Why is it that people think that good penmanship implies that the writer is female?

My wife got today this e-mail today:

"Good morning Mrs. XXX,
I have noticed that when you write checks for the Greek School it looks like they were done by a professional calligrapher.
I think it is your handwriting and not your husband's.
We need the person that writes so nicely to write our awards for the Greek School so they look nice."

My wife replied:

"Dear Mrs. YYYY,
You would not want my handwriting on the awards…
I am copying your message to my husband who is writing the checks"

OK, that is pretty funny!!! Are you going to do it?

I know what you mean... my wife recently took a package to the post office for me and was highly complimented on "her" handwriting. The clerk was amazed that a man wrote it....
GEEEEEZ, and they accuse us of being sexist..

LOL funny. my handwriting sucks, so i have nothing to say.

I can relate to that! All of the personell and faculty at my daughters school compliment my wife on her handwriting. One of the teachers told my Kindergartner to practice her letters so that she too "can write like mommie!"

Go figure!

People my age at school say I have "mom" handwriting and always try to get me to forge excusal notes for them..

When I started writing with dip pens my bank called me to make sure it was really ME writing the checks and not someone else. It changed my handwriting (for the better) quite drastically. I had to go to the bank, with a dip pen and ink bottle, and sign a second signature on my signature card. At least they were paying attention.

...I guess I got a little off your topic. Everyone complimented me for the pie my husband made this weekend. You guys have it rough.

Stereotypically, women have "good" handwriting and men, "bad," making legible handwriting feminine and illegible handwriting masculine. But I've been looking at handwriting carefully of late, and I notice that when I try to guess gender by looking at the handwriting, I can't tell using this characteristic. My own handwriting unfortunately, is masculine, but I'm working on it. It will be a happy day when my handwriting is mistaken for my wife's. (I'm not married at the moment so this may be a ways off.)

Doug

I uasually get asked if a human wrote this after someone sees my chicken scratch :doh: :doh:

I have an intern whose handwriting is very "crafted" and on the delicate side. Everyone else in the office has made comments about him "writing like a girl."

My response is generally, a) why would that matter to you, and go back to work.

It's funny, though--I enjoy handwriting and had a lot of fun learning italic, but I don't want to go further with, say, edged nibs because I have a half-conscious perception that it will make my writing look "girly." (I am female, but do not wish to be thought of as a "girl," esp. at work.)

My ex-wife's handwriting resembled a train wreck...but then now that I think about it, so did most aspects of her life...