So djones what you got? Give us a solution. How about some new pejoratives. Mansplain is so 1990s. Lets spar if you got the kiwis for it.You're so manly. LiL ole me , I swear I almost fainted.
Lack of Female Representation
So who can explain the near lack of females in our hobby? There are far more women discussing football than audio, by a long shot. There are a lot more women into fixing up their cars as well. I just can’t think of a hobby, other than ours, where representation is so close to zero.
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@audition__audio OK then. I will try. One of the many ways that the Audiogon community can welcome females into the audio discussions would be to leave the off color, distateful commentary out every discussion. Ladies and gentlemen discussing audio topics like ladies and gentlemen would be a nice aspiration. |
Facebook. Talk about wasting time.Yes and no - user dependent. Could make the same argument about Audiogon. In her case, family is emotionally close but physically all over the country, sharing pictures, new babies, planning trips and vacations together, and connecting/communicating in a manner not possible before the introduction of the technology. Efficient to communicate with 4, 5, or 6 others at the same time. My friends are geographically closer so I mainly use it for information - bike trail conditions, etc., but I do enjoy the family photos. |
Whatever you say Yuvi. I would contend however that your sample size is likely statistically inaccurate. My wife and I volunteer with sexual assualt vistims as eell as the homeless and early childhood development. Im not sure which red flag you are referring to but your insinuations are unkind, unwelcome and unfair. |
Similar to the other thread about young people, most of the reason the audio industry has failed to capture more women interested in the category is largely due to a lack of people in the industry capable of effectively sharing what makes a good HiFi desirable in the first place. And I'm someone who had quite a retinue of female clients compared to many of my peers. They will buy HIFi if you find out what interests them, and typically they are far more oriented towards achieving a particular aesthetic. They are far better listeners than men typically as well, and you can usually find out very quickly what they prefer or don't prefer. There are some companies in the industry which are very aware of this problem and are trying to change it, and there are plenty of individuals as well. I've seen in general though that the audio industry has a very misogynistic bent in many cases and does indeed turn into a "boys club" or "frat house" pretty quickly. |
Consciousness is not female or male nor white or red or black.... Consciousness is not the body.... I am not dualist, because the body is a temporary illusion, like my audio system is a temporary illusion when i listen music....I forget it.... Time is only a thermodynamical illusion....I forget it dreaming or thinking.... I would say that there is too much "male" here and we lack consciousness of whatever biological gender... « Music is only sounds for a dog and probably not for all dogs»-Groucho Marx 🤓 |
You might want to think about this, let me know when you figure out the problem. Report thisThe problem was already figured out by Goethe....2 centuries ago.... But humans are slow learner.... If you want an easy introduction.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylvAEsrdoSo But if you are able of a sustained effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsH6-n7BUtw But no video replace serious books...Or meditation... |
That’s all well and good but you still didn’t address the fundamental flaw in your thinking. You're a dualist. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dualism/ |
That’s all well and good but you still didn’t address the fundamental flaw in your thinking. You’re a dualist.I doubt that you will listen to me... And anyway it is not the place... But i will explain it all in a nugget that contain like an egg the last 2 thousand years history of european civilization.... A duality is an external relation between 2 concepts or objects created by the nature of language in his external relation to perception and thinking... All the greek philosophy is the history of a gradual distantiation from the participation to the cosmos to an external relation with the cosmos which is the "modern reason"... We can detail this history from Parmenides logic to Aristotle logic and from Aristotle logic to Stoic school logic.... The original "logos" is a polarity not a duality... In a polarity the relation is internal not external... I cannot go further but i will give to you a video about the mandelbrot set to have an example of what his a polarity in abstract term... A duality is static, a polarity is a dynamic phenomenon... A duality oppose two realities, a polarity compose what SEEMS 2 realities and reveal their absolute unity....lIke in the mandelbrot set geometry... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLwCLvosAl4 Goethe is concrete but i cannot resume goethean studies here... I suggest "the metamorphosis of plant"... «Death or birth is the reversion of the internal and of the external»- Emmanuel Swedenborg |
At least Bob Dylan understand Swedenborg a bit here.... I will give you a clue: Imaginary numbers when discovered appear like a duality impossible to solve...But with the introduction of complex number this duality transform in a polarity... If you meditate that you will understand...Outside of dead materialism... By the way female and male are a polarity not a duality.... I apologize for my useless lesson anyway.... |
Let's ask the women. Oh wait! There aren't any here. A had a friend over doing some listening one day. We were espousing the various qualities and attributes etc. My sister strolled through the room and exclaimed; "It sounds the same as my car stereo". What to say? She is educated (she's a PA), has money and is very engaging (We are playing pickleball tomorrow), yet the audio is completely lost on her. That's why there's only one chair in my sweet spot. Joe |
I've been in the same home for 30 years now. Every couple years we have the septic tank pumped. Always without fail it is done by a man. Never once has a woman come out. At least with audio there are some women who are into it. Septic tank pumping, not a single one. There's your market. What can you do to get more women interested in a career pumping septic tanks? Get on it! |
Treat a female with respect...not like she's simply clueless about everything. If she's a music lover, ask her what she likes in and about music. Ask her if aesthetics are important if the system is going to be living in her common areas of a home. Seek out her music for her. Present something new that she might like based her preferences. Sometimes pull out a great recording that will simply knock her socks off sonically. Ask what she's comfortable spending on components...leave the high cables out of it. Show her some good quality equipment that will be reasonably reliable. Does she have a record collection she's been storing for future enjoyment? Or does she prefer the ease of digital formats? For mobile listening with a phone, suggest some great noise cancelling earbuds, like those from Jabra. Does she work out? Need water proof/ sweatproof, that will accept incoming phone calls with out a hitch, and can even work as a hear-through noise cancelling device that you can leave in the ears? Treat a prospective female customer with respect and patience, and you'll have a longtime repeat customer. Young women are busy these days, as are young men, under 35-40, with young kids...who typically don't have lots of time or patience to assemble a prized music system, and many young families will opt for a home theater system as a gathering centerpiece. Truly highend audio comes a bit later when the responsibilities shift away from raising kids through high school and college...and vintage audio from the 70s is huge right now. It can be a starting point for future high earners. It's what their parents listened to growing up in the Golden Age of Hi-Fi. Women are not dumb...and typically have more acute hearing than men. Female "audiophiles" are a bit more practical about the gear. Performance/value has been my experience...but they need to be able to hear it to justify it. Patience. |
I can’t speak to why there’s a lack of female representation. I ran into an interesting experience, though, in regards to an inlet to my wife having a better understanding about a year ago. She had never been to a brick-and-mortar Hi-Fi store. More attention was provided to her than me which made her a participant in the conversation regarding audio - she naturally garners attention when she walks into a room, but this was different. I think this helped normalize the hobby for her - seeing that I’m not some odd duck amongst our peers/generation (late 30’s/early 40’s). Probably owe that store a beer or two now that I think about it - or better yet a future purchase. Found it interesting nonetheless. |
@toro3 i had a similar experience at my local HiFi dealer in Summer'21 when I went to audition equipment for my return to Hifi after 20 odd years out of the hobby. I couldn't drive at the time, so my partner (soon to be wife😊) had to drive me; I was a little worried, as she had no interest in HiFi, and an extremely casual relationship with music generally, although she knows what she likes, but unlike me doesn't feel the need to go searching for new music/bands/artists. So, I was a little worried my partner would be bored out of her mind, and feel a little out of place in the store staffed by middle aged men, all completely obsessed by the hobby. I need not have worried; the guys in the store were very polite, accommodating, and shared eye contact and directed conversation to us both. Which made my partner feel comfortable from the off. This attentiveness only increased during the auditions (several amps and pairs of speakers); there was one pair of speakers we auditioned, (which I won't name here 😜) very briefly - I sat there politely listening, knowing I couldn't live with these speakers, but out of politeness to the chap helping us, giving them a fair shot. Anyway, my partner, I could sense was becoming fidgety, and then proclaimed out of the blue, "I know I don't really know anything about hifi (with a rye grin), but these (speakers) sound bloody awful" 😂😂😂 The chap helping us started laughing; "I know what you mean, they're not for everyone" My partner; "I'd have to leave him if he brought these home" More laughter 🤣🤣🤣 Following this exchange, I almost became redundant in the proceedings 😂; obviously not wanting to be partly responsible for the break up of a relationship, our demonstrator increased his attentiveness to my partner even more, and sought her approval on subsequent speakers 😂. We spent the majority of the afternoon in the store, but any fears of my partner being bored, or sidelined in a male dominated environment were gratefully quashed; as described, she became a very active participant in the process, which was lovely. We had a really nice afternoon. Big thanks to what is now my regular dealer too, and like you @toro3 , I probably owe them a drink 🍻😄 |
+1 @painter24 great story you shared. @simao I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a master at quilting, decoupage, and needlepoint - so much so that I’ve become quite the rage on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and aol email accounts. |
