# Are there more woo-woo women than men? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 26, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631 "2005-05-26T17:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/1 "2005-05-26T17:36:31Z")
I was reading a thread on a different board where posters were sharing experiences of woo-woo\* people in their lives, and it became apparent from that limited data set that woo-woo women outnumber woo-woo men by an order of magnitude. Is this an accurate sample? In my own experience I’ve met a number of atheist men, but very few atheist women. It seems that women are much more tuned in to spiritual matters overall. If this is so, how come? \*Woo-woo: People who believe in horoscopes, healing crystals, fung shui, angels, past lives, Elvis, and depending on your outlook, God. Belief that flowers have feelings. Doubts about the Apollo missions. Use of tarot cards. That sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/2 "2005-05-26T17:55:07Z")
It’s hard not to believe in Elvis. All of those #1 hits and bad movies would be hard to explain optherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/3 "2005-05-26T17:56:06Z")
It’s been noted at least for centuries, at least in Western societies, that women tend to be more religious than men, more into religious devotion and prayer, etc. And they’ve also been considered more superstitious. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see those trends carrying over into gender patterns in “woo-woo”. Certainly, women have traditionally had a lot less access to, and encouragement in, education and careers than men had, particularly in the sciences. So you would expect women to have a lot less of the “anti-superstition” or “anti-mystical” mindset that often comes with scientific training. Oddly enough, I’m not sure the male tendency to greater rationalism persists among all-male groups. Look at how superstitious pro sports players traditionally are, with their “lucky shirts” and talismans and stuff. And the superstitions and omens of soldiers in the field have been commented on by military leaders at least since the ancient Romans. Oh, and I’d be inclined to suspect that the gender balance in “woo-woo” beliefs is strongly influenced by the technological or political components of the beliefs in question. Does somebody believe that crystal vibrations can cure their headache? Probably female. Does somebody believe that a new type of fuel-line magnet super-ionizes the gasoline molecules to vastly improve the efficiency of fuel combustion and therefore gas mileage and that Detroit has been successfully suppress this research for years? Probably male. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/4 "2005-05-26T17:56:57Z")
I think he’s referring to the (not mmutually exclusive) beliefs that E is still alive or that he was the Anti-Christ. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/5 "2005-05-26T17:58:26Z")
Can’t prove it, but I believe it. Never met a man that consulted astrology. Never met a man remotely like Phoebe on Friends. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/6 "2005-05-26T18:01:58Z")
I know my share of hippies and hippie-types. I’d probably have to do a poll - mental, of course - to get a fix on things, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the proportion of ‘spacy’ women is higher. I also know plenty of atheists and agnostics, and more of those are men for sure. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/7 "2005-05-26T18:07:30Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Does somebody believe that a new type of fuel-line magnet super-ionizes the gasoline molecules to vastly improve the efficiency of fuel combustion and therefore gas mileage and that Detroit has been successfully suppress this research for years? Probably male. This is an excellent point and one I had not considered. Do men simply practice a different flavor of woo-woo? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/8 "2005-05-26T18:10:19Z")
Well, **somebody** must be buying all that crap from the ads in the back of _Popular Science_… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/9 "2005-05-26T18:17:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Can’t prove it, but I believe it. Never met a man that consulted astrology. Never met a man remotely like Phoebe on Friends. May I introduce you to my ex husband? A pagan who believed in auras, crystal healing, past lives, tarot cards and all sorts of “woo-woo.” But in general, women do seem to be more “spiritual” and that has (as has been noted already) been recognized for a long time. But as Kimstu pointed out - men may just practice a different flavor of “less than completely rational” beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/10 "2005-05-26T18:43:42Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > This is an excellent point and one I had not considered. Do men simply practice a different flavor of woo-woo? I’d say so. If I’m listening to someone talk about crystals, horoscopes, or fung shui, the person talking tends to be a woman. But “I can’t possibly do \_\_\_\_ without my lucky hat,” “The moon landing is a hoax,” most overly involved conspiracy theories, or “The tin foil needs to be shiny side out or it doesn’t block the signals” tend to be things I hear from men. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/11 "2005-05-26T18:47:12Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > But “I can’t possibly do \_\_\_\_ without my lucky hat,” “The moon landing is a hoax,” most overly involved conspiracy theories, or “The tin foil needs to be shiny side out or it doesn’t block the signals” tend to be things I hear from men. Interesting. A more macho version of woo-woo. Macho, and yet paranoid, it would seem. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/12 "2005-05-26T18:56:07Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Interesting. A more macho version of woo-woo. Macho, and yet paranoid, it would seem. In other words, exactly what you would learn from reading the Letters to the Editor in Playboy. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/13 "2005-05-26T19:08:27Z")
And don’t be so quick to rule out woo-woo atheists; the term “atheist” discribes what someone \*\*doesn’t \*\*believe, not what he \*\*does \*\*believe. (And I’m wondering whether Star Wars fanaticism is relevent here.) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/14 "2005-05-26T23:12:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > \*Woo-woo: People who believe in horoscopes, healing crystals, fung shui, angels, past lives, Elvis, and depending on your outlook, God. Belief that flowers have feelings. Doubts about the Apollo missions. Use of tarot cards. That sort of thing. Huh. I have long used that exact term to refer to the type of drunk female teens and twenties at various Spring Break/Mardi Gras/what-have-you events that ride around in the back of pick-ups flashing their boobs and going: “Woo! Woo!” Really. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with the above :D. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/15 "2005-05-27T00:15:33Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Does somebody believe that a new type of fuel-line magnet super-ionizes the gasoline molecules to vastly improve the efficiency of fuel combustion and therefore gas mileage and that Detroit has been successfully suppress this research for years? Probably male. Small problem. Put the same hi-tech snake oil in front of a woman and she’s likely to believe it too. Put a crystal in front of a man and he’ll laugh his ass off. (Providing he’s wearing his lucky Cowboys’ jersey.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/16 "2005-05-27T00:50:16Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Huh. I have long used that exact term to refer to the type of drunk female teens and twenties at various Spring Break/Mardi Gras/what-have-you events that ride around in the back of pick-ups flashing their boobs and going: “Woo! Woo!” Hell, _I_ thought it meant gay. As in, “Dave’s a little woo-woo, if you know what I mean.” ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/17 "2005-05-27T01:29:06Z")
In my experience, I’ve seen about equal proportion, just different ways to go about being a flake. The ladies certainly look good in the fliers doing the lotus position, but I’ve known a couple “shamanists” and/or “ethnobotanists” who were all about tripping their way to the great spirit in the sky or whatever. I’ve learned here on the Dope this practice could be called “researching entheogens”. Uh huh. Initially I wanted to dismiss these guys as pathetically searching for an excuse to do huge amounts of drugs and call it a “vocation”, but I was wrong. They really felt this was their quest, their way to get in touch with the the spirits or whoever. I’d say the ladies want to medidate and crystalize and commune with the spirits through quiet contemplation. The guys want to hammer their brains with hallucinogens, or otherwise abuse themselves with ritual mortification and “vision questing” types of behavior. It’s like the logical marriage of New Age mysticism with Men are from Mars, etc. They guys are all about spiritual athleticism, if you will, the gals take the gentler approach. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/18 "2005-05-27T12:51:31Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Oddly enough, I’m not sure the male tendency to greater rationalism persists among all-male groups. Look at how superstitious pro sports players traditionally are, with their “lucky shirts” and talismans and stuff. And the superstitions and omens of soldiers in the field have been commented on by military leaders at least since the ancient Romans. > > Oh, and I’d be inclined to suspect that the gender balance in “woo-woo” beliefs is strongly influenced by the technological or political components of the beliefs in question. Does somebody believe that crystal vibrations can cure their headache? Probably female. Does somebody believe that a new type of fuel-line magnet super-ionizes the gasoline molecules to vastly improve the efficiency of fuel combustion and therefore gas mileage and that Detroit has been successfully suppress this research for years? Probably male. Another point. Surely you have seen the nutty claims for women’s “age-defying” cosmetics? We’re talking a multibillion dollar industry that dwarfs the (highly marginalized) metrosexual craze. Ever see a 45-year-old woman stuff herself into the latest slimming girdle, pantyhose, and WonderBra thinking they make her look like a hot twentysomething? Add to that all the women-centered diet crazes and exercise videos with preposterous claims. Suspension of disbelief combined with equal portions of superstitition, ignorance, denial and desperation are powerful drivers indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/19 "2005-05-27T13:06:57Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > Suspension of disbelief combined with equal portions of superstitition, ignorance, denial and desperation are powerful drivers indeed. It almost all comes down to perceived control over your environment The less control you appear to have over your environment, in terms of predictability and or influence, the more superstitious you become. This is why science has traditionally been a mitigating influence on superstition - it gives you both a mental sense of being more in control, because you understand what’s happening, and that understanding can help you influence what actually happens. A secondary influence is cultural, as many superstitions are handed down through generations. This has also caused the rift between men and women, because traditionally women were often less in control of their lives (less power). Even when this power is balancing out, it will take a little while before it equals out in terms of superstition - but you can see things changing in societies where education levels are more equal between men and women. Anyway, that’s how I see it. I’m not sure of course. In fact, I think I need to consult my special lucky dice and cast them for a percentage of likelihood that I was right. Hey, two sixes! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631/20 "2005-05-27T13:11:00Z")
Forgot to mention that in the case of two examples given above, sports charms and the belief in age-defying cosmetics, we have two perfect examples over a situation where people are in an environment that pressures them highly on areas they don’t have full control over: winning a game, in which especially results between closely matched opponents can be influenced a lot by luck, and the aging proces versus the pressure of looking good and young (which women put on themselves more than anyone else if you ask me) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-more-woo-woo-women-than-men/305631.md?page=2)