Memoirs of a Female Firefighter

Part One: Sunny Blue Watch

Photo by Daniel Tausis on Unsplash

(*All names have been changed*)

Into the Locker Room

On my first watch which I will call Sunny Blue Watch, I was green as they come, super enthusiastic, loved a bit of adventure and excitement, so believed I had found my dream job.

I was the first ever female on this watch, so it was all new for the men there as well. I could feel the suspicion coming off them, not sure if or how I was going to fit in.

I had only been there a few days when I was entering the mess room and heard FF Potts state, ‘Here comes the Splitty’.

I was confused. What on earth is a Splitty? I was later to learn I was being crudely introduced to ‘Locker Room Talk’. Yes ladies, at least in the UK, some men have a whole misogynistic language they use about us when we are not there. For those in the dark ‘Splitty’ is short for ‘Split arse’. I don’t need to elaborate any further on why some men refer to us like that behind our backs do I?

My research has revealed that if you are female and live in the UK, you are around 80% likely to have never heard this term. And if you are male, you around 80% likely to have heard it.