why is it a "mans " hobby

[organicreefer]

ok there are a few of you ladies out there but not nearly enough,imo.what do you guys think?why are women not attracted to the "pretty colors" .is it that women just dont have hobbies?
ladies,what do you think?why are youre girlfreinds not into it?

[eses]

I think it comes down to that many women don't have hobbies. Many women don't enjoy tinkering with stuff; which is why you don't see many women into model trains, old cars, etc. Its all part of that deep-rooted 50's mentality stereotype that men play in the garage, and women play in the kitchen. The whole "boys and their toys" thought process I guess.

Women have had their "hobbies"; taking care of plants, the garden, playing with roses and such..but for some reason we don't consider those hobbies, just part of the "womenswerk."

That, and much of the early pioneering of aquariums was during the 1960-1970's where the world was still considered a man's world. Now that we're slowly repressing the ignorance, more women are getting into the hobbies that men mostly dominated. My girlfriend is really into her freshwater aquarium .. but it took a lot of time for her to jump the barrier of taking the time to learn stuff.

But, I think it all comes down to the initial supression that men have had ever women in society for so long. But perhapes I'm reading too much into it, and they just think reef keeping sucks.

[Evil_Wife]

Maybe its because the men do it so well!! I cant speak for others but I know the thought of sucking stinky overflow tubing and getting up a mouthful of marine water that those delightful little dears have been pooping in is pretty gross, also getting wet up to your pits in tank water when cleaning it is abit ewwww. I think women are sensible in some ways by not going for just the appeal of the pretty colours!!

[icemark]

IMHO, women think that its too much work for too little reward.

A cat, dog or other mammal provides much more companionship than fish or corals do. Its not like that snowflake eel is gonna snuggle up on them on the couch watching TV on some lonley night.

And I think Evil_Wife's answer has a little to do with it as well.

[SeaBean]

ESES makes a reasonable a point. As a generalization, consider also the economic disparity between men's and women's disposable income. Reefkeeping is not cheap, and, men, for a variety of reasons, have more disposable income than women.

Honestly, I like reefkeeping, but why would I spend fifty bucks on a coral that might die when I could buy yet another pair of black shoes?

[VP]

Me woman, me like reef keeping. Because it's challenging, rewarding, hard-work and fun. It stretches my brain. As for other woman, they just don't know what they're missin.

[thezookeeper]

For the most part, you're right. While I know other women who LIKE to look at reef aquariums, I know very FEW willing to do the work that goes into one. In fact, I know of one other woman into reefing as much as I am, period.

Unfortunately, some of the men I know who are willing to do a reef aquarium often do not take the time themselves to RESEARCH the correct way to do it for the LIFE of the animals they are intending to keep captive. And no matter what anyone can tell them, do it the way they think it should be instead of solid research. Personally, I'd rather see fewer people have reef aquariums if they don't intend to put all of the time required for the long term success of the system.

So, I don't know if women are just unwilling to make this commitment or if they see it as too much work. But I like a challenge and enjoy this hobby immensely.

Of course I know one woman who got into the hobby for relaxation purposes.......


Joanne

[organicreefer]

eses,you brought up gardening,the way i see it reef keeping is like marine underwater gardening,in a way.thats one of the reasons i dont understand why more girls dont get it??reefkeeping isnt a particularly "manly " thing to be into,and yet IT IS

[eses]

Gardening for all practical purpose is easy. Almost anyone can make something grow, and all you really do is add dirt and plant food. I know I am oversimplifying this, but it is kind of true. My gf is very good with plants, she's had a wider variety of plants growing on our back porch than I have ever seen in my life...but once she moved onto trying to keep underwater plants the world fell apart; and she's having to learn everything from square one like I did with corals.

That, and I think it has something to do with the "typical" thought that aquariums just turn green and get gross, its something only kids want because kids like icky ucky grimy things. The only thing you do with aquariums afterall is break them down and scrub them when everything turns green, right?

I think people in general just don't like doing things that require learning. Guys have more an odd facination with breaking stuff and then making it work again. I was standing in the LFS waiting for some help during this huge 50% off sale of livestock they were having (they were slammed.) So I'm standing there, waiting my turn flipping through a reef book that is on the shelf. A girl comes up to me, says "wow, saltwater fish are so much cooler" and asks me if I knew anything about them. I said yes, some, and she asked if it was harder. I explained that no, it really wasn't any harder than keeping freshwater, but it requires more constant effort, and more learning and reading in books.

"Oh," she said. "I don't really like reading much."

Not that it really matters, as girls suck and have cooties anyway. Keep them away from my pretty xenias.

[Evil_Wife]

girls dont suck! Im telling on you!!!

I READ AS WELL!! SO IN YOUR FACE!!

BOYS CAN BE SOOOO MEAN

[addicted2fish]

I was about to say something, but I better not

[icemark]

Originally posted by addicted2fish
I was about to say something, but I better not

I started to say something about that as well, but thought better and hit the back button

[hcp28]

ROTFLMAO!!!

[Ltspd]

At times I think its because they are smarter.........

[organicreefer]

ltspd ,best answer yet

[fishrule]

Their hobbies are nagging, correcting men, controlling men, honey-do items, asking "why are you just sitting on the couch?, shopping, not really shopping, just looking at everything that is 19 stores, and then not buying anything. Asking why don't you make more money, and I want everything in this store. Nothing but the truth, so help me alah. Hell, they even talked a poor guy into eating an apple, when he didn't want to!

[popcorn]

As a wife and Reefer (and medical student), I think that the time has a lot to do with it. I hate to say it, but there are different priorities between the sexes. Personally, it drives me crazy when the kitchen is a mess. But since my tolerance for mess is lower than husband's, I generally just do it. That takes time.

Time is a factor, but there are a lot of other areas that require knowledge that men tend to absorb, like football statistics. I don't care to mess with the lighting - he can take care of that. I tend to be more aggressive in choosing inhabitants, and did all of the aquascaping after the move. I also do all the fragging and chemical testing. He takes care of the day-to-day topoff, plumbing, lighting, and routine stuff that I don't have time to mess with. If I didn't have him, I wouldn't be in the hobby either. But at the same time, he sort of got me into it. I think that it works out pretty well for us: he gets to tinker around with plumbing, and hardware, while I stop by when I have time to take care of the details.

As for it being a "man's" hobby, there are some of us women who take that as a challenge.

Interesting thread...

[organicreefer]

good points popcorn i totally agree ,the differences run pretty deep ,imo
hey joanne,does youre husband help with the tinkering aspects(the logical side )

[FishTechie]

LMAO!! Cooties!!!

I wish i could find a girl thats INTO a tank instead of just standing in front of it saying how pretty the fishies are and not noticing the acros, hydnos, monti's, leathers, xenias,clams, etc thats in the tank...

[thezookeeper]

The only thing my dear Robert did with my tank was make the canopy and wire it up. Now I NEVER could have done that! But everything I else I did. He's not much of a plumber, but neither am I! That's why I had to do my overflow twice. He does assist with carrying those water buckets upstairs for me. He's the muscle behind the tank I guess! But he does love the tank and truly enjoys the creatures. He just gets mad when he says he wants this type of fish and I say...honey...it's not reef safe. Then he stomps off and says he never gets anything he wants.

Oh the trials of life...


Joanne