Are posters here HAPPIER having few men in SS Forums?

[Joel_BC]

I renamed this thread because I wonder if this forum, good as it is, has gotten into a rut. ??

I know we have some men - and they've been making some good contributions. Also, don't get the notion that I, being a guy, don't appreciate what women are posting on SS. Useful things, and the women here need and deserve a place to communicate.

Having said that, I'll mention that there are certain areas of self-sufficient living that are generally speaking the domain of the guys. Not always, but more usually. Examples? Maintaining the car, truck, rototiller, or lawn mower. Re-roofing the house. Building an addition. Felling trees and bucking firewood. Putting in a homesite water system.

This is the liberated age of post-feminism, and some women are quite involved and adept in these areas.

Still, how do we bring more fellas here?

 

[Beekissed]

As one of the first to transgress in that area, I'll be the one to say that a forum comprised and active mainly on individual journals doesn't seem to put enough out there on the web engines for specific topics and, if it does, coming here to find discussions on just those topics are problematic as there are no threads on just those things....they are buried in our journals.

I think people would have to start opening threads on topics that interest men and post in them often to draw them in off the net when they search for information on these things...there has to be a lot of content. And it's also one of those things where it takes money to make money sort of things, but I think men are more comfortable surfing where men have gone before...or are presently posting/chatting. Sort of like women all going to the restroom together...it just happens that way but there's something that drives it.

Joel does a great job on his own but he's a lonely soldier, applying the things he learns elsewhere and posting about it here.

And, lastly, men interested in homesteading and SS are usually not those interested in women's drama, for the most part. That's one reason I stopped posting here because it couldn't be done without some argument arising or someone baiting for an argument, when a person would just love to come and talk about SS stuff without all the drama. Just talk, post, learn and do it all over again the next day without any confrontations going on...it gets old. And I'm a woman, so imagine how old that gets to a man.

I know that's not what folks want to hear but it's how I see it from the outside looking in. If we could get it back to how it was at the beginning, with a lot of topics and people really wanting to post in them, learn about them, and apply them, I think it would attract more people of the same ilk...those wanting to learn together about the more versatile aspects of homesteading and not so much about recipes or family happenings.

 

[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)?

 

[mckoyboy92]

Well I am new and have yet to post anything, this being my first, but this site managed to get my attention. Hopefully more like minded men will do the same.

 

[evergreen16]

I'm not exactly "happier" with more women than men. In real life, I tend to stick with men more than women. Granted, most of the women I know think I'm just plum nuts... Some guys think it's cool that a woman can (and actually enjoys) butchering chickens, hunting, canning, farm-type stuff, etc. The guys at Tractor Supply always seem to get a kick out of me hoofing around feed bags and such (err, I haven't since the ducks got eaten, but will be here again soon). I'm not afraid to get down and dirty with the guys, but I've found that a lot of men think pretty low of women on certain things... Try getting a guy to show you how to fix your car... IMPOSSIBLE! They would rather just do it themselves and get a neighbor to help, than to let you help and learn. At least, that has been my experience. Guys seem to think that women are incapable of doing "man things". Even in fishing, I've noticed that a lot of burly guys come tromping up and try to take over my fishing ("well, you SHOULD be using this" "who strung your line?" "Don't you have a man to do this for you?")... I get highly offended. Sure, once in awhile you'll learn something from one of them, but for the most part, I've noticed that when these guys come strutting their stuff, I usually end up catching more (and bigger) fish than they do! I'm NOT impressed by the manly bit. I like having the boyfriend around... He does laundry, washes dishes, but can carry stuff when I'm not feeling up to it (back hurts, or if I'm just being lazy and don't feel like doing it, lol).

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. It can be hard getting men to talk, especially to a group mostly dominated by women...

I am actually one of those guys that think it is cool a woman can or enjoys butchering chickens. I'm attracted to chicken ladies that know how to raise and butcher chickens for food. I like the image of a woman in a small apron spreading chicken food among chickens. There seems to be so many ladies that butcher their own chickens. But I have never seen it. There aren't even any pictures. Are there any women that really enjoy butchering chickens?

 

[Mini Horses]

Often there is no indication of man/woman in the id shown. For me, I like a man's opinion as well as another woman's. I agree that some men do not like to reply in writing but, would talk a while in a face to face. So, the media may be part of why some don't participate.

AND -- I can butcher chickens but, can't say I enjoy it. Let's face it, it's a messy job! So anticipation is not good. Once it's going I just want to get it done! You want to see it? We can sure use help -- most of us -- come on down! I'll be doing the deed in 2-3 months....

 

[BarredBuff]

IMO, I think mainly they are partcipating just not on forums perhaps............

 

[Joel_BC]

IMO, I think mainly they are partcipating just not on forums perhaps............

Oh, to be sure! I wouldn't assume anything else.

If you mean by "participating" that they are doing the things required to live the SS lifestyle, yes of course. I'm an example, myself... I was living a pretty self-reliant, outdoorsy lifestyle for over 20 years before I sampled my first on-line forum.

But I didn't mean that. I meant how do we interest them in posting here.

 

[lighthawk]

Don't worry as things continue to worsen they will find us.
I began talking to a good many of my buddies five or six years ago about prepping and becoming more self-sufficient. They all looked at me like I had a third eye. Many still do. They just shake their heads, roll their eyes and change the subject. Now that I am well set up and seeing results some of them are asking questions. There is only one person out of all the men I know that paid close attention and started preparing. It took him two years to convince his wife that while she is shopping, if they need one, Buy 2 or 4. What finally got her on board was proving to her it would not be cheaper next week.
I'm close to retirement as are many of my friends. When I ask them how they would get by without their pension or social security they refuse to consider that it might possibly not be there down the road.
I brew wine and hard cider every year and rarely drink it just because I see it as a good item to barter with down the road. ( besides I prefer an adult beverage made with hops and barley and I can still afford it ) Same with ammunition (not that I make it) I have enough put away to last me two lifetimes because down the road it could be very difficult to buy. I harvest fresh fruit, rhubarb, asparagus and grapes, Grow more vegtables than I can use and the chickens provide so many eggs that sometimes I boil, mash, and feed them back to the chickens, shells and all.
Most of my neighbors take their trash to the street weekly and the containers are overflowing. I had trash picked up once in July. Paper all gets burned. Compost, recycle, reuse and repurpose for everything else has become a way of life.
My next project will be a solar dehydrator as I am running out of freezer space and closet space for canned goods.
The men who are here know full well what we are facing. The men who are not here will figure it out. They just don't want to stop and ask directions.

 

[Toulle]

I joined this forum a few months back, and other than you and I there are a few other guys that drift in and out. Most of them bailed fairly recently when some things went on. I never knew or wanted to know the details of what all went on, it seemed to be a lot of "she said" type of stuff.
The Q, I think, isn't so much in getting them involved here as in keeping them around.

My own participation here is a bit sporadic, and likely to only get more so as time goes by.

Back in the past, when there was a family farm and my family did get together, all the men gathered on the porch to drink beer, smoke and talk about man-stuff while all the women gathered in the kitchen to smoke drink coffee and talk about women-stuff. Whenever a man went into the kitchen, say to get refills, he always felt rather awkward and out of place in that room full of women. I think lots of men feel the same way here.

Or, to be more blunt, a bit less "girl-world" politics would go a long way towards keeping the menfolk around.