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The story
When a woman called an air conditioner repair company and an older man showed up, her bewildered post — “Um, I’m a woman” — sparked a thread on 5ch. The AC installation and repair industry is said to be overwhelmingly staffed by men, and many replies voiced anxiety about women having to deal with a stranger alone at home. At the same time, plenty of jokes and pushback appeared too, like “saying 90% of repairmen are men is an exaggeration” and “even at a celebrity’s house, it’s some middle-aged manager guy who shows up.” Several people floated the idea of a women-only repair service, though others doubted it would ever actually work.
What people said
It's not really about "ojisan" (older guy) specifically — any man would be scary
Unfortunately, like 90% of repair workers probably are men
Is it really 90% though…?
This would be total world domination (haken)
Get it — "haken" (dispatch) sounds just like "hegemony" (haken)
Women can't install air conditioners though
Woman: "This job isn't glamorous enough, I quit"
Back in the day it was "whoever made this, it's great" (an old net-slang compliment)
Now it's just "shut up already"
If you refuse, you can't use your AC
Use your head for once
Wild
Her manager would be there with her
And the manager's some old guy too
Hell where old guys attack old guys
If someone in smelly socks walks around your place, the smell lingers
That's a legit complaint
I feel like movers specifically bring a spare pair of socks for this exact reason
If it breaks, you just replace it with a new one
The outdoor unit breaks down a lot though
Sure, if there were women willing to actually do the work
They'd just call it "dirty work" and refuse to take the job
Guys like you calling them in is exactly why they all quit
Woman: "I called Rent-an-Ojisan and… an old guy showed up"
You think criminals think that far ahead?
Let's just turn it into that kind of industry — "sorry for wearing such a short skirt, could you hold the ladder steady for me~" ❤
If they were actually that good-looking they'd already be raking it in as hosts
Why would they bother installing air conditioners?
Let's be real, you wouldn't want a woman coming in either
Could you not with the logical arguments right now?
Background and Talking Points
Installing and repairing air conditioners is physically demanding work requiring certifications like refrigerant handling licenses, and the industry as a whole has a low ratio of female workers. This thread grew out of that structural reality, framed around the anxiety of a woman living alone letting an unfamiliar male worker into her home. Opinions split over how much anxiety was actually warranted — some replies raised the risk of sexual crime, while others pushed back more calmly, saying things like “90% is an exaggeration” or “even a women-only repair company wouldn’t be able to find enough staff.” The idea of a repair company staffed entirely by women came up more than once, but commenters raised concerns about a shortage of applicants and the risk of such a business being mistaken for the sex industry, making the practical barriers to actually starting one the real focus of the discussion. Note that this article excludes sexually charged jokes and crude replies that named real public figures.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Woman: “Wait, an old guy is coming to fix my AC? I’m a woman, you know””.
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