. Also, many true “gun guys” tend to be older because of two things: Once a gun guy, always a gun guy, and older guys can afford it. Another thing worth mentioning. It takes a lot of time to maintain a “burly, muscular” physique, which if you are a real “gun guy”, that interferes with your range.time.

  12. Oh I don’t know. I always thought Angelina Jolie looked just fine in Tomb Raider. 😉

    As previously posted, a self confidant, not going to be a victim attitude is a beautiful thing for all gun owners. Guys and Gals.
    Although Gals are nicer to look at.

    • I workout my calfs three times a week and can’t make them grow to save my life. Guess I’ve been going about it all wrong, I should just get some heels.

  14. Neither am I.
    A fact i’m periodically reminded of when I visit an unfamiliar FFL and the staff nervously start fidgeting with their strong sides; a black dude walking into a rural gun shop sets off some people’s hackles on occasion.You should see the looks the staff gives me when I pass the first 4473 I fill out there!

    Folks, like it or not, think in terms of sterotypes and tribes. The common image of a gun owner is a white dude with a huge belly, a beard to match, and a lifted ChevyFordDodge 1500 with a “My Cold Dead Hands” sticker in the back window. Black dudes, latino women, and professional writers dont fit that mold….so we’re considered “weird” for being gun owners. In my case folks assume im in the “must be a felon straw buyer” category until the “Veteran ID” comes out .Blows, but there it is.

    So long as liberal CNN and Hollywood dictates the culture of America, this problem isn’t going anywhere soon.

    • ST, you arouse my curiosity regarding where you live. My neighbor in this Southern Missouri Ozarks town of 11,000 is a black man in his early thirties weighing about 300lbs. and sporting dreadlocks. When he got his CCW about two months ago, he told me he really knew nothing of guns (being native to inner-city Atlanta, GA) and asked me to go shopping with him and help select first CCW handgun. IIRC, we visited three different local pawn/gunshops and, although I was watching for it, I saw none of the behavior on the part of the sales staff that you describe. Rather, they were quite friendly and helpful both in helping him to select a suitable, appropriate self-defense handgun for a beginner and helping me to coach him on proper gun handling etiquette. As an aside, he’s turned out to be a “natural,” able to shoot even my .45 caliber handguns accurately (he expressed surprise at the recoil) as well as the .357 Magnum snub-nose he eventually selected (not exactly what I’d recommend but he’s darned accurate with it.)

      • In keeping with the original topic, both my wife and daughter are also “gun girls.” My wife’s favorite handgun is her S&W mod. 36 which she claimed right after I purchased it at a yard sale over twenty years ago. My now-twenty-five year-old daughter’s favorite is the Steyr S9 she talked me out of; somewhere I have a photo of her shooting double-taps on falling plates with it as a skinny fifteen-year old. She took her first Basic Pistol course at age 8-1/2, got a .22 pistol for her ninth birthday, and has had her CCW since she was nineteen using a Taurus PT-111 as her EDC. I always thought both of those ladies were/are “typical gun owners.”

        • …which she claimed right after I purchased it…
          …she talked me out of…

          Women. Ya gotta luv ’em. Otherwise, you’ll go completely insane. 🙂

        • Incidentally, how does your daughter like that PT111? Would she and you recommend it? I’ve really been considering one from PSA ($199 + shipping).

        • Honestly I’d be so overjoyed she wants a gun…that I’d just buy another one and give her her choice.

        • “She took her first Basic Pistol course at age 8-1/2…”

          I went to watch a 600 yard rifle match last Saturday and watched a diminutive 8 year old girl named Abby shoot 173, 188, and 184 on her three 20 round strings. Quite a sight. She was shooting full load .308, in a youth stock.

    • That’s one of the many reasons I love my range. They love all gun owners, regardless of color. They treat my Latina wife with respect. I’ve seen many people of all colors shooting and buying without any hassle. One of my best friends who is Vietnamese used to work there (his commission went up 200% when Obama won the election lol). One day when we were shooting at the range, the stall next to us was being used by a black guy with a white woman. When they were done, the next couple was the exact opposite, white guy with a black woman! I found it amusing. Sucks that your LGS is so knee-jerk prejudiced.

    • ST, I’m afraid it is you who is thinking as you describe, you can find racism wherever you imagine it to be. I don’t care the color of your skin, my kids don’t, I’ve never seen any evidence of such at any range, any gun store, and I spent 6 summers at the National Matches at Camp Perry as a volunteer and I never ONCE saw any such tendency from a single official or one single competitor, among literally THOUSANDS of people. If you EXPECT it, you can find a way to justify your own racism. If you go about your business like a responsible individual (not black individual or whatever), you will most likely find no one standing in your way. I have been the victim of racial discrimination many, many times in my life, except that, being white, that excuse is not available to me. If you allow it to be an excuse for you, you’re a professional victim, get a job and get a life.

      • Always love it when suburban white guys tell black people that the racism they experienced isn’t real.

        • Though I am sure there is racism, I also suspect many things taken to be racism, aren’t. The white guy behind the counter could be surly because he is having a shitty day, but a black dealing with him might be inclined to assume the guy has the “N word” (along with a bunch of stereotypes and hardly necessary amplifying adjectives) in his thought bubble.

          It’s as wrong to reflexively assume a bad attitude is due to racism as it is to assume it isn’t.

      • LarryinTX,

        You said, “I have been the victim of racial discrimination many, many times in my life, except that, being white, that excuse is not available to me.”

        To that, I can only reply:

        “If you go about your business like a responsible individual (not white individual or whatever), you will most likely find no one standing in your way… If you allow racism to be an excuse for you, you’re a professional victim, get a job and get a life.”

        🙂

    • I’m replying to ST and those replying to him further down in the comments. I know from white relatives and friends that racism is a touchy topic, and the kneejerk reaction for those of a conservative bent is that racism doesn’t really exist. Well, it does, and the fact that it exists is not an attack on you personally, so don’t take it as such (unless you are the racist in question). ST is not saying America is racist or every white person is bigoted. He’s talking about specific instances of experiencing bias. It’s insulting to tell him he didn’t really experience what he experienced. Maybe he did or maybe ST is deluded, but your assumption gives him no credit. Minorities get attuned to stupid comments, weird looks, and biased behavior all the time. I for one believe ST’s interpretation, and the fact that he’s a gun owner is a clue that he’s not bellyaching about it or calling for some “safe space” law. But he is letting you know it’s out there, just as Sara’s article does. Why is that so difficult to accept?

      For those who don’t know, I’m Chinese American, proud of it, and I suck at math.

  15. Nice post, and I love the comments. Lots of great guys here.

    I really hate heels though. 😉

    • Well, I love them. But unlike Tom above, I’ve got the legs for them. I’m not afraid to say it, in even 4″ heels, I turn heads.

    • I have to agree on the hating heels remark. For a guy, like me, heels can be very attractive on the right woman. But not the pointed toe ones. They make a woman’s feet look bigger. And from a practical standpoint wearing them too much, especially the pointy toe ones, is very hard on a person’s feet. My first wife ended up with hammer toes from high heels with pointed toes. Very painful and took surgery to correct, which was also painful. Heels without pointed toes once in a while for going out perhaps. The rest of the time I think most nice looking women look great in pretty much any kind of shoes. About the last thing I look at anyway. 😉

      • My first wife had everything a man would want:
        Mustache, hair on her chest, combat boots, everything!

      • If ones “footwear ” prevents passing a standard PT test (including 2mi run) then you are not wearing “shoes”. Throw the useless crap away, profiling is endangering your safety. In particular this include “flipflops”.

      • a woman in jeans, tshirt and a pair of Doc Martens just makes my knees weak. with tats, I go all non-verbal and clumsy. lord help me if she also colors her hair in the blue or purple range.

        • +1 to combat boots, also chavvy trainers like Nike Air Max and Reebok Classic and tracky bottoms and tank tops… but y’all knew that already.

  16. Um, guy or gal isn’t the idea of concealed carry to not look like you are carrying? Doesn’t the tactical vest or the NRA hat rather defeat the purpose?

    I’m glad to hear that you’re cute and I hate to burst your bubble but my guess is that you are the average gun owner. You pack almost everywhere and you do your best not to appear armed. While the pride in your appearance and the desire to carry adds a challenge as far as the attire goes, picking the right clothing and accessories (holster) just adds to the fun I would think.

  17. Sarah, you and, say, Katie Pavlich and Dana Loesch are what absolutely terrify the libtards because they suddenly realize that their oh so comfortable worldview . . . doesn’t work the way they think it does.

  18. There’s nothing more stereotypical than asserting how un-stereotypical you are.

  19. I get all the weird looks at the range… Flip-flops, glittery red toenails, show up with my RFB strapped to my back on what’s left of a honda rebel rat bobber in a State that generally forbids Open Carry… Oh, I’m not a girl… Nevermind…

    I’m not a typical gun owner, either. Nor do I give one aerial fornication for those who have such a thing in their head.

    You laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at you because you’re a brain-dead slave and think it’s cool because you’re surrounded by other brain-dead slaves who think it’s cool….

    • If you’ve gotten your hands on an RFB, you’re definitely not an average gun owner. (smiley face)

    • Dont care how you look. But I’d ask you about your rifle choice. Ive never seen anyone shoot inside 2moa with one. How has yours been?

    • As a guy, I wear shoes to a gun range full of hot flying brass and hiding snakes. I don’t paint my nails or dye my hair, which is kept at a comfortable length. Sometimes I tuck in my shirt, which on range day is usually one of the standard white T-shirts from Wally World. And I’m the brain dead slave?

      It seems that people go out of their way to be different, then look down on those who just don’t give a shit about expending energy uselessly. Whatever helps you sleep at night, but odds are you’re the only one who cares how you look.

      Turns out that the only difference between conformists and non-conformists is the time it takes to walk out the door.

  20. It’s hard being a young gun owner too. Not that I’ve ever worn the following, but try walking into a gun store in a colorful t-shirt and skinny jeans, with tattoos and have anyone there, not to mention at the range take you seriously. It’s just my look, don’t act like I don’t know the difference between a 1911 and a HiPower.

    • Two different gun stores I frequent in Austin, absolutely no one, employee or customer, would give one flying something-or-other how many earrings you had or what your face paint depicted. You are IMAGINING it, probably to justify not doing what you know you should, pretending that is the fault of someone besides YOU! When I walk in, no one tosses me a select fire SBR, either! If you are not familiar with “normal”, you might want to wait a moment before you decide it is all about your appearance. You also might want to consider, if that is your first assumption, change your appearance, you dumb shit!

      • Your experiences at your guns store have no bearing on Crashbbear’s.

        There’s only one dumb dungpile here, Larry, and I’m looking at you.

  21. Typical? Average? These are just terms that activists use to invent fictional, monolithic groups in furtherance of their particular agendas. Whenever someone talks about typical or average anything, I have no difficulty pointing out exceptions that invalidate their premise.

  22. I don’t wear heels. But I have a kilt and I fit into the OFWG demographic. Maybe heels would have a slimming effect?

  23. A typical gun owner doesn’t exist except in the fevered imaginations of the leftist media. Sara is living proof of that.

    And BTW, Sara, if you think it’s tough being a pretty woman who carries, try being an OFWG. Not necessarily an OFWG who carries, but just an OFWG, period. Especially when your white male privilege card expired some time during the second Clinton administration.

    Wanna know how tough it is to be an OFWG? Here’s rule #1: never pass by a bathroom.

  24. Completely off-topic question, but: weren’t you a redhead before you got it colored? What lead you to the decision? If its not too personal, I only ask because I’m a redhead myself, and was debating doing the same a few years ago.

    • Any redhead, male or female, who somehow thinks they should “get it colored”, is an idiot. The rest of us love and admire and lust after you, get over the hangover of oppressive Brit bullshit, you don’t live there. Live loud and proud.

      • “Hey, look at that blond.”

        “Which one?”

        or

        “Hey look at that red-…”
        “Whoa!”

        • That’s pretty much why I didn’t. Also, didn’t want to be confused with the enemy when we finally decide to seize power!

  25. took a defensive combat shooting handgun class from TDSA at the BenchRest Rifle Range a few years ago, and a family from northern Illinois, husband, wife, teen age daughter and teen age son, were in attendance. The mom and her 15 year old daughter, totally new to guns, shooting a .40 cal glock and a sig or springfield, made a lot of us old fat white men hang our heads in shame. they were placing double taps in target after target during the moving while shooting training. (and I hate the snappy recoil of the .40 cal.) so my thought is, also, there is no typical gun owner, male or female, white or black.

  26. I am always more than proud to say I’m a writer for The Truth About Guns …

    You can make a living doing that?

  27. I don’t know where some of you live but there is no typical/average gun guy/gal around here. Lots of black folks, Spanglish and women. Although I look like the typical burly OFWG my gorgeous black wife belies that stereotype(she does have muscles though). And after 26 years of being married(this week) I don’t give a flock what azzwholes think. Give Sara a raise RF! LOL

  31. Keep Writing and Doing. The more folks like you there are the less that a bunch of pig-nosed stuck up Liberal Intelligentsia types can just write us all off as bitter clinger Old Fat White Guys who are “Compensating for something” (d-uuuuuuh, lol).

    And maybe, juuuust maybe, if enough women stick with the shooting sports, more firearm manufacturers will realize that painting a small caliber firearm pink does not count as being “inclusive”

  32. Thank you so much for your article and the reference, Sara! I agree 100%. Just because we shoot, hunt, or enjoy hobbies not traditionally considered feminine does not mean we are less womanly. Just like you, I refuse to comply to a “mold” of what I should be. I am so glad I am not alone!

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! <3
    Diana

  34. The ladies I now that pack are pretty overwhelmingly nice-looking ladies who know how to dress and wear make-up–or not wear makeup. Maybe I’m just lucky?

  35. My goodness. So, we’re – well, somebody is – stereotyping what girly-girls look like, on top of what gun owners look like, and the two stereotypes don’t line up. Shocking.

    /Ramble…

    People are what they are. Groups and “signaling” of membership do indeed happen because they’re useful. That is, group signaling is marginally useful until you have one single direct fact about this person right here, and this interaction right now. It’s a huge screw up to think of these vague generalizations as *defining* anyone, or any encounter and worse to allow them to define you.

    Do you notice how the stories told of defensive gun uses are so specific and immediate: “*This specific* guy did *this particular* thing which seemed like an immanent threat of *this identified* harm to *this exact* person *right now.*” The mother shooting the home invader says it’s the guy breaking through the closet door, still coming and threatening after a warning, putting herself and her kids at risk, right then. So she shot.

    Meanwhile, so much of the argument about guns in general is … general: Gun owners being some kind of macho Rambo types (who do not wear heels, btw) might do any number of things to who or what-ever is handy. It’s the gang-bangers, the rednecks, people feeling squeezed, the anti-government folks. Notice: groups, going from more concrete behavior to more abstract and arbitrary descriptions, ending in a category.

    People who carry guns for their own protection generally, without other information, think people they encounter, or encounters they have with people *might* get ugly. Also, probably not. And also, both prepare for what might happen, and decide at the time, case by case. The 12-million or so concealed carriers in the US (Did I remember that # right?) do a lot of deciding not to shoot anyone, at least a couple hundred-million times a day.

    In the end, the argument keeps being about who can be trusted to make this kind of distinction, between what might happen and what is happening, and there’s a bunch of folks who think it ain’t you. Or that women-folks who get their hair did don’t step up and engage with this kind of thinking. Or that to have a gun you have to wear camo all day.

    Sometimes, through experience individual people rethink the level of risk, and their own character, to allow themselves to grasp deadly force, and use it responsibly:
    http://www.amazon.com/Esquire-September-Perlman-Zuckerman-Philip/dp/B000G356X2

    /meta

    I’m noticing some recurring interesting juxtapositions in the posts to TTAG. This post is far more interesting next to today’s “Random Thoughts.”

    Good work.

  36. Hmmm, not sure what to think about this comment: “They are thought of as frumpy, makeup-less, and style-less.”

    I have yet to meet a female gun owner who fits this stereotype. Granted, I haven’t been involved with firearms for long but all of the women I’ve met have definitely no been frumpy, makeup-less and style-less. I don’t wear makeup, never have – that’s a personal choice.

    You don’t have to be young, pretty and stylish to own firearms. I happen to be more mature, fairly decent looking and stick to my blue jeans, boots and t-shirts. Definitely frumpy.

    I am almost offended by this article.

  37. The people of the gun are still people.

    We try not judge…

    …
    …
    …

    …unless you own a Hi-Point.

    LOL

  38. Good luck getting leftists to ever see you as anything other than your race, gender, or immediate political affiliation. They’re pathetic lemmings unable to comprehend people outside of their bigoted labels.

  39. “Guns know no stereotypes.”

    Self defense is a basic HUMAN right, applicable without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, personal religious/non-religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc. If you are not capable of defending yourself, you have no rights – only privileges granted by those more powerful than you.

  40. I’m +50, 5’2, mother of 4, grandmother of 4 and I refuse to be a victim or an ineffective bystander. All of my children know and respect the abilities of a weapon and we are passing that on to the next generation. I’m not frumpy or styleless. I am a writer, a retired EMT and when someone finds out that I carry concealed, they are often shocked and say the same thing “you don’t look like someone who carries”…..I LOVE IT!

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