Leslie Fields book The Entangling Net convinced me of something that at first sounded crazy. That is, women can be as successful as men in the Alaskan fishing industry. When I say that sounds crazy I don’t mean to make myself out to be sexist. I just have heard stories my whole life about the long hours and extremely dangerous working conditions involved in fishing. Fishing has been known to be one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. I had no idea before reading this book why any woman would subject herself not only to the same abuses that men face, and they also take it all on while facing the inherent discrimination of a mostly male environment. Despite all of this working against them, the women interviewed for The Entangling Net have made very successful lives working in the Alaska fishing industry.
Some people might thing that women would avoid the fishing industry because of the endurance it takes to work such long hours. Well, Lisa Jakubowski had it in her to find a way to grind through the long hours. She said, “We stayed up for fifty hours, slept a couple hours, stayed up another fifty hours, slept another four, and went up another fifty hours. I was hallucinating.” (140) Her strength allowed her to work well past the point of total exhaustion. The grit that it takes to make it though that sort of torture precedes any issue of sex. You either have it in you or you don’t, many men would have keeled over and died while Lisa Jakubowski kept on working. Her story dissolves any doubt in my mind of a woman’s ability to work long hours.
Other people might also think that because men are naturally stronger than women, that an all women fishing crew could not be competitive with all male fishing crews. Mary Jacobs does a sufficient job at squashing that myth. She is a legendary female ship captain around Kodiak Alaska. “She consistently finishes most seasons in the top 10 percent of the fleet.” (75) She started off with an undersized boat and all female crew. But before long she was able to rise in the fishing, getting a bigger and better equipped ship. The women who helped her in her success didn’t seem to notice that all male crews were “stronger.” The Alaskan fishing industry is very competitive in its nature. Some people might think that women are less competitive than men thus making women less likely to be successful. Although it is true that I have never in my life seen any women crush beer cans over their heads after a chugging contest. I don’t think that defines an individual’s competitiveness. A man once told me that the reason there are so few female professional race car drivers is because the car owners want to win and women just don’t have what it takes to compete with men. What this simple-minded fool is failing to understand is the sexist nature of the sport would surely loose ratings if a female started winning all the races. Unless she is really attractive, in that case men would be watching for a completely different reason. I wish Mary Jacobs were there; I would be interested to hear what she had to say about competitiveness. In the discriminating environment of the Alaskan fishing industry women are directly or indirectly challenged to show that they can do it better. This brings out the competitor in any person. In The Entangling Net Mary Jacobs says, unapologetically, “I want to beat everybody out there.” (75)
The women who are fishing in Alaska professionally represent just 5 percent of the Alaskan fishing industries work force. Their stories break stereotypes about women in this most unforgiving line of work. Before one can generalize or make assumptions about anything, the people who defy these generalizations need to be heard. These women are warriors whose stories give inspiration to all who seek success in the face of discrimination
Some people might thing that women would avoid the fishing industry because of the endurance it takes to work such long hours. Well, Lisa Jakubowski had it in her to find a way to grind through the long hours. She said, “We stayed up for fifty hours, slept a couple hours, stayed up another fifty hours, slept another four, and went up another fifty hours. I was hallucinating.” (140) Her strength allowed her to work well past the point of total exhaustion. The grit that it takes to make it though that sort of torture precedes any issue of sex. You either have it in you or you don’t, many men would have keeled over and died while Lisa Jakubowski kept on working. Her story dissolves any doubt in my mind of a woman’s ability to work long hours.
Other people might also think that because men are naturally stronger than women, that an all women fishing crew could not be competitive with all male fishing crews. Mary Jacobs does a sufficient job at squashing that myth. She is a legendary female ship captain around Kodiak Alaska. “She consistently finishes most seasons in the top 10 percent of the fleet.” (75) She started off with an undersized boat and all female crew. But before long she was able to rise in the fishing, getting a bigger and better equipped ship. The women who helped her in her success didn’t seem to notice that all male crews were “stronger.” The Alaskan fishing industry is very competitive in its nature. Some people might think that women are less competitive than men thus making women less likely to be successful. Although it is true that I have never in my life seen any women crush beer cans over their heads after a chugging contest. I don’t think that defines an individual’s competitiveness. A man once told me that the reason there are so few female professional race car drivers is because the car owners want to win and women just don’t have what it takes to compete with men. What this simple-minded fool is failing to understand is the sexist nature of the sport would surely loose ratings if a female started winning all the races. Unless she is really attractive, in that case men would be watching for a completely different reason. I wish Mary Jacobs were there; I would be interested to hear what she had to say about competitiveness. In the discriminating environment of the Alaskan fishing industry women are directly or indirectly challenged to show that they can do it better. This brings out the competitor in any person. In The Entangling Net Mary Jacobs says, unapologetically, “I want to beat everybody out there.” (75)
The women who are fishing in Alaska professionally represent just 5 percent of the Alaskan fishing industries work force. Their stories break stereotypes about women in this most unforgiving line of work. Before one can generalize or make assumptions about anything, the people who defy these generalizations need to be heard. These women are warriors whose stories give inspiration to all who seek success in the face of discrimination