Chi
Electrical questions are probably the most asked questions in the 'alt.home.repair' Usenet newsgroup (also found in Google groups). Asking questions there is a good, but you always need to research an unfamiliar topic before you act using any advice received; especially when doing the wrong thing can potentially kill you or burn your home down.
We are not trying to scare you away from doing electrical work on your home. The truth is most small electrical projects or larger ones done in stages are well within the scope of what a dedicated DIY person can do provided they take the time to learn the proper methods and codes.
We do mean to encourage you to gather information from more than one source and practice extreme safety when working with electricity.
There is absolutely no reason why any homeowner male or female can not do simple projects like replacing a defective outlet, switch or fixture. Opening the main breaker box and replacing a defective breaker requires a higher level of skill but there is still no reason you can't do it, and do it safely.