Male or female?

[BlaiseinLondon]

No, not fish, but us! (Sorry - didn't know where to put this!)

It seems to me that there are more male users of aquatic fora than female users, which leads me to think there are more men than women in the hobby (as, generally, internet fora have more female than male contributors). Am I correct? And why do you think the balance is as it is?

 

[Essjay]

Historically there were more men than women in the hobby. Years ago when I visited independent fish stores the workers were all men and I was usually the only female customer there. I avoided the shops where I was treated with amusement. The big stores (Maidenhead Aquatics, Pets at Home) did have women visiting but usually tagging along with their male fishkeeping partners. But there were exceptions. My favourite store has always been owned and run by a woman, and her now adult daughter works there as well. There are now more women store workers and customers but men still seem to be in the majority.

Here on TFF we have user names, many of which are not gender specific - mine isn't - so it's harder to tell unless posts contain clues. Though even words like husband and wife in posts can't be used as proof of gender these days. I sometimes wonder if female members tend to hide behind non-specific user names because of fear of prejudice. That was the main reason I chose mine back 20-ish years ago.

 

[gimme30]

I think female participation is rising, especially with the advent of nano tanks, increased interest in aqua scaping, and of course the never-ending quest for clicks on Youtube, but the hobby has always been dominated by males. Possibly because of the equipment aspect.....gear and gadgets are kind of a guy thing. Just shooting in the dark here.
And I don't know any women that like to fish.

 

[BlaiseinLondon]

Really interested in your last sentence @gimme30 as to me, being a fish keeper and fishing (or even eating fish - I've been a vegetarian forever) are polar opposites.

 

[GaryE]

I've watched this for years. Traditionally, men have had more leisure time for hobbies. In the older family structures, a woman's work was never done, but when we came home from work, our work was. That has changed a lot.

Starting in the early 90s. I was in 2 local clubs (2 different languages) and spoke regularly at 3 more within driving distance. They were absolutely male domains, probably 95% guys. But in our 3 year old local club here, now there are more women than men. Among the older members, it's 80% male, but in the under 30 crowd, it's 60% women. It's also all women who work outside the home.

One of my old local clubs has an average age of about 70, and it's a men's group. The other reinvented itself and averages around 35, and has a much higher percentage of women involved. So there is a generational thing.

Going to the big conventions in North America used to be going to a white haired male party. I used to feel sorry for any young women who attended because the walkers/zimmer frames would chase them up and down the hallways. It must have been very unpleasant for them.

 

[FattyFish]

I'm male, but my wife likes to breed easy livebearers, so that both of us are in the hobby

 

[gimme30]

@BlaiseinLondon What I meant was that fishing, what I call 'feeding the mosquitos', has led some into the ornamental fish keeping hobby. As kids, catching crawdads and minnows at the creek led several of my friends into it. For whatever reason putting a worm on a hook, touching a slimy fish, and gutting said critter doesn't bother most men but getting a woman to do it is like asking Bigfoot to cook me pancakes in the morning. Not that there aren't female anglers, I just haven't met any. So, I think there's a correlation, however small.

The first time I caught a rainbow trout I wanted to keep it. They're very pretty fish. But I couldn't afford the tank it'd require.

 

[Helina]

Hey there all.
I'm from Finland. Here I think it might be more mixed now already, at least I am totally unaware about that there would be more men in this hobby. I am a woman and I bought my used tank almost as new from another woman. And my yellow Nocaridina yellow stripe shrimp I bought also from a woman shrimpkeeper. In my favourite aqua store, the Helsinki Aquariumcentre, though owned by a man, there are several female workers. Also, my fishkeeping pictures seem to have given part of the enthusiasm to one of my female friends to start fishkeeping for her own and her kids amusement also. Also my mom used to have an aquarium for some time when I had already moved out.

What I do have noticed, is that this hobby seems to have nice balance of men and women. But I haven't been in this hoby for very long. Just from 2020. As a nature loving person I have always liked the fancy looking, well kept public aquariums and used to windowshop at pet store for aquariums and aquarium fish. Now, I love to have a piece of creation miracle in my livingroom of my favorite fish and shrimp!

Here's a piece of what I've observed here, but it does seem logical that in the older generation there might be more male hobbyists. So I'm not trying to overrule that, but at the moment it seems balanced over here in Europes Scandinavia.

 

[GaryE]

I still think it's a leisure accessibility thing. The example from @Helina reflects a different culture in Finland, and I'll wager we get that across the board. City versus country, different countries, different regions of the world and especially different generations. In Europe, people have more freedom to develop things like hobbies and interests, with generally better working conditions and leisure time than in a lot of North America. We get shorter vacation times, less flexible hours, etc. I'm kind of jealous when I talk to European aquarists about the old 'work/life balance' thing. They tend to have more time to really get into things.

I think the hobby is changing as society changes and women get more opportunities. When I look at photos of club conventions around the world, when you factor out the white haired crew, the young ones are much more likely to be women. I'll wager it'll be much more even in 25 years.

But now, in my regional experience (eastern Canada, Quebec and the northeast USA) there are a lot more old guys in the hobby than older women. Another big change I'm seeing is an increase in the local number of Asian and eastern European immigrant aquarists, with quite a few women taking the lead in the aquatic plant and aquascaping hobby, though they don't seem as represented in the 'contest' type scene. There are a number of couples around here selling plants online, where the guy is the face of it but discussion leads you to the woman, who really knows her stuff. The aquatic plant hobby seems to have a different dynamic, as does the shrimp scene. It makes sense, because both of those are new relative to the fish hobby.

 

[BlaiseinLondon]

Thanks everyone: very interesting.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Also, the way things work in terms of the sexes has changed. It used to be men earned the money and handled the financial decisions. Women cared for children and the home etc. Because men pretty much controlled the money they were the ones who decided to keep fish and to devote spending to it. This was how things were when I was born in 1948 and through most of the 1950s and even early 60s. But that is when things began to change.

Child care improved which made it more possible for women to have jobs. And jobs traditionally limited for men became available to women. The seed of the started during WW II. The men went off to war and the women stepped into to do their jobs. Rosie the Riveter was born. Women became welders, factory workers were even allowed in the military in non-combat roles.

And here we are today with women doing all kinds of work that would not have been possible. The human race became a lot smarter about all of this. Things change.

My fish club is still male dominated. But we have a few kids now attending meetings and they are both boys and girls. Some are the kids of members and others have a parent or other relative bring them to the meetings and that relative stays for the entire meeting. There have certainly been a lot women attending the fish events I have been at over the years. I can also say that some of the best teachers I have had in terms of keeping fish have been women.

 

[Back in the fold]

One of the regular writers on Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine is a woman and she really knows her stuff . Rebecca Goldring . She writes at a scholarly level and has written about breeding some very rare and interesting fish . Women aren’t stupid . They can run aquariums with the best of them .

 

[gimme30]

In my favourite aqua store, the Helsinki Aquariumcentre, though owned by a man, there are several female workers.

Now that you mention it, of the three stores I visit on a regular basis one is staffed completely by women, one by mostly women, and the third is mixed. I've never seen a male in the fish department at either of the big box stores but maybe I'm just missing their shifts.