# 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:** 4
### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/61 "2017-02-05T02:58:17Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> 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.
I’d say it still stands. Being a volunteer and being president of the society I see almost a 45/55 split for women. So slightly more, but not a huge amount. I would say it’s probably close to 50/50 of the people who contact me based upon my tree.
I can see where you might think it’s more skewed towards woman based upon Ancestry commercials and such, and I thought the same thing a long time ago, but I’ve not seen it work out that way in reality.
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### Author:  [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/62 "2017-02-05T03:55:28Z")
> [@romansperson](#):
>
> While I’ll grant you that the tedious types who are more interested in what cameras/lenses etc. you have and how much they cost tend to be male, I am a female enthusiast photographer and know quite a few other women who are also into that hobby. We tend to be more interested in the photos themselves and the subject matter than in the technical stuff though - it’s more a matter of focusing on the outcome than the process, generally.
I like the way you phrased that. I’m happy when I hear a photographer, male or female, who can express their passion for the art.
Some of my fondest memories of photography are of being five years old and standing quietly in the corner of my mother’s darkroom, watching in the dim orange light as the magic happened in the chemical trays. For some reason my older brother was never there, so as far as I can recall, my mother’s photography was something special just between us.
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### Author:  [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/63 "2017-02-05T06:12:16Z")
> [@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’d say a lot of horseback ridding tends to be done more by women.
Another anecdotal data point, both of my parents did serious research into their respective family histories, my father however was the one who bought and used genealogy software to help record his results, and my mother used scrapbooks.
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### Author:  [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/64 "2017-02-05T14:50:26Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#):
>
> 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. 🙂
It would indeed seem that (whether – as pondered on in this thread – from nature, nurture, or some of each) strong interest in modes of transport in common; and military equipment; is very highly predominantly a male trait. There are, in my perception, however, female car buffs – not highly numerous, but not all that rare.
> [@Soulcatcher](#):
>
> 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.
Well; railway enthusiasts often, self-mockingly, claim to be aware that their consuming passion for their hobby is not mentally healthy, and makes them decidedly weird. They suggest that someone who could devise a reliable means of curing their regrettable “sickness”, would be in line for making a fortune.
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### Author:  [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/65 "2017-02-05T17:02:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> Lung power vs. finesse?
> Like how, in medieval-fantasy movies, a woman is an archer and the men wield swords.
(No dig on you, BTW) The idea that the bow is an appropriate weapon for weaker people is wrong. Warbows pull over 100 pounds, shooting more than 2 or 2 arrows in quick succession requieres lots of strength. Also, most swords do not require massive strength, most weighing about 1 to 1.5 kilos.
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/66 "2017-02-05T17:15:21Z")
> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> Sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, etc. are all female dominated.
I agree with this, but the exceptions are/were fun Anybody going to tell Rosey Grier that needlepoint isn’t macho?
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/67 "2017-02-05T18:06:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> Lung power vs. finesse?
>
> Like how, in medieval-fantasy movies, a woman is an archer and the men wield swords.
I would guess that in fantasy this trope owes a lot to classical mythology, as Artemis/Diana and the Amazons are commonly depicted with bows and arrows.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/68 "2017-02-05T18:41:37Z")
Competitive shooting in my neck of the woods is heavily weighted to men. At least practical/action style shooting and steel shooting.
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/69 "2017-02-05T19:49:45Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> My examples for activities that don’t need to be sexually separated but just naturally seem to be anyway.
>
> Audiophiles / Audio Geeks. I am not including females who have the expertise to obtain and use sound equipment for performance or DJing (like my daughter) in this group. These are people pursuing as much sonic perfection as they can afford as a near obsessive end in itself.
>
> Watch collectors - I have never seen a female watch collector
>
> Knife collectors - overwhelmingly male
>
> Computer performance modding and tweaking - Might be a few women involved but seems to be an overwhelmingly male activity
> For women -
>
> Scrapbooking - might be some men but they are scarce
>
> Ancestry research - mainly women that I have seen
>
> Local Book clubs – mainly women
I kind of got into ancestry research because I came across a whole journal of research my great grandmother did on my mother’s side of the family. Unfortunately I never had the energy to do my own research into my father’s side of the family.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/70 "2017-02-06T15:36:21Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> Pirating (as in, actual pirates)
>
> Stamp or coin collecting
>
> Barbershop quartet singing
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hR0VGEX6SpU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLbeIn7ZMADnx-lFmAPexNcXI7bzz8MGZ3
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/71 "2017-02-06T15:51:00Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> Tuba players are overwhelmingly male. Harpists are overwhelmingly female.
::: Ahem. :::
More female tubistas than ever before … including, oh, The Philadelphia Orchestra, to name just one.
Jazz too: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUWLVn99tg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUWLVn99tg)
🙂
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/72 "2017-02-06T21:02:06Z")
I play a lot of bluegrass, and most of the jams I attend skew 80-90% male. Most of the women play fiddle or mando.
I play upright - one of the 3-4 other bassists I see most often is female. And my daughter has my old bass guitar gear.
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### Author:  [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/73 "2017-02-07T20:38:04Z")
Jazz instrumentalists tend to be male.
Jazz singers tend to be female.
It’s a mystery.
(Please don’t start listing female jazz instrumentalists and male jazz singers. I already know that there are several notable exceptions, including entirely female jazz bands. But on the whole, in general, this is what you’ll find. :))
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### Author:  [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/74 "2017-02-07T21:03:45Z")
Practicing foreign languages via conversation clubs I would guess skews slightly female.
Social dancing also seems to involve more women than men, but not by a great deal. Lots of dudes like to dance.
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### Author:  [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/75 "2017-02-07T21:37:31Z")
Military history buffs seem to be predominantly male.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/76 "2017-02-07T23:27:06Z")
> [@bump](#):
>
> 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.
Hell, I’d certainly welcome the opportunity! 😃
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/77 "2017-02-08T00:09:57Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#):
>
> Computer programming in general is male-dominated, but **computer game programmers** are almost exclusively male. I’ve been in the industry for 20+ years and in that time I’ve had maybe four female coworkers out of several hundred, across multiple companies. My current company has been around for 15+ years with between 5 and 30 or so programmers, and in that entire time has had exactly one. Currently, we have zero. (I don’t _think_ it’s because we’re all sexist assholes, although of course it would be hard for me to tell, check my privilege, yada yada yada. Plenty of women work here as artists, designers, producers, HR people, testers, etc.)
Several years ago, my nieces, who are now 15 and 17, went to a local summer day camp for this, for kids 10 to 14. Out of 20 or 25 participants, they were the only girls.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/78 "2017-02-08T00:13:19Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> 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.
(jumps up and down and waves hands) I’m a female Rush fan and have been since 1978, when I was 14 and my friends said they weren’t cute enough. 😛
My first college roommate liked Black Sabbath.
Yeah, we got along pretty well - as long as she was sober. ☹
I recently found out that her brother married one of my HS classmates - and we grew up about 200 miles apart. Talk about a small world! :eek:
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/79 "2017-02-08T00:17:29Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> Dog shows, cat shows, rabbit shows … all women. The few men at dog shows are gay.
I have some friends, a straight married couple, who used to breed and show cats, and their best friends were of a similar demographic. The other men they knew were either married to a woman who shared their interest, or they were gay (and now could potentially be married to another man; that wasn’t the case when they did this).
I didn’t observe the attendees enough to notice; I’m talking about the people who participated in showing the animals.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-sexual-non-physical-hobbies-or-activities-that-still-have-high-gender-separation/778938/80 "2017-02-08T00:23:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> Fans of progressive rock, in general, seem to be largely male.
That’s true, and I can’t think of a single female prog musician except for the aforementioned Boston bassists, and the woman who sang with them, and calling Boston prog is stretching it a bit, although they toured with quite a few prog bands (including Rush, BTW) in their early days.
Yeah, I’m a female prog fan. So is my 15-year-old niece; her favorite band is Queen, and she can pick Steve Howe’s guitar playing out of a crowd. 🆒
I saw Rush 4 times (1982, 1990, and twice in one week in 1994) and each time, I’d say the crowd was about 1/3 women, and the girls/women I saw there that I knew were as surprised to see me there as I was to see them. 😛
The 1982 show was about a year after I graduated from high school, and I swear I saw half my class there! At both our 5- and 10-year reunions, I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard someone say, “Last time I saw you was at that Rush concert!”
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