Ok, I've just read the whole thread which offended me, too.  I'm a single female.  While I take the grandkids to lots of museums, I'm not averse to going solo and frequently do, for the same reason cited by another poster--I don't want to get rushed along when I'm trying to absorb everything, and, frankly, it's a pain in the tush to have someone who isn't as interested as am I on the journey.

 

As a matter of fact, we just had our holiday event today with lunch at a restaurant and then the rest of the day at the Long Beach Aquarium.  40 of us went, and I kept trying to ditch everybody else so I could enjoy it at my pace.  What was remarkable to observe were all the people who rushed through and then were out the door (in early afternoon), like been there, done that, still talking about how great it is, but viewing the Aquarium like they had a remote control and were wildly channel surfing.  Me, on the other hand, I was the last one out the door of our group.

 

But speaking to the whole gender security thing, sorry ladies, that's hogwash.  I'm part of the burn the bra generation (shouldn'ta done that, gravity takes it's toll in the older years), and we fought hard for the equality many take for granted today.  If my sisters in the workforce are wimping out about dealing with men, it vexes me mightily.  Toughen up, Chickies!

 

Security for men, women, and in-betweens should be a primary concern, but that means having an adequate and appropriate security plan, training staff how to handle emergencies, and a direct line to the PD.  Hypothetically, staff should carry cell phones with cameras on them in the event they need to shoot the perp for evidence purposes.

 

I know we have varying cultural issues between ethnic groups and regions of the country, but girlfriends, if you're going to work, then you're going to have to take it like a man and deal with men (that doesn't mean abuse, but that doesn't mean a man would or should tolerate abuse either).  It could be a female haranguing male staff (but I'm not confessing to anything).

 

As one who has worked more than 30 years (closer to 35), it just makes no sense to me that you would even question female staff working with visitors.  To do so basically makes the base case for a male only workforce.  For shame.