# Where are all the Girls??



## sanj (27 Apr 2011)

Why is the planted and wider fishkeeping hobby so dominated by males? I would have thought ladies might be into a bit of gardening.   

I have a few planted rainbowfish vids on youtube with approx 7,500 hits between them, 85% are blokeys of varous ages. 

I know of one lady on here and even then I couldnt be sure, I mean ive never met her and well maybe she is only a "she" on the weekends...

So I was just wondering how squewered is the sex ratio on UKAPs??


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## Drouthie (27 Apr 2011)

*Re: Where is all the Girls??*

I'm a girl! I think planted tanks are quiet techy and that's why there are more blokes. I've noticed there seems to be a lot of scientists too.


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## Drouthie (27 Apr 2011)

I've just realised I've been very jealous looking at your tank on youtube before without realising you were on UKAPS. If I every get a house of my own I would like a big rainbowfish tank just like that!


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## Garuf (27 Apr 2011)

Most gardeners and plants men are male too. I think it's the equipment side of it, It's intimidating and expensive. That and a cultural thing, it's not in fashion or vogue so it doesn't get a look in, look at tanks aimed at women, "low maintenance" "stylish" are always the watch words, A lot of terrariums are marketed towards women via craft blogs and fashion blogs because they're twee victoriana and you don't have to look after them especially. And especially with the younger generations, any sort of obsession or "hobby" as everyone else calls them, is deeply uncool, fanaticism outside of the mainstream is often sneered at, something I think woman, young women in particular are much more likely to want to avoid. I'm faintly embarrassed when ever I tell anyone what any of my hobbies are, especially when they see fish tanks with no fish and then you have to explain which only makes it worse.


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## Steve Smith (27 Apr 2011)

Unless you're talking about fixed gear bikes... That seems to attract both sexes and mostly a young crowd 

It's different in other European countries I think.  At the vivarium show there were a lot of ladies


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## Garuf (27 Apr 2011)

Yeah, Leed's fixie scene is about 60% male, a lot more girls are getting into it, I've noticed it be featured in more than one of the Gf's magazines and in the ever popular stylist, (which also had a terrarium in the other week).


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## Steve Smith (27 Apr 2011)

Garuf said:
			
		

> fixie



*shudder*


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## idris (27 Apr 2011)

Is it the hobbie that's male dominated, or the online community (YouTube, UKAPA etc)?


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## GHNelson (27 Apr 2011)

Hi
You will probably find that it is the outdoor type of male who did a touch of fishing/camping when they were younger which started their interest in fish.
Most will have had aquariums at some point in their lives.......I would guess.
Just my thoughts.
hoggie


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## Joecoral (27 Apr 2011)

idris said:
			
		

> Is it the hobbie that's male dominated, or the online community (YouTube, UKAPA etc)?



Having spent 3 years working in the aquatics trade, I would say that the vast majority of aquarists are male from what I observed


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## sanj (30 Apr 2011)

So far this sample is suggesting we are 80:20 not too different from my youtube stats. If UKAPs were a nation we'd be in trouble unless of course 3/4 of the males were gay. That would be an unusually happy country.


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## Johno2090 (30 Apr 2011)

I think the real reason girls don't keep fish is handcream. Lol


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## Morgan Freeman (2 May 2011)

It's exactly the same as the dart frog hobby IMO.


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## Drouthie (3 May 2011)

^^^ That's funny, I'm keen to get some in the future when I've done travelling. 

My boyfriend had a theory that dads tend to do more practical activities with their sons than daughters. Which is the same as hogan's theory really. I was surprised because I used to do all the practical stuff like woodwork and model building and my brother wasn't interested as he preferred sport. But I suppose that supports the theory.

My boyfriends dad took him speed boating whilst his mum and sister went shopping. If the same thing happened to me I'd have been so furious!


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## Johno2090 (3 May 2011)

Depends if it was shopping round some really nice fish shops


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## Drouthie (3 May 2011)

Hmm, didn't think of that... Still speedboats!


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## aquaticmaniac (3 May 2011)

*puts hand up* I'm female and been in the hobby since I was 11, but I'm an outdoorsy nerd. When I lived in America, I noticed quite a few more women in the hobby, but not so much in the UK. I don't think the techy/science side of the hobby necessarily scares off the ladies, but more men seem to already be involved in hobbies/whatnot that lead to fishkeeping.

Personally, my obsession with fish started 10 years ago when my neighbour's house burnt down, and I was offered their fish tank. Couldn't say no to a freebie, and I was already an ecology/botany nutter . Most of the females I've known in the hobby also had interests in biology and ecology, but you'd think anyone keeping fish might be  .


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## Johno2090 (3 May 2011)

Conservation biologist here! Working in aviation and killing the planet one plane at a time.  I agree I love the ecology side of our tanks


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## catxx (20 May 2011)

I'm a girl! I get cross it's so male dominated, but what can you do? Maybe because there is so much science tech stuff involved (which makes my mind boggle, so I wing it instead) and gooey stinky things too, girls don't want to get their hands dirty? My mum and auntie are fanatic terrestrial gardeners, it's my aunt's full time job, and I was always in the garden getting muddy, so that side of it is fun for me!! The tech stuff makes my head hurt though.


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## Mark Evans (21 May 2011)

catxx said:
			
		

> Maybe because there is so much science tech stuff involved (which makes my mind boggle, so I wing it instead)



believe me, i dont get half the science in this hobby, and dont care much for it either.


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## LondonDragon (22 May 2011)

Mark Evans said:
			
		

> believe me, i dont get half the science in this hobby, and dont care much for it either.


that makes two of us, just throw in a bit of this and a bit of that, if it doesn't work add a bit more of this and that and it should work lol


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## catxx (22 May 2011)

There was an article in a paper (forget what one, maybe Observer? Sunday papers, was at me mum's house) that made me a bit angry. Was about all these super pricey tanks, including planted tanks, and how it's almost exclusively for men. I was reading it and shouting at it at the same time! There are girls working in my local MA. There are a (few) girls on this forum and on all other aquatics forums.

I guess it's the same with horse riding, gets seen as being a girly sport (despite many of the top riders/breeders/trainers being male).


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## John Starkey (22 May 2011)

I am a bloke but my wife thinks i should be a girl,because i spend like one,she call's me johnny want want    ,mind you some of the guys i have met on here act like girl's.

ONY JOKING GUY'S      .


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## sanj (25 May 2011)

john starkey said:
			
		

> I am a bloke but my wife thinks i should be a girl,because i spend like one,she call's me johnny want want    ,mind you some of the guys i have met on here act like girl's.
> 
> ONY JOKING GUY'S      .



Its the twinky 2000s, before long girls will be boys and boys will be girls... or maybe just in a certain area of Bangkok.


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## Drouthie (26 May 2011)

The horse riding thing is funny because it is such as physical hobby. My parents were more than happy to let me ride and work at a stables but when I started boxing they were concerned about how dangerous it was! Because falling off a 1.5m-2m animal and having 500kg step on you isn't dangerous. I also knew a girl who was kicked in the head, she didn't notice (because of the shock) continued on with what she was doing and passed out a couple of hours later! 

Also riding is dirty and smelly, much more so than a lot of 'boys' hobbies. It can also get very technical when you get onto dressage. I never had the memory for it.

At least when I say I like planted tanks I don't get a stream of prejudice like when I mention boxing. Or worse, being patronised about it. 

The funny thing is people in different sports or hobbies never mind about gender stereotypes, they are just happy to meet someone else with the same passion. It's the other people looking in who worry that letting a little boy ballet dance will feminise him!

OK, I'll stop ranting!


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## sanj (26 May 2011)

Yup horse riding is not exactly the safest hobby in the world and yet people can be so boxed in their thinking. It is not fun ending up under a horse.

Seems like so far things are tallying with what ive experianced: 47 people and 85% are dudes.


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## gollum456 (26 May 2011)

sanj said:
			
		

> Seems like so far things are tallying with what ive experianced: 47 people and 85% are dudes.



why do i get a sneaky feeling this is a ploy to suss out which one's are ladies in preparation for the "who's single survey".


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## hellohefalump (8 Jun 2011)

I'm a girl! 

I've been quite inactive for the last 16 months though, because I've just had a baby (well, 16 months ago now).  This may sound really sexist, but for me it's true... when I have a baby I totally lose interest in my fish tank for at least a year.  Then gradually the fish/plant-bug comes back to me and I 're-find' ukaps!

To be honest though, I think this baby is my last, for now anyway.  So you can expect to see me around here more often from now on.   

Me and my 'new' baby to prove to you I'm a girl:


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## Alastair (8 Jun 2011)

gollum456 said:
			
		

> sanj said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## willow-puss (10 Jun 2011)

I'm a girl,

Thought I'd add my two pence worth.

Whenever BF and I go into the LFS they ALWAYS go to him and ask what he is intrested in,does he need any help etc and when he shruggs his shoulders, and says"speak to her, I don't know anything about fish" they look shocked and walk off....   takes me ages then to find someone..

hellohefalump- I too have not long had a baby (14mths) and when the BF asked if I was still intrested in my tanks, as hadn't done anything with them for "ages" gave him the hard stare- "you try cleaning a filter whilst having a toddler attached to your leg, trying to stop the older ones from "killing"each other and see how long it takes you to get something done"   but like you I'm back into it..

beccy


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## danmil3s (10 Jun 2011)

my wife loves all the fish, wish i could get her in to the water changes to.


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