Are posters here HAPPIER having few men in SS Forums?

[BarredBuff]

Yep...on some of the other forums I use a guy's name as my screen name, particularly on those dominated by men. It is pretty much the only way they will acknowledge that you may know something about livestock, gardening, construction, farming in general, homesteading, using tools, killing animals, etc.

I must be different, because in general with a few exceptions I come closer to listening to gals information on this sort of thing.

 

[Joel_BC]

The discussion has gotten pretty good...

As for the forum, I agree that I think many men aren't as talkative as women. We're the cackling hens, and men are generally just the silent type... POSSIBLY read some tutorials, but generally speaking, the men I know would rather just take a stack of stuff and try to put it together without directions.

I just wanted to say something about this point. Bettacreek, you describe a common male tendency. I have to admit, it was my tendency - but I've reformed! In my various projects and skill sets, in the past I learned a lot "by guess and by golly" and by trial and error. In a lot of cases, that worked out okay, but (as with using certain tools) you can also acquire some unbeneficial or bad habits that lead to inferior results.

That's why I've always said on this forum that my preference is to be shown how to do something by someone who is expert at it - and next best thing is often an instructional video. Because it's three dimensional, shows a process in motion, and usually has an explanatory commentary.

Judging by the number-of-views read-outs and the written responses that I see with Youtube videos, a lot of other guys are now learning this way.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep...on some of the other forums I use a guy's name as my screen name, particularly on those dominated by men. It is pretty much the only way they will acknowledge that you may know something about livestock, gardening, construction, farming in general, homesteading, using tools, killing animals, etc.

I must be different, because in general with a few exceptions I come closer to listening to gals information on this sort of thing.

I have a feeling you have been nurtured by some strong women, BB...could make all the difference. My middle son gets a lot of teasing when he works on construction sites or talks with men in the shop because he's always saying, "My mama says......". They've taken to calling him the Waterboy. He isn't a bit ashamed of it and will even play into that nickname...he has solved some problems for them that no one could figure out by doing what his "mama says" on things. Sometimes he can solve a problem because he thinks small, like most poor folks have learned to do.

For instance, one day they couldn't figure out how to drain the oil out of a huge piece of equipment because the oil pan sat too close to the trailer bed and they couldn't get or fasten any hoses from the hole into the pan. A whole group of mechanics studied on it all day and were coming up with some very elaborate plans to hoist, jack or build up the equipment so as to do this chore. My 22 year old newbie employee walked into the shop, took one look at it and suggested they just reach under and hold a heavy duty trash bag over the hole with their hand while it drained out. No mess, no muss, no equipment needed...just dispose of it afterwards. They did and it worked.

Years from now someone will be draining that equipment in just that way and someone will ask why they do it like that but no one will remember that someone's mama told him how to problem solve on the cheap!

That's the whole key to SS, in my opinion. You learn what you can, where you can and then you apply it. After you apply it, then you can learn how to do it better~or not, whatever be the case~and then you can teach it to your kids or other people. There are many ways to skin a cat and one gender or the other doesn't hold the keys on that.

 

[BarredBuff]

Yep...on some of the other forums I use a guy's name as my screen name, particularly on those dominated by men. It is pretty much the only way they will acknowledge that you may know something about livestock, gardening, construction, farming in general, homesteading, using tools, killing animals, etc.

I must be different, because in general with a few exceptions I come closer to listening to gals information on this sort of thing.

I have a feeling you have been nurtured by some strong women, BB...could make all the difference. My middle son gets a lot of teasing when he works on construction sites or talks with men in the shop because he's always saying, "My mama says......". They've taken to calling him the Waterboy. He isn't a bit ashamed of it and will even play into that nickname...he has solved some problems for them that no one could figure out by doing what his "mama says" on things. Sometimes he can solve a problem because he thinks small, like most poor folks have learned to do.

For instance, one day they couldn't figure out how to drain the oil out of a huge piece of equipment because the oil pan sat too close to the trailer bed and they couldn't get or fasten any hoses from the hole into the pan. A whole group of mechanics studied on it all day and were coming up with some very elaborate plans to hoist, jack or build up the equipment so as to do this chore. My 22 year old newbie employee walked into the shop, took one look at it and suggested they just reach under and hold a heavy duty trash bag over the hole with their hand while it drained out. No mess, no muss, no equipment needed...just dispose of it afterwards. They did and it worked.

Years from now someone will be draining that equipment in just that way and someone will ask why they do it like that but no one will remember that someone's mama told him how to problem solve on the cheap!

That's the whole key to SS, in my opinion. You learn what you can, where you can and then you apply it. After you apply it, then you can learn how to do it better~or not, whatever be the case~and then you can teach it to your kids or other people. There are many ways to skin a cat and one gender or the other doesn't hold the keys on that.

That is most likely it

 

[Joel_BC]

My middle son gets a lot of teasing when he works on construction sites or talks with men in the shop because he's always saying, "My mama says......". They've taken to calling him the Waterboy. He isn't a bit ashamed of it and will even play into that nickname...he has solved some problems for them that no one could figure out by doing what his "mama says" on things. Sometimes he can solve a problem because he thinks small, like most poor folks have learned to do.

For instance, one day they couldn't figure out how to drain the oil out of a huge piece of equipment because the oil pan sat too close to the trailer bed and they couldn't get or fasten any hoses from the hole into the pan. A whole group of mechanics studied on it all day and were coming up with some very elaborate plans to hoist, jack or build up the equipment so as to do this chore. My 22 year old newbie employee walked into the shop, took one look at it and suggested they just reach under and hold a heavy duty trash bag over the hole with their hand while it drained out. No mess, no muss, no equipment needed...just dispose of it afterwards. They did and it worked.

Years from now someone will be draining that equipment in just that way and someone will ask why they do it like that but no one will remember that someone's mama told him how to problem solve on the cheap!

That's the whole key to SS, in my opinion. You learn what you can, where you can and then you apply it. After you apply it, then you can learn how to do it better~or not, whatever be the case~and then you can teach it to your kids or other people. There are many ways to skin a cat and one gender or the other doesn't hold the keys on that.

Good story, and the point is a good one, Beekissed. No quibble from me.

At the same time, what I was thinking about when I originally raised the gender-balance issue was the topic area of (you might call it) "infrastructure". Our kitchen finesse, household thrift, clohing making/repair, gardens, bird & mammal raising (and enjoyment of young fuzzy & furry ones) are all fundamental aspects of the more self-reliant life... important stuff.

Other fundamentals are the infrastructural aspects of building, electrical work, mechanics, water-system planning, road construction, device invention, and so on - also important. Sure, you can look at this group of topics as either gender-related or gender-free. But scan the representation of both sorts in the archived posts... might one suspect any reason that one group of these topics far outweighs the other?

 

[Joel_BC]

Well, I thought I’d stir up a little trouble and revive this thread. Trouble… not really, I’d say. But the topic is still of interest to me.

For the reasons why I originally thought to start this thread, you might scroll back through the pages and find my posts from January 23, 2012 and May 29, 2012. The OP just gives my initial kick-off.

I’m glad there are guys who have been steady contributive members through the years here. Hip, hip, hooray! And I do realize - and appreciate the fact - that some new men have joined and become active posters.

There is another site I'm a member of - won't mention any names, but it does have a huge membership and high activity level - where the guys seem to have mostly become jaded... with the world as well as with homesteading. Some of the guys are experienced and knowledgeable, but seemingly disillusioned, cynical, bored (some of them), and with more interest in mid-life hot-rod adventures than nature, raising food, and local community.

The overall tone here at SS is better. But I’m wondering if any people here have some new ideas about encouraging more men to join and share their projects, ideas, and accomplishments (on the land or in their yards, in their homes)?

 

[journey11]

Just something I have observed, but out there on the internet there are very specific forums for things like auto mechanics, firewood/woodstove maintence, small engine repair, remodeling, etc. that seem to be almost entirely populated by men. I've even seen entire forums dedicated to one make/model of car! I think it may be that men are more direct and to the point, not that they necessarily like to chat less than women about the things that interest them. You know, that whole "men's brains are like waffles, women's are like spaghetti" thing? I think men in general don't like the randomness of forums like this one and prefer forums that are more specialized. Although my husband doesn't participate on forums...just not his thing...when he has a question about something he is trying to fix or needs to know more about, I have repeatedly seen him scanning forums that are very topical in their subject matter.

We women may be more likely to get bored talking about only one thing all the time (and every facet and nuance of that one thing, LOL) which is why I think we prefer forums like this one that cover a broader variety of topics and have space for and a general acceptance of "random ramblings".

 

[Nifty]

Great update post Joel!!

You made some excellent points and asked some thought-provoking questions!

We do work really hard to maintain a certain tone here on SS. Does that tone discourage some "types" of men? Maybe it encourages others?

Do a lot of men tend to look for a "mostly" male community? For whatever reason, most of my forums (all except my printer forum) skew mostly female. I'm not sure if that's due to the subject matter, the tone, or something else?

 

[journey11]

Compartmentalized...that is the word I was looking for. I think men just like things more concise. And anymore there is literally a forum for any and everything out there.

I was thinking about that, how this applies to @Nifty .

I think TEG seems to have a very nearly 50/50 split of active male and female members. Maybe that's because gardening is a little more specific for subject matter. I often search BYC for info, but rarely post there anymore since everything has been covered a thousand times. My chickens aren't much of a thing to brag about or show off really either, just a bunch of ol' yardbirds. Otherwise, a lot of chatter over there for sure.

 

[Britesea]

I dunno, but my DH tells me that anytime he talks to the guys at work, or on the forums he likes to post on, it doesn't matter what the starting subject was... it eventually degenerates to either guns or food...