Male or Female?

Are you male or female?

  • Male

    Votes: 45 81.8%
  • Female

    Votes: 9 16.4%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 1.8%

  • Total voters
    55

Mick West

Administrator
Staff member
Skepticism seem to tend towards male. But what's the breakdown of currently active members here on Metabunk? Please select your gender in the poll. The individual entries will be anonymous.

Looking at actual registered users, there's 1886 male, 617 female, and 1188 did not choose a gender when registering (which is not the same as "other", just means they did not bother to fill in the form)

A more detailed breakdown of registered users:

Skewed somewhat by the original software I was using, where people were less likely to pick a gender when registering.
 
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With all due respect to the objective spirit of the poll, Mick, it looks like it will end up showing that in general, women are less likely than men to sign up as a member of a semi-public internet forum dedicated to debunking and skepticism. As far as women in general being less skeptical than men - I will assume you haven't had to discuss with wifey how you are (sorry - WE are) going to pay the mortgage and car payments and still afford that brand new pickup truck with the killer sound system.
 
A poll isn't going to tell you "how skeptical" a population group is. All I'm interested here is in how many of the currently participating members are female.

The reason I'm interested is because I went the the skeptical conference The Amazing Meeting, and it seemed to have a 2:1 male:female ratio. There was some discussion about how this was better than previous years, and questions about how it could be improved, or even if it's possible to improve it, as maybe that's just skepticism.

But then, maybe skepticism has stagnated a bit into a male-oriented rut, and some new directions might be good. Can I tailor things to reach a broader audience? Is gender a factor at all there? Is this sexist?
 
A poll isn't going to tell you "how skeptical" a population group is. All I'm interested here is in how many of the currently participating members are female.

The reason I'm interested is because I went the the skeptical conference The Amazing Meeting, and it seemed to have a 2:1 male:female ratio. There was some discussion about how this was better than previous years, and questions about how it could be improved, or even if it's possible to improve it, as maybe that's just skepticism.

But then, maybe skepticism has stagnated a bit into a male-oriented rut, and some new directions might be good. Can I tailor things to reach a broader audience? Is gender a factor at all there? Is this sexist?
I think that, in general, men just tend to be "geekier" than women and more likely to enjoy slightly obsessive hobbies, into which category I would insert spending time debunking stuff on the internet :)
 
Just speculation on my part... but I would imagine that the majority of skeptics have backgrounds in science or engineering, or maybe even law - analytical types. Those fields historically have been male-dominated, though the gap is narrowing. Being active on a board like this is a bit of a time-commitment- something a retired engineer might find interesting. I find it interesting too -- but really don't have much time to put into it. Give the skeptics conference and boards like this another 10-15 years and by then the gender gap will probably have narrowed significantly.
 
A possibly relevant chart:


My degree was in computer science, something that has got more male dominated in recent years.

A lot of debunking is related to Math and Statistics, and the physical sciences. At least the debunking I do is.
 
Being active on a board like this is a bit of a time-commitment- something a retired engineer might find interesting. I find it interesting too -- but really don't have much time to put into it. Give the skeptics conference and boards like this another 10-15 years and by then the gender gap will probably have narrowed significantly.

Yes, there's a distinct "old guy" demographic at the conference. The women tend to be younger. Very few old female skeptics (though there are some).
 
on this site its probably due more to content. planes planes planes building construction military military military building construction isis isis isis planes planes planes.

if you got rid of those "male" topics you'd probably only have 5 active male members as well.

And as far as TAM.. what older woman wants to spend 4 days in the desert in the middle of summer? If they threw it in the mountains of colorado or even NYC with central park and shopping youd probably get more older women attending.
 
on this site its probably due more to content. planes planes planes building construction military military military building construction isis isis isis planes planes planes.

if you got rid of those "male" topics you'd probably only have 5 active male members as well.

And as far as TAM.. what older woman wants to spend 4 days in the desert in the middle of summer? If they threw it in the mountains of colorado or even NYC with central park and shopping youd probably get more older women attending.

Piloting remains a weinerfest. It's been quite a while since women began being employed by airlines and the percentage remains aggressively single digit.

I think it has more to do with the lifestyle though. It's not family friendly.

It is a current topic on our pilot forum. Women are also conspicuously absent from any involvement with our pilot association. Once again I don't know why.
 
Piloting remains a weinerfest. It's been quite a while since women began being employed by airlines and the percentage remains aggressively single digit
i dont know why anyone would want to be a pilot. Maybe in an amelia earhardt type plane would be cool but these new planes.. plus its scary, they are BIG to handle in the air and you got all those lives depending on you.

i think between the 'risk' or 'daredevil' factors.. for instance not alot of women are race car drivers or motocrossers either. and maybe that women often gravitate toward more "social" types of employment. ?
 
I wonder what the gender ratio is for users of Godlike Productions, Infowars, etc
I had the same thought. In perusing through the fevered swamps of the Conspiracy Lowlands, it seems to be mainly men throwing these conspiracy theories out there, with the occasional woman joining in. The ISF appears to have a similar ratio of male/female membership. All in all, Metabunk may just have the best M/F participation rate.
 
I think genetics and hormones need to be taken into account. As a 16yr old I just wanted to go surfing and didn't want a steady boyfriend, never wanted to marry or have kids I just wanted to be free. At 17 next thing I knew I was married and 2 weeks later we planned a pregnancy. I felt my mind had been hijacked it was not part of my plan. I blame it on hormones and the fact my 2 older sisters had babies and I knew it wasn't going to be an easy ride. No complaints about the overriding of my mind by my hormones I have 2 wonderful children and 3 grandchildren. So maybe a lot of women are busy shopping, cooking, cleaning and keeping themselves attractive for their spouses (and themselves) so not much time to think about being sceptical. Now that sounds sexist but women are the ones with wombs and we do have different levels of hormones but we also rock and can achieve anything we set our minds to just as males can. How to make Metabunk more female friendly, I have no idea. I stay here to keep me from going all conspiracy theoried out as I have a tendency to run away with fairies so this keeps my feet on the ground.
 
Are you saying it's female un-friendly?
The idea that women require special accomodation (beyond not being openly misogynistically hostile) seems unnecessarily sexist.
 
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I have 2 wonderful children and 3 grandchildren
thats a good point. statistics show the vast majority of women vaccinate and listen to their pediatricians, or at least refer to them before trying any 'wild idea' (new age health stuff) on their kids or loved ones. which would mean the majority of women are sceptical, but yea theyre just too busy to post about such things.
 
I had the same thought. In perusing through the fevered swamps of the Conspiracy Lowlands, it seems to be mainly men throwing these conspiracy theories out there, with the occasional woman joining in. The ISF appears to have a similar ratio of male/female membership. All in all, Metabunk may just have the best M/F participation rate.

Lot of women on the chemtrails and Jade Helm "issues".
 
Really? You don't find the idea that women are such different creatures that a forum might have to be re-designed to account for those differences incredibly insulting?
No. Most of us are different creatures. (and proud of it :)

Mick was the one asking about it though. I dont think they need special accomodation. Maybe just the more interesting subject matter highlighted better.

Or he needs a FT female actual debunker. Unfortunately debunking the sugar content in Pumpkin Spice Lattes isnt really my thing, so i don't know what "female" debunks women want to read about.


I dont care if Metabunk changes though. It's fine with me the way it is. Except maybe members could help more by finding more bunks and doing debunks (on topics other than chemtrails :) I'm not sure women will ever be an equal ratio, as far as consistent posters long term.

Our members are mostly male, all white, mostly middle aged to elderly, from a wide variety of backgrounds, and include only three or four practicing scientists that I know of

......
ART was founded in the fall of 1991 by Porter Henry and at that time, and even up until January of this year, included several members who seemed to believe in some paranormal phenomena, including psychic abilities and whatever you call it when dreams foretell the future. At this time, as far as I know, all those who believe in such matters have weeded themselves out. The group lost one female member who objected to my accompanying her article on ancient goddess history in our newsletter with another one from a mainstream historical perspective. The group seems somewhat more comfortable with itself now, perhaps as a result of the sorting out process.
http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/cincinnati_skeptics/
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Lot of women on the chemtrails and Jade Helm "issues".

Are you referring to the debunking aspect of those issues, or the proponents who push them onto the public ?

I have to admit, I leave the chemtrails issue here up to people who seem better educated on the matter, and as for the Jade Helm issue, the few forays I made onto conspiracy websites regarding it looked like the same old run of the mill rhetoric being thrown around. In a conscious effort to maintain my mental health by not plunging too deeply into the Jade Helm Conspiracy Lowlands - too much of that sort of thing does have a certain depressing effect on me - I saw no need to explore further. Puttering around the garden and workshop made for a fine alternative to watching Dahboo777 gather video of every exposed piece of military hardware anywhere it could be found.
 
Are you saying it's female un-friendly?
The idea that women require special accomodation (beyond not being openly misogynistically hostile) seems unnecessarily sexist.
that sounds a bit unfriendly :)
Really? You don't find the idea that women are such different creatures that a forum might have to be re-designed to account for those differences incredibly insulting?

It's not about suggesting things need dumbing down for women. It's more about different demographic groups being different. Look at the chart above - women have very different trends in education. Women also have very different interests on average.

Different things appeal more (or less) to different people.

It's a touchy subject though, and misunderstandings flare up
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/gender-differences-and-why-they-dont-matter-so-much/

Several incidents have recently created divisions within the skeptical community. The latest one was over a casual comment Michael Shermer made in an online talk show. He was asked why the gender split in atheism was not 50/50, “as it should be.” He said he thought it probably was 50/50, and suggested that the perception of unequal numbers might be because attending and speaking at atheist conferences was more of “a guy thing.” They might have asked him to explain what he meant. They didn’t. He didn’t mean to say it was encoded in the male DNA. He was simply recognizing a reality of our society: male/female interests and behavior tend to differ due to all sorts of cultural influences. Among other things, women might find it more difficult to attend meetings because of lower incomes and the need to arrange for babysitters. Watching sports on TV with other guys and beer is a guy thing too, but not because it’s hardwired into the male brain. It’s a guy thing because of customs and attitudes in our society. And it certainly doesn’t mean women are less capable or that societal influences can’t be overcome.

Nevertheless, Ophelia Benson assumed Shermer meant:

that women are too stupid to do nontheism. Unbelieving in God is thinky work, and women don’t do thinky, because “that’s a guy thing.”

That’s not what he meant. It’s not fair to judge him by one off-the-cuff remark. His record stands for itself: there is not a hint of sexism in his writings and he has always fully acknowledged women’s intelligence and their ability to think critically.
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The full article by Harriet Hall (one of the best speakers at TAM) is worth reading if the topic stirs something in you.
 
Or he needs a FT female actual debunker. Unfortunately debunking the sugar content in Pumpkin Spice Lattes isnt really my thing, so i don't know what "female" debunks women want to read about.

As you might be referring to, one of the female presenters at TAM (Yvette d'Entremont, aka Science Babe) gave a talk on debunking the sugar content of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Actually it was more about debunking the claims of "Food Babe"' (Vani Hari) claims about PSL, and other things.
http://gawker.com/the-food-babe-blogger-is-full-of-shit-1694902226

Hari's campaign last year against the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte drove me to launch my site (don't fuck with a Bostonian's Pumpkin-Spice Anything). She alleged that the PSL has a "toxic" dose of sugar and two (TWO!!) doses of caramel color level IV in carcinogen class 2b.

The word "toxic" has a meaning, and that is "having the effect of a poison." Anything can be poisonous depending on the dose. Enough water can even be poisonous in the right quantity (and can cause a condition called hyponatremia).

But then, the Food Babe has gone on record to say, " There is just no acceptable level of any chemical to ingest, ever." I wonder if anybody's warned her about good old dihydrogen monoxide?
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The PSL thing is more about framing the discussion in terms people can easily relate to. I don't think it's particularly an M/F thing.
 
I think @deirdre has chosen her avatar for being both brainy and pretty. It's just happened that these qualities were split between the two characters ;)
you do realize the one that isnt pretty is gonna beat you up for saying that. and the one that isnt brainy is gonna beat you up for saying that. right? :p :)
 
I think @deirdre has chosen her avatar for being both brainy and pretty. It's just happened that these qualities were split between the two characters ;)
if you think either of the 2 characters in the pic are brainy you have never seen the show.
The ACTRESSES on the other hand is a totally different matter
 
if you think either of the 2 characters in the pic are brainy you have never seen the show.
The ACTRESSES on the other hand is a totally different matter
You are correct about Edina and Patsy, but my description was based on my impression from many characters played by these actresses (including DF) in many different shows.
 
Are you referring to the debunking aspect of those issues, or the proponents who push them onto the public ?

I have to admit, I leave the chemtrails issue here up to people who seem better educated on the matter, and as for the Jade Helm issue, the few forays I made onto conspiracy websites regarding it looked like the same old run of the mill rhetoric being thrown around. In a conscious effort to maintain my mental health by not plunging too deeply into the Jade Helm Conspiracy Lowlands - too much of that sort of thing does have a certain depressing effect on me - I saw no need to explore further. Puttering around the garden and workshop made for a fine alternative to watching Dahboo777 gather video of every exposed piece of military hardware anywhere it could be found.

I was referring to what American Buffalope said about it being usually men who were throwing conspiracy theories out there. In MY perusing of the Jade Helm and Chemtrails topics, those seem to contain as many women who believe them as men. In the case of the chemtrails, for a while it seemed as if there were more women.
 
Unfortunately debunking the sugar content in Pumpkin Spice Lattes isnt really my thing, so i don't know what "female" debunks women want to read about.

I think there are a lot of women involved with anti vax debunking, at least from my experience on Facebook. It is not something I am involved in, but I have more than a few women FB friends who are involved in it.
 
I think there are a lot of women involved with anti vax debunking, at least from my experience on Facebook. It is not something I am involved in, but I have more than a few women FB friends who are involved in it.
yea i think anything that has to do with kids, the environment, food or new age health are female friendly. But most of those have already been debunked here. I dont really follow womens groups..or even know where to look.. to see what the new bunk coming out is in those topics, - I guess is what i meant more.

and it would never occur to me to debunk sugar in PSLs cause everyone knows they arent literally toxic, or we'd all be poisoned already. I probably see more bunk then i realize, and its so ridiculous it doesnt even register that some people may actually be believing it. I'd need an internet phone with a tweeter feed i guess :)
 
LOL I was going to ask which one is the brainy one.
i actually picked them because 1. they are "looking up" but 2. because they dont fall for conspiracy stuff and bunk. Eddie plays around the edges of new age stuff but they constantly make fun of it. Those are some of the funniest segments i think.

Now i'm laughing thinking about when Edie went to that "we all love you and your chakras" resort place. :)
 
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I work with a partner and if you had to pick a fictional duo we match, I would pick them (my partner would be Patsy). Some of our seller clients have referred to us as Laverne and Shirley or (heaven forbid) Thelma and Louise.
 
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