# Non-sexual, non-physical hobbies or activities that still have high gender separation
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 3, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938 "2017-02-03T22:50:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/41 "2017-02-04T15:12:40Z")
> [@Penfeather](#):
>
> Suzi Quatro would like a word.
Yup, in retrospect, I missed several. Suzi, as well as Esperanza Spalding, D’arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins), Meshell Ndegeocello, and others. While they’re still not common, female bassists are out there.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/42 "2017-02-04T15:14:11Z")
> [@snowthx](#):
>
> Fans of Rush, male.
Fans of progressive rock, in general, seem to be largely male.
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### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/43 "2017-02-04T15:39:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Yep. A friend is in a cat rescue. _One_ guy, and he’s a very strange character (and that’s a charitable description).
I know lots of men in animal rescue, but they are all half of a married couple that does it.
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### Author:  [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/44 "2017-02-04T15:47:43Z")
Fishing, mostly male.
I, too, have noticed that most people involved in the animal rescue world are female.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/45 "2017-02-04T15:50:27Z")
In which case one must ask about cause and effect. Did he get into animal rescue because his wife was, or did he meet his wife in the course of animal-rescue activities?
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### Author:  [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/46 "2017-02-04T16:43:52Z")
> [@Xema](#):
>
> Falconry: at least 90% male.
>
> Bird rehabilitation: probably 85% female.
Hmmmm.
“Bird! Do my bidding! Hunt and kill for me!”
“Ohh, the poor little birdie! Here, I’ll make you all better.”
Yeah, I can see the difference.
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### Author:  [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/47 "2017-02-04T17:16:45Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#):
>
> Enthusiasm for real, full-size railways and locomotives – this, not necessarily an expensive pursuit – is in my experience (I’m a male follower of the avocation) a highly-overwhelmingly male thing. I have been acquainted with a very few female genuine rail enthusiasts; but they seem vanishingly rare.
Similarly with interest in planes or ships, touring old fortresses and coast defenses, or special interest in military history which might be related to hands-on interest in military a/c, ships, vehicles etc. In years on military/naval/military ac interest web boards the % of regular contributors who stated they were females was very low, a couple out of 100’s of regular contributors cumulatively. And they were women who’d served in the military and seemed most interested in political/social aspects relevant to that service. A self-described woman really interested in the history of eg. X WWII tank or cruiser’s development and combat history: I have never seen it on such a board.
Obviously I’m not saying nobody period, there must be some. And I can think of one female author who has contributed several articles about historical Japanese warships to the annual publication ‘Warship’. But she’s the only one I can think of, and I read a lot on such topics. I belong also to some real life organizations related to fortresses and they are 100% male AFAICT from the membership lists and events I’ve attended. It’s only less than 100% if you speculate a true shared interest in a couple where the woman would come if the man couldn’t make it, but I doubt that’s common based on experience, including personal. 🙂
This seems slightly less true in one corner of the general field of my interest, firearms especially if broadened to general interest in shooting, and not specifically related to military history. In that case IME a large % of enthusiasts are male but not as near 100%.
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### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/48 "2017-02-04T17:56:07Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> Ancestry research - mainly women that I have seen
> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> Anecdotally I might be inclined to dispute that one. Back when I had a passing interest in the topic the bulk of the serious ancestry-hobby folks I’ve known have been male ( particularly those tracing genetic markers, gene geeks seem to be heavily male ). But as I implied I have no stats to back that up.
I volunteer at the local historical society, I’m also president of the local genealogical society. I would say that’s it’s 40-45% male to 55-60% female, so not a huge difference. Professional genealogists do tend to be women, but not by much more.
Just a quick look at the books sitting around me, transcribing tends to go more female while research publications are a bit more male oriented. Oddly every transcribing/indexing book near me are all by women, though most of them are church records from the same general area so that might be part of the reason.
I’d say a lot of horseback ridding tends to be done more by women.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/49 "2017-02-04T20:31:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> Fans of progressive rock, in general, seem to be largely male.
Back when I was in high school I knew a girl who was a huge fan of Rush. But yea, they’re rare.
I have yet to meet a female fan of Black Sabbath.
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> Yup, in retrospect, I missed several. Suzi, as well as Esperanza Spalding, D’arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins), Meshell Ndegeocello, and others. While they’re still not common, female bassists are out there.
And Kim Gordon.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/50 "2017-02-04T20:48:41Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#):
>
> A lot of these things seem to stem from the toys that boys and girls are “supposed” to play with. Planes, trains, and automobiles for boys and dolls, clothes, horses etc for girls. Now, do boys and girls play with stereotypical toys because they are hardwired to or because we (adults) expect them to?
I’m not sure we know where the line is.
In the 60’s/ 70’s there was a very strong movement towards non-gender typed toys. (I think perhaps dolls for boys eg GI Joe were part of this?.) Which was part of a general movement for non-gendered roles. And you see the resurgent idea in the way that any successful toy is first sold to one gender, then re-marketed to appeal to the other.
But the whole modern idea of gender-re-assignment is based on the belief, which came out of the observation of the effect of gendered and non-gendered environments, that you couldn’t force boys to be girls, or girls to be boys, by manipulating their environment.
So, if you can’t make a boy into a girl by treating him like a girl, then perhaps you can only help a boy that is really a girl by helping him to be a girl…which is to say that girls are really different to boys, and since playing is what people do, that says that girls and boys (or men and women) will play differently
I think the whole question on toys is open. The toy industry is taking bets both ways.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/51 "2017-02-04T20:50:06Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#):
>
> Homebrewing beer, almost exclusively male. Which I find a bit odd, since, historically, it was the women who brewed. Brewster is “a female brewer” and one of the few female occupations used as last name in English.
I always thought that was kind of weird myself; homebrewers are a pretty accepting lot on the whole, and the ones I’ve known wouldn’t have any problem whatsoever sharing their hobby with women.
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### Author:  [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/52 "2017-02-04T22:18:02Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#):
>
> Homebrewing beer, almost exclusively male. Which I find a bit odd, since, historically, it was the women who brewed. Brewster is “a female brewer” and one of the few female occupations used as last name in English.
Hooker is another.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/53 "2017-02-04T22:49:27Z")
Classical piano/music seems to be mostly a girl’s activity in East Asia; at least in the K-12 age range. I recall one high-school age piano competition in Taipei in 2004 in which there was only guy participating; every other contestant was a girl.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/54 "2017-02-04T22:52:26Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> Tuba players are overwhelmingly male. Harpists are overwhelmingly female.
Lung power vs. finesse?
Like how, in medieval-fantasy movies, a woman is an archer and the men wield swords.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/55 "2017-02-05T00:15:29Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> Anecdotally I might be inclined to dispute that one. Back when I had a passing interest in the topic the bulk of the serious ancestry-hobby folks I’ve known have been male ( particularly those tracing genetic markers, gene geeks seem to be heavily male ). But as I implied I have no stats to back that up.
That’s been my anecdotal experience also, having pursued genealogy as a hobby since 1977. I’ve had correspondents all over the world who were also heavily into finding their ancestry, and they did skew more male than female, though not by much.
And most of the sources compiled in the 19th and early 20th century were put together by men, IME.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/56 "2017-02-05T00:45:35Z")
related to dog shows, Dog agility contest folks are almost 100% female owners.
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### Author:  [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/57 "2017-02-05T01:05:35Z")
Figure skating is about 30:1 female to male under 25. Over 25 it’s about 2:1. I’ve been on the ice many,many days where I was the only adult female figure skater and there’s 4 male figure skaters. And by figure skaters I’m excluding hockey players, I mean people that can do dance steps, spins, jumps , and footwork. Adult male figure skaters seem to get into it when a daughter takes up skating and keep up with it after she quits and so for adult figure skaters it skews the numbers to be almost even.
Still friggin hard to find a male ice dance partner. Note to guys who can skate even in hockey skates, if you can learns a few ice dances you can be paid $50 an hour (or more) to partner women skaters.
A lot more women shoot than you think.
I known a woman stamp collector, a woman brewer, and a couple of women ham operators. They can’t be that rare.
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### Author:  [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/58 "2017-02-05T01:06:41Z")
Figure skating is about 30:1 female to male under 25. Over 25 it’s about 2:1. I’ve been on the ice many,many days where I was the only adult female figure skater and there’s 4 male figure skaters. And by figure skaters I’m excluding hockey players, I mean people that can do dance steps, spins, jumps , and footwork. Adult male figure skaters seem to get into it when a daughter takes up skating and keep up with it after she quits and so for adult figure skaters it skews the numbers to be almost even.
Still friggin hard to find a male ice dance partner. Note to guys who can skate even in hockey skates, if you can learns a few ice dances you can be paid $50 an hour (or more) to partner women skaters.
A lot more women shoot than you’d think.
I known a woman stamp collector, a woman brewer, and a couple of women ham operators. They can’t be that rare.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/59 "2017-02-05T01:40:30Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#):
>
> I volunteer at the local historical society, I’m also president of the local genealogical society. I would say that’s it’s 40-45% male to 55-60% female, so not a huge difference. Professional genealogists do tend to be women, but not by much more.
>
> Just a quick look at the books sitting around me, transcribing tends to go more female while research publications are a bit more male oriented. Oddly every transcribing/indexing book near me are all by women, though most of them are church records from the same general area so that might be part of the reason.
I can see I should have been more clear in my description. I’m not talking about professional or semi-professional academic level research. I have no idea about that. I’m talking about people who are using [ancestry.com](http://ancestry.com) and similar on line archives to research the ancestry of their own families as a hobby.
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### Author:  [@Soulcatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soulcatcher)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/60 "2017-02-05T02:56:43Z")
In my opinion and experience, men tend toward a lot more obsessive focus than women in general. One area this manifests itself is hobbies, where I think men are much more prone to exhaustive pursuits of some weird thing that strikes their fancy, whether trains, ham radio, military history, car performance, or whatever. Even when women are into a hobby, are they as invested as a male hobbyist? I don’t think the female scrapbooker holds it as close to her identity as a male train enthusiast. Which is good, a tendency toward more balanced healthier lives. I say this as a male, with my own obsessive hobbies.
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