Are posters here HAPPIER having few men in SS Forums?

[Avalon1984]

After reading that, I think it would be great if you started and maintained such threads that would attract a more male following, much like Joel has done.

I know it's a slow start without much participation but everything is....when this forum began it was all a slow start. I was among the first and we basically had to start throwing topics out there to see if anyone bit on them...if they did, wahoo! If they didn't, well, the subject just died. Eventually we started seeing more people with more varied interests.

More guys participating means more guys participating, if you know what I mean. Start a thread about archery, trucks, wood working~us gals will try to chime in and maybe even their husbands will finally take an interest in their forum interaction as well.

We should definetely start one on trucks, I LOVE trucks! Bring on those pick ups and semi rigs!!!

 

[Bettacreek]

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...

 

[Beekissed]

Yep...on some of the other forums I use a guy's name as my screen name, particularly on those dominated by men. It is pretty much the only way they will acknowledge that you may know something about livestock, gardening, construction, farming in general, homesteading, using tools, killing animals, etc.

 

[Avalon1984]

That is so true. I am a fortunate one, for in my household I am the driving SS force and my husband is following my footsteps there. He tried himself on working the bee hive the other day, I was so proud of him. Other than that we learn a lot from each other. He knows how buildings need to be built. I know how to handle and train the horses, all about breeding and birthing, butchering chickens, etc. He is great with guns and knows a lot about mechanics and electronics. He doesnt have the time to participate in a forum and is more the face to face guy, otherwise he would have tons of fun out here.

 

[Bettacreek]

The fishing bit might be partly my fault. My line is old (hasn't been changed in two years), but it WORKS. I've never had my line snap, so until that happens, I'm not putting new line on it... Not because I can't (or because I don't have a man to do it), but because I don't want to pay $10 for the line... If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Another thing that might throw people off is that I almost always wear a skirt when fishing. Just a personal preference... If shorts get wet, they rub your inner thighs raw, and since I LIKE getting into the water, and refuse to wear waders, skirts are just my best friend while fishing (I wear skirts for just about everything actually, but that's my excuse for fishing, lol). George is older... A lot older. As in 40 years older. But, coming from that generation, he knows a lot. He knows more about gardening than I do (which, admittedly, I don't know a whole lot, but he's like a genius with a garden). He has good money, so he tends to spend money instead of just doing it himself on some things (vehicles), but he also fixes a lot of stuff himself, like when the washer was leaking water, he fixed it instead of just buying a new one.
Some things, I'm working with him on... Like when I brought blue eggs from the auction and put them in the fridge, he refused to eat them. BUT, he is eating the new brown eggs I brought home yesterday, and he actually chose them over the store bought eggs in the fridge. That put a huge smile on my face, lol. He's also the one who bought the 30.06 for me for xmas, plus bought everything I needed for it (ammo, targets, cleaning kit, etc) and even got us into the prison's range to get it sighted in. He bought his fishing license to go fishing with me as well. That was a learning curve for him, since it had been quite a few years, plus he had never used an open reel rod. But, for the most part, he lets me be independant... That's what I like about him... He's helpful when I need him, but not overbearing when I try to do stuff. Ex husband wouldn't ever do anything, so I played the rule of husband and wife in that relationship. The next one, he wouldn't let me do ANYTHING! Even gutting a deer, he kept trying to take over, and his brother would actually defend me and tell him to back off and let me do it (same with power tools). So, a nice even mix in a man is nice.

 

[Avalon1984]

The fishing bit might be partly my fault. My line is old (hasn't been changed in two years), but it WORKS. I've never had my line snap, so until that happens, I'm not putting new line on it... Not because I can't (or because I don't have a man to do it), but because I don't want to pay $10 for the line... If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Another thing that might throw people off is that I almost always wear a skirt when fishing. Just a personal preference... If shorts get wet, they rub your inner thighs raw, and since I LIKE getting into the water, and refuse to wear waders, skirts are just my best friend while fishing (I wear skirts for just about everything actually, but that's my excuse for fishing, lol). George is older... A lot older. As in 40 years older. But, coming from that generation, he knows a lot. He knows more about gardening than I do (which, admittedly, I don't know a whole lot, but he's like a genius with a garden). He has good money, so he tends to spend money instead of just doing it himself on some things (vehicles), but he also fixes a lot of stuff himself, like when the washer was leaking water, he fixed it instead of just buying a new one.
Some things, I'm working with him on... Like when I brought blue eggs from the auction and put them in the fridge, he refused to eat them. BUT, he is eating the new brown eggs I brought home yesterday, and he actually chose them over the store bought eggs in the fridge. That put a huge smile on my face, lol. He's also the one who bought the 30.06 for me for xmas, plus bought everything I needed for it (ammo, targets, cleaning kit, etc) and even got us into the prison's range to get it sighted in. He bought his fishing license to go fishing with me as well. That was a learning curve for him, since it had been quite a few years, plus he had never used an open reel rod. But, for the most part, he lets me be independant... That's what I like about him... He's helpful when I need him, but not overbearing when I try to do stuff. Ex husband wouldn't ever do anything, so I played the rule of husband and wife in that relationship. The next one, he wouldn't let me do ANYTHING! Even gutting a deer, he kept trying to take over, and his brother would actually defend me and tell him to back off and let me do it (same with power tools). So, a nice even mix in a man is nice.

I hear you! My hubby taught me to fish but leaves me to what I want to do. I don't spend enough time doing it so I just bought me a cheap rod and reel and I have caught all kinds of bass, sunfish and other stuff with it. I just return them when I am done (much to my dads dismay when he saw what size bass I was reeling in) but it is still a lot of fun. My husband helped with processing chickens once or twice and him, just like me, try to avoid it unless it is needed.

 

[Bettacreek]

Lol. Yup, I have a $20 rod, a $15 rod and the boys have two $10 rods. I buy cheap hooks, but when I need to redo my line, I buy the more expensive stuff, so that it lasts a little longer!

 

[Avalon1984]

Lol. Yup, I have a $20 rod, a $15 rod and the boys have two $10 rods. I buy cheap hooks, but when I need to redo my line, I buy the more expensive stuff, so that it lasts a little longer!

That is my idea too. I try to start out with the bare minimum for a new hobby and if I really like it, then I invest.

 

[SSDreamin]

I feel a good point was made by Bettacreek: Most men hate to follow directions! It is pertinent to this discussion though. I enjoy being on here because I have not only learned a lot, but can pick peoples brains as needed and figure out where I'm going wrong. A man, in my experience, is far less apt to ask for ideas to solve a problem. Several times since I have been on here, my husband has asked me if I happened to have gone on here and asked somebody how to figure out such & such. HE never would, but I can and then report back to him HE, if left to his own devices, would take stabs in the dark until frustration made him quit. I think, if there were a way to track the gender of those who 'lurk', there would be a surprising number of males. They search the archives, find info on what interests them, and move on. No need to sign up or interact. If we continue to follow Joel's lead, and do as Bee suggested, and add more threads of interest to the male of the species D ), we may or may not increase the male membership, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts the male 'lurker' quotient would jump

Bettacreek and Avalon: The first couple years of my marriage, DH and I were a bit at odds, so to speak. One day, he just came out with it; he said I should handle everything IN the house, except for the HVAC and plumbing, of-course, and HE'D handle everything OUTSIDE - it was 'the husbands job, after all'. I told him he had two choices after that statement: Start shopping for a really good lawyer, or wipe that dainty little wife in the kitchen image right out of his head! I had five brothers, grew up on a farm where chores could care less if you were male or female, and had spent quite a while as a single parent, doing everything for myself, before I married DH. Once he realized that the extremely independent woman he had loved enough to marry wasn't going to magically transform into June Cleaver, things got much better! We are NOT a husband and a wife, we are a team, and things go so much smoother now that he gets it Plus, I've learned how to do some really cool stuff by being his laborer on projects!

 

[Bettacreek]

LOL! The other major was bragging me up at the xmas party... Telling everyone how I could do ANYTHING! He's like "She makes soaps and candles, she can butcher animals, she hunts, fishes, cleans..." And that's where I stopped him. I had to make sure everyone was well aware that cleaning wasn't "my thing". I let it sit until the next day when I'm so bored that it's the only thing I have left to do... I HATE cleaning. I've often thought that maybe I would've had better luck if I had been born a male a generation or two ago... Then I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning, but could do all the cool "guy" stuff without having to do the crappy cleaning! Lol. I can do just about anything else, but that's one thing I DESPISE! One guy I dated was telling me about how his ex-wife kept her house so clean you could eat off of the floors... I proceeded to tell him that cleaning was the only thing she could do, besides sleep with other men... She never worked a day in her life (mid-thirties), doesn't do anything with her kids, nothing, she just knows how to clean... OF COURSE she can keep a clean house, because that's all she does!!!