Male domination

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Tell me about some situations where you have found as a male you've been 'outnumbered' as such by females.

Every job I've had, every pub I've been in, most gigs and clubs I've been to it seems like the ratio has always been 10 men to 1 woman. Some exceptions may been working at the BBC (50/50 ratio) and my university (also around 50/50 in terms of staff, tho the student populous was probably 65/35 in favour of men)

Is this a big deal? I dunno, sometimes I just realise how much more time I spend in the company of men, whether by choice or not, and it strikes me as strange. Often this is to do with my interests but even ILE must be what - a 70/30 ratio at best?

Aren't there supposed to far more women in the world than men? Where'd they go? I'd really notice if I went somewhere and it was mostly just women - but I'm so used to it the other way round.

(this thread probably contains some sort of hidden message)

female posters feel free to 'reverse the polarity' Charmed style.

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

With the exception of London FAPs and my flatmates, the blokes are outnumbered by women in almost every aspect of my life.

I have no problem whatsoever with this.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

The last company I worked for had really pronounced and odd gender divisions in its departments, even though the whole company's ration was about 50/50. It was an ad agency. Account handling was 80 to 90 percent female - the only males were the supervisors. The Creative Department was 90 percent male - and after I left, 100 percent male.

There was no overt hostility, but people who ended up in the "wrong" department for their gender left fairly quickly.

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

where i work has far more women than men (ratio = 45:5 or something)

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:21 (twenty-two years ago)

A couple of the offices I worked in had significant female majorities. Not my current one, because we are broadly programmers, so unsurprisingly there are more men. Worst 'balance' ever was when I did my degree in Computer Science: 91 men, 5 women. The Software Engineering (all programming) and Information Technology (the most engineery one) were even worse, but the Business Information Systems (lots more management-based) degree was two thirds women.

Most of my pre-ILX friends were made through comic books, which is hugely male, so they are mostly men. And ILX still has far more men than women, as do London FAPs (Vicky in particular has pointed this out before). On AIM, counting the people I talk to most and feel closest to, it's much more evenly balanced, I think.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Most of my friends are women. Every office I've worked in has had more women than men. In my university there are more women than men, and Third World studies, which I major in, has only a couple of male students besides me.

No, it's not a big deal, quite the opposite. I often find it disturbing to be in an all-male environment, since I'm not good at "male talk" or "male behaviour".

(Yes, I'm a man myself. No, I'm not gay.)

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I think ILE has a far higher proportion of women than most other Interweb forums, as far as I'm aware.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Though ILE/M are male-dominated, the top of the stats page on both of them has a gurl way out in front.

I have no idea what this means, if anything.

(cross-post with Matt: try Friends/Buffy/Tori Amos discussion groups (or don't))

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Aw, I was hoping this thread was going to be about *kinky* domination ;-)

― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:31 (twenty-two years ago)

my home economics food class - 1 boy (me) loada girls
starting this Job - 1 boy - me - loada girls
my mums home - 1 boy - me - loada girls
my home - 1 boy - me - 1 girl - pinkpanther

― james (james), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:32 (twenty-two years ago)

ILM is still WAAAAAYYYY more male than ILE. I'm only at the top of the statscock by accident.

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:34 (twenty-two years ago)

interesting Tuomas - is this down to your country generally having a significantly larger quantity of females than males then?

several artistic/creative areas remain intrinsically male-dominated - specifically comics, video games, new media, electronic music. advertising, print design, film-making and the music industry seem a bit more balanced at least.

in all creative areas there is no logical reason why there should be a dominance of one gender so when it is apparent i think its down to social conditioning (e.g. comics and video games industries are stereotypically seen as the exclusive domain of nerdy guys)

i guess metropolitan bars and coffee shops are also more balanced, but when it comes to most pubs it still seems there's a stigma of 'this is a place for blokes to come get drunk talk about football' that prohibits a better balance.

the clientele at the club i'll be at tomorrow nigh will be around 80% male, perhaps because there's a certain 'trainspottery' aspect to the night. i don't think there's ever been a female trainspotter (literally) has there?

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:35 (twenty-two years ago)

make that 90-95% male actually...i just remember girls being there and they stand out more as a result of being surrounded by about 10-20 blokes

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Is this where I drop off the fact that I watched this years FA cup final with nine lesbians in Bristol?

Possibly.

The student ration here is about 70:30 in favour of women, though I'm the boss in my office so they can't beat me down. Oh no. I have nae problem with this, nor should I.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:37 (twenty-two years ago)

My relatively brief and surreal stint as a receptionist was in a property management office where I worked with two other women - the accountant and the property manager. The building engineers were all men and they'd strut in and out but most of the time it was just the three of us in the office and it was horrible, for me anyway. I guess I tend to get along better with men than women in general; I spent much of my day plotting my co-workers' deaths. But really it was probably just the fact that I wasn't right for that job and not the gender imbalance; still, this thread is making me think ...

― jewelly (jewelly), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:38 (twenty-two years ago)

this thread is making me think

whew, god for something then.

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

bloody lost vowels

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:51 (twenty-two years ago)

hey, one lost vowel and you are God steve, don't knock it!

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I spent much of my day plotting my co-workers' deaths.

Always a handy approach for the deserving.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I work in HR and the ratio is abt the same as mark s's, if not less male. I'm also 10 years younger than the median age so I'm quite the belle of the ball around here.

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Publishing is full of women, except (no surprise) when you get to the top.

― liz (lizg), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

It's strange; at this place, right now it's 6 female to 10 males. All of the females except one are blonde, and our brunette only joined a week ago. I thought that was quite odd. Up until a month ago, there were only 3 women, fullstop.

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

[several posts deleted]

― Spooner, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:25 (twenty-two years ago)

;)

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Why do I suddenly feel like listening to The Last Resort?

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

When I was 18, I used to work in a warehouse that was predominently male, oh it was terrible! *sigh* Now I work in an office where it is predominently male. *frowns because the males are software developers* I have to say that the homefront provides the best ratio!

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:59 (twenty-two years ago)

in my line, it's about 4:1 :: women:men

in my group of friends it's about even.

online music geeks is much more sad though... too bad.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm one of only 3 men that work on this floor.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:28 (twenty-two years ago)

When I was a public librarian, it was all women; same for when I worked in a private anthropological research library (granted I was one of two women). When I worked in university libraries, the ratio was pretty even. Not sure what that says except that the pay was less shit in the university system.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm one of three full-time male employees at my company. The other two are the CEO and the President. Yay!
My college was about 2/3rds female. The most fun was the Human Sexuality class with about 30 women and 5 men.

― NA. (Nick A.), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:45 (twenty-two years ago)

see here for my current woman-in-a-man's-world job situation. I was the first woman in my company to attain a manager position, which is funny to think about in this day and age.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

i feel destined to exist in a 15-1 ratio forever damnit

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:47 (twenty-two years ago)

also welcome back Kate! I'm sure you could tell us some stories about being a woman in the music biz.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Hiya, Teeny! Heh, yer right, we won't even get into the gender ratios there... Argh!

― kate (kate), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

I hardly ever feel outnumbered by women. I feel outclassed.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:06 (twenty-two years ago)

as a social worker in both small private agencies and county systems: massively outnumbered by women and thankfully so

as a schoolteacher in NYC: slightly outnumbered. it was cool to be the 'young guy teacher' and therefore be the one to talk to when someone had a problem; it sucked when we hired some younger dude because then I was automatically useless

working in publishing and the education industry: sort of outnumbered, and again glad of it

― Neudonym, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:13 (twenty-two years ago)

An office needs a good balance of men and women. Too many men, and the place turns into a bachelor party, with lots of backslapping and football talk and other horrifying bullshit. Too many women, and the jealous manipulation begins.

Actually, I think an office with too many women is worse. Women are horrible to each other.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Women are horrible to each other.

Yeah, they can be. (Men can too, obviously, they just do it differently.) I spent a semester on an exchange program in Manchester, and rented a house with my girlfriend and four other students on the program -- all of whom happened to be female. Living in a house full of women was interesting. In general, as the only male (and as an attached male -- I was completely "safe") I got along with all of them. Multiple schisms developed between different individuals and sets of the women, but I was mostly spared the aggravation. (The only one I ever fought with, naturally, was my girlfriend.) My workplaces have always been fairly well mixed -- the greatest imbalance, typically, was at an alt-weekly, which was like 75 percent white guys. The office I work in right now is about evenly balanced between women and men, but in supervisory roles, women outnumber men 2:1. It's a very nice place to work.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Things are kinda schizo here, grad humanities program: 8:1 women, tech assistant job: no women except me. Once again I realize through subtle signs & general office ambiance that even if you try, you just can't join the boys' club.. 'cause yr spending so much bloody time fighting low expectations. .

― daria g (daria g), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Nursing is 95% female, but my agency has a 45(male)/50(female) gender mix. Go figure.

Actually, I think an office with too many women is worse. Women are horrible to each other.

*nods*

You should see some of the rows that slash writers (a genre that is 99% female) get into.

Aw, I was hoping this thread was going to be about *kinky* domination ;-)

Me too. :-)

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

My university: 2/3rds women
My last job: 3/4ths women
This job: 3/4ths women
My friends: 3/4ths women

I know 3 men.

― Mandee, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 21:00 (twenty-two years ago)

By the power of calculation I therefore know that Mandee knows at most 33 women.

― RickyT (RickyT), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 22:06 (twenty-two years ago)

about 50-50 m-w at the Weekly, editorial much more male, advertising more female, art/layout about even. I'm always happy to be in mostly-female surroundings, though, and no I don't mean it that way you perv(s).

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

(well OK I usually do but not right now)

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

my workplace has 11 women and 3 men, I believe.

when I was 15 I was at a summer program at columbia university which was about 100 girls to 15 boys. it was fun.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 3 July 2003 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I am probably more horrible to men than to other women. But this could be because there aren't enough women in this (male dominated) environment for the full horror to be unleashed

― isadora (isadora), Thursday, 3 July 2003 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Most of my professional work situations have involved projects where I was the only female in the room (the space program is still fairly white and male and middle-aged). I never felt out of place or too odd - in fact, I kind of liked the situation - there's an odd power thing that goes on when there's a female in that all-male atmosphere - although it may be an old boys arrangement, the female tends to throw them for a loop - they don't know how to behave or what to say - and that's a power rush, for me - I like it that I make them uncomfortable.

It's odd - in the leather community I tend to gravitate toward the all-female gatherings - I like that feeling of women being together and being intimate and sharing thoughts and play ideas and techniques ... so different when there is a male in the midst.

There really are different energies or auras or atmospheres depending on the gender composition of groups (and of the situations, too, of course) - and I don't think that one is better than the other, just different and fun and each has its place.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 3 July 2003 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Tell me about some situations where you have found as a male you've been 'outnumbered' as such by females.

Every day I go to an art class. I think the lowest female-to-male ratio has been 5:1. In my photography classes, it runs close to 10:1.

This should really be a marketing tool for art departments everywhere.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 3 July 2003 02:56 (twenty-two years ago)

You'll note that I have resisted discussing threesomes with two women on this thread. Do I get credit for that?

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 3 July 2003 11:52 (twenty-two years ago)

you did. until now;)

― gareth (gareth), Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Not any more ;)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

haha xpost

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

women are in the minority here.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i want to be a minority among that minority

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 3 July 2003 12:21 (twenty-two years ago)

damn. I thought so. But the thread starts "Tell me about some situations where you have found as a male you've been 'outnumbered' as such by females", and I could hardly avoid the thought...

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 3 July 2003 16:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't read threads. i just post to them.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 3 July 2003 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

You are not alone.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 3 July 2003 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

interesting Tuomas - is this down to your country generally having a significantly larger quantity of females than males then?

Well, Finland has for a long time been a strong supporter of gender equality (Finland was the second country in the world to grant the right to vote fo women). We have such mechanisms as a free municipal child-care for everyone, child benefit for everyone, a secured right to get your former job back after you return from your maternity leave etc. Because of these mechanisms and the general prevalent attitudes, the ratio between working men and working women is almost 50:50. Most women return to full-time work (part-time jobs are somewhat rare) after 1-2 years of maternity leave, and housewives are virtually an unknownw phenomena. Since the at least the eighties women have also had higher education ratings than men, and nowadays most colleges and universities are female-dominated.

Oh, and for a short time

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 4 July 2003 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

SHUT UP TUOMAS AND DO THE WASHING UP

― Sam (chirombo), Friday, 4 July 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Sorry, carry on.

― Sam (chirombo), Friday, 4 July 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

..we were the first and only country in the world to have a female president and a female prime minister at the same time. But the prime minister had to resign recently, because of political scandal, and her replacement was a man. That's okay, I didn't like her anyway.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 4 July 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

B-b-but isn't that sexist?

― Pete (Pete), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey just cos we don't HAVE a President

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I have never worked for a man. Typically, male to female ratio has been 1:5 or so. That's TV for you.

― Mark C (Mark C), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Incidentally, if going into toilets with handbags is anything to go by, the female menstrual synchronisation is well and truly happening in this office.

― Mark C (Mark C), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Surely there are many other reasons for going into the toilet with your handbag - adjusting your makeup and hair, for example.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 4 July 2003 13:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Synchronised hairbrushing features heavily in our office politics, indeed!

― kate (kate), Friday, 4 July 2003 13:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Isn't that what synchronised swimming teams do after they get out of the pool?

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 4 July 2003 13:12 (twenty-two years ago)

It's a little known fact that most offices are actually powered by the static electricity generated by synchronised hair brushing. Who says women don't run the world?

― Archel (Archel), Friday, 4 July 2003 13:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Every time I brush my hair, my colleague's monitor crackles. So who knows what I'm doing to the server? Mwah hah hah!

― kate (kate), Friday, 4 July 2003 13:29 (twenty-two years ago)

at the university i study at, the undergrad ratio is about 55:45 women to men. however, you see the imbalances higher up in the echelons, its total glass ceiling bullshit. my supervisor noted she is one of TWO female HODS in the entire university, and there are only three female professors (she isn't one of them, she's as Ass Prof.).

― lucy lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 5 July 2003 00:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I wanted to go to Sarah Lawrence College (or is it University?) - 2:1 F/M ratio.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Saturday, 5 July 2003 01:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Same at our workplace, there are far more women working there than men but the kitchen and floor managers (me and five others) are all men. I think it's largely because the women have too much sense to go career in this sphere, tho'.
(due to x-post) ha Milo my uni was 8:1 women to men. It was ace.

― Matt (Matt), Saturday, 5 July 2003 01:05 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

about 25:1 male to female ratio in new workplace (sigh)

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 20 October 2003 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)

It's prob the other way round here, not that you would at all!

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Monday, 20 October 2003 12:56 (twenty-one years ago)

My office now - 1 male to 8 women.

It's possibly the office I've liked working in the most, simply due to attitude, etc. I don't know if these two things are connected.

― kate (kate), Monday, 20 October 2003 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)

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