Where have they gone?

[dicko]

This article from HBT http://www.homebrewtalk.com/brewer-interview-melana-di-domenico-spalding.html
has prompted me to ask the question of AHB.

Do we have any current women brewers on here?

I know that there has been a few in the past but they appear to have gone or moved on, or maybe put off by the shenanigans on here before the clean up.

The above article indicates that some women on that forum offer some great contributions to brewing and cooking.
It would be great to have a similar input on AHB

 

[Yob]

There are a few I know of, regulars like.

 

[Bribie G]

I'd guess the "old" forum with the constant bikini girl pin ups from the likes of Chappo (fine lad that he is), the porkspins and the deification of goat goddesses would have put off many of whatever female members we had.

Funnily enough another forum that I occasionally visit, to do with curry, is mostly male as well despite being a cooking forum where you'd expect a bigger female presence.

Other forums that I visit to do with gardening and nutrition seem to be fairly equally balanced.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Considering, historically, women were the ones that brewed the beer my father tells me that his grandmother made the beer and the wines, elderberry, elderflower, parsnip, rhubarb, nettle etc. But now it does seem to be a man's domain, probably due to the spare time on our hands as opposed to decades ago when work constituted of a six day week.
Gardening and cooking I can understand a good mix of both sexes being involved, though, and I am not being sexist I do think in a lot of cases a man would be a better cook, we do seem to research more into whatever we do.

 

[Bribie G]

Tech forums such as DTV forum seem to be almost exclusively male as well, also motoring forums.

O.T.... took my female friend round the car yards last year ... she sat in a Hyundai Elantra that ticked all the boxes for size, price range, repairability, running costs etc, it was black. Didn't like it .. not comfortable.. controls all in the wrong place. Over the road she sat in another car ... "Wow, I love this, it's got me written all over it... ". She still gets a thrill every morning when she looks into the garage. Hyundai Elantra, same year and model as the black one. It's white.

 

[Spiesy]

same year and model as the black one. It's white.

Lol

 

[manticle]

Chicks are funny.

 

[manticle]

and I am not being sexist I do think in a lot of cases a man would be a better cook, we do seem to research more into whatever we do.

Saying 'I'm not being sexist' prior to making a comment that is exactly a sexist one, doesn't prevent it being so.

'I'm not sexist but I reckon blokes are better' is the gist.

It's a belief or assumption about a large group based on nothing solid.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Saying 'I'm not being sexist' prior to making a comment that is exactly a sexist one, doesn't prevent it being so.

'I'm not sexist but I reckon blokes are better' is the gist.

It's a belief or assumption about a large group based on nothing solid.

For some people it's a problem but not for me, there is lots of things a man can do better and vice versa, the statement of 'not being sexist' is for those who do have a problem.

 

[Killer Brew]

Will tread carefully here as I'm new and don't want to put anyone offside but will provide some criticism that is hopefully constructive.

Perhaps the issue of attracting more female forum contributors isn't one of it being too "male orientated" but one of it being not overly welcome to new members especially those with little experience. Possibly there are some who peruse the forums but don't feel confident enough to join in.

Now don't get me wrong as there are some great resources on here with stickies, old threads etc however if you look at response rates to those introducing themselves or asking questions in Kits and Extracts it is quite low and seems to be left to a few helpul individuals (eg. Yob, Manticle, BribieG). In fact in one of my first posts asking for help I got smashed by one experienced poster.

As a point of comparison a few years back I got into kayak fishing (with a similar degree of knowledge as I brought to brewing ie bugger all). Joined a popular forum and from the outset was bombarded with guidance from experienced members (eg. PM's from locals wanting to take me out, proactive approaches with key safety info etc.) Their patience with newbies seemed endless and if it was ever noted that the response rates to introductory posts / beginner questions had dropped off then the Mods provided a prompting to lift it back up. They knew that today's newbies often go on to be tomorrow's contributors and replenish the population to keep a healthy forum so are worth investing the time and effort into. There were also a reasonable number of women participating there. Coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Anyhow, the above is provided in good faith as perhaps food for thought. Peace out.

 

[Matplat]

Saying 'I'm not being sexist' prior to making a comment that is exactly a sexist one, doesn't prevent it being so.

'I'm not sexist but I reckon blokes are better' is the gist.

It's a belief or assumption about a large group based on nothing solid.

Not sure I agree with you there Manticle, you can generalise, based on observations you have made along the path of life, while also accepting that your generalisation is just that, and that it is entirely possible for exceptions to your rule to exist.

It would be sexist to say that it is impossible for any good female cooks to exist due to there gender.

Anyway... Not sure I agree with the original comment in the first place!

 

[Matplat]

Will tread carefully here as I'm new and don't want to put anyone offside but will provide some criticism that is hopefully constructive.

Perhaps the issue of attracting more female forum contributors isn't one of it being too "male orientated" but one of it being not overly welcome to new members especially those with little experience. Possibly there are some who peruse the forums but don't feel confident enough to join in.

Now don't get me wrong as there are some great resources on here with stickies, old threads etc however if you look at response rates to those introducing themselves or asking questions in Kits and Extracts it is quite low and seems to be left to a few helpul individuals (eg. Yob, Manticle, BribieG). In fact in one of my first posts asking for help I got smashed by one experienced poster.

As a point of comparison a few years back I got into kayak fishing (with a similar degree of knowledge as I brought to brewing ie bugger all). Joined a popular forum and from the outset was bombarded with guidance from experienced members (eg. PM's from locals wanting to take me out, proactive approaches with key safety info etc.) Their patience with newbies seemed endless and if it was ever noted that the response rates to introductory posts / beginner questions had dropped off then the Mods provided a prompting to lift it back up. They knew that today's newbies often go on to be tomorrow's contributors and replenish the population to keep a healthy forum so are worth investing the time and effort into. There were also a reasonable number of women participating there. Coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Anyhow, the above is provided in good faith as perhaps food for thought. Peace out.

Interesting that you felt like that Killer, I have had quite the opposite experience! Although perhaps that is because of what we each have for comparison.

The last forum I joined was a vehicle related forum, and in my first post was reprimanded by the moderator because I hadn't posted in the right section (although it could have applied to either) and then again because a post was slightly off (but still related to) the original post. I won't be going back there for sure...

By comparison, here I have had several 'welcome on board' replies and encouraging useful posts etc.

Your point still stands though, if you have felt that way, then it is entirely possible that others have also....

Cheers, Matt

 

[droid]

When I sold cars we'd have a morning meeting every morning and the manager would say " now don't take this personally but yesterday when you let that guy walk, that was some of the dumbest blah blah blah" you get the drift - the "don't take it personally" bit allowed them to abuse you straight after, well, in their minds it did

anyway my mrs researches the hell out of anything, she knew more about the new Jeep Wrangler on the showroom floor than I did (I was the sales guy)

It would nice to have more women here but didn't kate the marshian get half propositioned in her post about a brew buddy, it's not hard to see why maybe quite a few prefer to lurk

What say yee ladies ?

 

[WitWonder]

Perhaps the issue of attracting more female forum contributors isn't one of it being too "male orientated" but one of it being not overly welcome to new members especially those with little experience. Possibly there are some who peruse the forums but don't feel confident enough to join in.

Now don't get me wrong as there are some great resources on here with stickies, old threads etc however if you look at response rates to those introducing themselves or asking questions in Kits and Extracts it is quite low and seems to be left to a few helpul individuals (eg. Yob, Manticle, BribieG). In fact in one of my first posts asking for help I got smashed by one experienced poster.

The issue is often related to new members who post questions that have been answered a thousand times before ("my airlock isn't bubbling") and who have quite obviously never heard of the search function which, in this internet age, is somehow almost impossible to imagine. You'd get the same reaction on any other forum, it isn't peculiar to this one. Experienced posters either can't be bothered responding while some, perhaps on an off day, will write something that they probably wouldn't normally.

 

[Phoney]

Saying 'I'm not being sexist' prior to making a comment that is exactly a sexist one, doesn't prevent it being so.

'I'm not sexist but I reckon blokes are better' is the gist.

It's a belief or assumption about a large group based on nothing solid.

I agree with you that the comment was sexist, but take a look at this list for example. Mostly guys names. Though perhaps there is a glass ceiling for female chefs as there supposedly is in the top end of the corporate world?

 

[dent]

From what I understand, women have learned to be reluctant to expose their existence in general on forums, as they often subsequently receive a great deal of unsolicited attention, dick pics, criticism, etc from a variety of socially retarded men as a result.

Edit: shit, there aren't even any in this thread and it has already started.

 

[Bridges]

Does it matter what sex the person on the other end of the keyboard is? What set of genitalia you own doesn't make you a better brewer or cook. We get great input from all sorts of people on all sorts of subjects. I don't mind who is helping me out when I ask a question as long as the answers are helpful, I don't care if you are male female or some where in between.

Or Cocko...

 

[Black n Tan]

We need more female brewers and members on this forum. But sexist avatars, comments and pictures aren't helping the cause. I think this forum may be better than many but we have some way to go. Sometimes the members forget that it is an all male forum; not that would be an excuse to post demeaning images or comments. Sometimes I feel it necessary to close my laptops in front of my wife and children because of the images posted. And that's when I realise this just isn't right and wonder how the female members would feel. The mods should police this more tightly, but unfortunately sometimes they are part of it. For instance when having issues posting images on the forum a moderator stepped in to post a scantily clad woman to show me it works. If the moderator aren't leading by example, you can't expect the members to be any better. I know most members won't agree with me but it has been getting up my nose for sometime. I want more for my daughters, so I should speak up more often!

 

[Phoney]

Just out of interest how many women are in your clubs? I think ISB only have a couple.

 

[droid]

@blackntan re speak up/defend ~ I agree yes you should, especially as they grow. They will look for a partner that is like their Dad. Tough gig on a brew forum tho.