Why do you think photography is such a male-dominated hobby/profession?

[niuniu]

Most of the photographers I know or have met are female. By 'photographer' in this context, I mean anyone I know who has paid out for a DSLR or had their photo mass-produced in print. That's about 20 or so people.

However, the straight male ones in my experience, while still nice people, are generally a bit more arrogant about it, and it seems to form a larger part in their self definition of the identity they choose to project.

Female: Hi, I'm a photographer. Would you mind sitting over there please?

Straight male: Hi, Ah am teh PHOTOGRAPHER. This iz my GEAR. It is *cool*. Let's have you over here plehze.

Of course I grossly exaggerate

I lived in London too for 4 years. Our Law department was right beside the Art department, so we had to mix. You're not exaggerating that much

 

[Ish]

You and your buddy are genuinely angsty is all.

Absolutely no angst intended in the question. Just curious and wanted to explore. There have been some good answers. I think the people that differentiated between the gear-orientated magazines and those who enjoy taking photographs have hit the nail on the head.

However, the straight male ones in my experience, while still nice people, are generally a bit more arrogant about it, and it seems to form a larger part in their self definition of the identity they choose to project.

Female: Hi, I'm a photographer. Would you mind sitting over there please?

Straight male: Hi, Ah am teh PHOTOGRAPHER. This iz my GEAR. It is *cool*. Let's have you over here plehze.

Of course I grossly exaggerate

Who cares if you exaggerate when the result is that funny!

 

[niuniu]

Absolutely no angst intended in the question. Just curious and wanted to explore. There have been some good answers. I think the people that differentiated between the gear-orientated magazines and those who enjoy taking photographs have hit the nail on the head.



Who cares if you exaggerate when the result is that funny!

I didn't mean you actually, I thought there were two people having a go at me for joking about women being out taking photos, but turns out to have just been the same person, twice I thought the original question was fine, no probs with it in any way.

 

[63dot]

While male dominated, it certainly is not as male dominated as the fields I have been in (session guitarist, computer technician, skateboarder). I see a better percentage of women in photography than those other fields I mentioned, but it would be nice to see some more women using cameras.

This is especially evident among amateurs when I see tourists. For some reason, it's almost always the man in the family taking pictures. What's with that?

 

[carlgo]

Seems to me that more women than men have a camera with them at hiking and tourist locations. The men are more likely to take along a big DSLR and some huge zoom, while women tend to carry smaller devices (after all, every woman has an iPod and a phone with them as well, and one of them is always in use!).

A little beater Nissan lurched to a stop in a beach parking lot and two very young girls popped out. One took a picture of the ocean, one shot, and they jumped back into the car and sped off. The Camera was a shiny chrome Hasselblad!

 

[azboricua]

You mean, someone with a sense of humor. Try being less sensitive and judgemental, you're not better than anyone here. You and your buddy are genuinely angsty is all.

Besides, my girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, and nearly every one of her girlfriends have either been photography students, or are hobbyists. It was an ex-girlfriend that introduced my to photography about 8 years ago. I made my point earlier humourously that men are here whining and women are out taking photos because, it's largely true. I know very few women who post on forums. They much prefer to be out socialising of if they must be indoors, they'll be on the phone. They do upload a lot of pictures to websites and comment, but the format is different to a forum like this one, it's not a place to discuss, just to post comment on pictures.

Interestingly the subject matter of male and female hobbyists is much different in my experience.

I couldn't of worded this better myself. Every time she posts she writes like she is the head honcho in the joint and is better than everyone. I myself love to hear from women when it comes to photography. I feel they have a totally different perspective on things and sometimes its like my viewfinder barely works when I see what they see.

 

[anubis]

Most of the professional photogs I know of in my area are female. Not sure where people who claim professional photography to be male "dominated" got their information? Citation?

 

[MattSepeta]

Whoa Whoa Whoa

They let women buy cameras? Did I miss something?

 

[63dot]

Seems to me that more women than men have a camera with them at hiking and tourist locations. The men are more likely to take along a big DSLR and some huge zoom, while women tend to carry smaller devices (after all, every woman has an iPod and a phone with them as well, and one of them is always in use!).

A little beater Nissan lurched to a stop in a beach parking lot and two very young girls popped out. One took a picture of the ocean, one shot, and they jumped back into the car and sped off. The Camera was a shiny chrome Hasselblad!

They were obviously spies. Don't you watch TV?

 

[kylos]

Moreover, a woman out on her own is fairly vulnerable to begin with; add thousands of dollars of gear in plain view, and you have a fairly precarious situation for the average woman. So a lot of women do not find the profession very appealing. We learn from a young age that our femininity should be cultivated in order to garner acceptance and to achieve goals, and we tend to avoid situations that make us physically vulnerable.

I think this has a lot to do with it. As a single man several years ago I was renting a room in a townhouse from a single woman near Washington D.C. Once, we were discussing the various activities to be enjoyed in the area and I mentioned that I had found a really nice wooded park to take walks in. I found it odd that even though she didn't have a problem with renting a room in her house to a male stranger found through our company's rental listing service, she did not like walking in parks because of the vulnerability of doing so. Perhaps it was a heightened conciousness of the dangers of parks because of the recent history of the Chandra Levy case, but I think there is a certain biological reality – that men are physically stronger than women – that in the end often overrides our desire for equality between the sexes. This real concern does often get manipulated in ways that can lead to less opportunities for women, but I think there a real basis for it that should not be ignored either.

 

[gødspeed]

Honestly I know more professional women photographers than professional male photographers.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I think it's fair to say that a having media box position at an Olympic event is a sign of success for a sports photographer. And there's certainly some level of accomplishment for a photographer in the media box at a presidential inauguration.

(all clickable)

And looking over the books on individual photographers gracing the shelves of your local book store will tell you who is successful in that realm too.

Then there are awards. Who is winning them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Press_Photo_of_the_Year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams_Award

And so and and so forth.

As for the personal attacks in this thread: another case in point. Really unfair, especially coming from two people who almost never post in the photo forum. I'll tell you something that I was apparently wrong about: that this forum is really any different from the rest on the internet.

 

[MattSepeta]

Nice

First of all... LENS ENVY!!!!

I must admit, when I am watching football or anything, my eyes are more attracted to the cameras on the sidelines.

I remember watching the superbowl this year and saying to a friend "Whoa! Did you see that, he just ran into that photographer and he almost dropped his 300 2/8LIS!!!"....."No, I didn't see that..."

That aside, nice collection of pictures and information. As far as the men doing ports photos, think about it- More men watch sports. More men are involved in sports. It follows that more men photograph sports.

I realize that the olympics have men and women both, but overall, with mainstream professional athletics, its a mans game, as they say.

And its funny with the lurkers. You dont hear a peep or see a pic from them, until they feel the need to come in and start getting all negative! Pathetic

 

[sangosimo]

bump:men take better pictures than women.

 

[anubis]

I think it's fair to say that a having media box position at an Olympic event is a sign of success for a sports photographer. And there's certainly some level of accomplishment for a photographer in the media box at a presidential inauguration.

Point taken

 

[Ish]

I think it's fair to say that a having media box position at an Olympic event is a sign of success for a sports photographer. And there's certainly some level of accomplishment for a photographer in the media box at a presidential inauguration.

(all clickable)

Touché!! For some reason I find that hilarious!

As for the personal attacks in this thread: another case in point. Really unfair, especially coming from two people who almost never post in the photo forum. I'll tell you something that I was apparently wrong about: that this forum is really any different from the rest on the internet.

I was mortified when I saw those. The only reason I didn't respond to them is that I was hoping this thread was dying a natural death. I wish I'd never started it and I'm sorry for the way it turned out.

This forum is different. It's a normally a gentle, friendly, sharing forum where people with skills are happy to share them, and when I've asked for comments people have been both honest and encouraging. I've never seen someone knocked down because their knowledge or skill was less than someone else's. As a DP noob I've been made very welcome and I offer my apology and appreciation to the regulars on DP and to you in particular. I'm going to ask if this thread can be closed.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Touché!! For some reason I find that hilarious!

I was mortified when I saw those. The only reason I didn't respond to them is that I was hoping this thread was dying a natural death. I wish I'd never started it and I'm sorry for the way it turned out.

This forum is different. It's a normally a gentle, friendly, sharing forum where people with skills are happy to share them, and when I've asked for comments people have been both honest and encouraging. I've never seen someone knocked down because their knowledge or skill was less than someone else's. As a DP noob I've been made very welcome and I offer my apology and appreciation to the regulars on DP and to you in particular. I'm going to ask if this thread can be closed.

This will be my last post here.

First of all, I really, deeply appreciate your interest in this topic, and I thank you for starting the thread; please don't regret having done so. I also appreciate your last post very much. However, after nearly seven hundred thread views, the silence/lack of defense from the regulars has to be counted as so many votes against me.

Again, thank you very much for initiating this discussion. It was a very good idea you had, and I know you did it with the best of intentions.

 

[63dot]

What I think can happen when women are increasingly going into fields which were once exclusively men, is that men have gone into fields women only used to have.

Case in point, nurses. The hospital I worked at had about a quarter of the nursing staff as men, and the sexism (in American society) showed because somehow the nurses that got department head level were more likely to be men.

 

[Ish]

This will be my last post here.

I really hope you will reconsider. You're one of the backbones of this forum. Other than very early on, and Designer Dale who wanted to make up for the fact that someone had been rude so posted nice comments, I don't see any evidence that the regulars have shown any interest in this thread. Will PM.

 

[azboricua]

This will be my last post here.

First of all, I really, deeply appreciate your interest in this topic, and I thank you for starting the thread; please don't regret having done so. I also appreciate your last post very much. However, after nearly seven hundred thread views, the silence/lack of defense from the regulars has to be counted as so many votes against me.

Again, thank you very much for initiating this discussion. It was a very good idea you had, and I know you did it with the best of intentions.

Hope you got the point. You came in here posting like this is a women's rights hearing. Chill out.

 

[pdxflint]

Someone missed their Yoga class methinks..

Sorry, but a really unfriendly comment. Do you honestly think someone wouldn't take offense? If not, you have a lot to learn.

You mean, someone with a sense of humor. Try being less sensitive and judgemental, you're not better than anyone here. You and your buddy are genuinely angsty is all.

Your sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired-- it wasn't funny to me. And, it was at the expense of someone else, so bully for you. Now, you're labeling... placing the "blame" on someone else for being offended? Really? My, you show great social skills... my compliments to your non-judgemental response to her. Just think, you could have said you didn't mean it the way she took it, and apologized for the misunderstanding---but you didn't. You chose to attack her for expressing, mildly I should add, her offense to what you said. If you were being "humorous" as you said, you had a funny way of reacting to someone not finding it funny. Sounds like an excuse for being just a bit mean-spirited in my book. I just call them like I see them.

Besides, my girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, and nearly every one of her girlfriends have either been photography students, or are hobbyists. It was an ex-girlfriend that introduced my to photography about 8 years ago. I made my point earlier humourously that men are here whining and women are out taking photos because, it's largely true. I know very few women who post on forums. They much prefer to be out socialising of if they must be indoors, they'll be on the phone. They do upload a lot of pictures to websites and comment, but the format is different to a forum like this one, it's not a place to discuss, just to post comment on pictures.

Considering what this thread has deteriorated into, I think it says a lot about the original question/topic. One of the two women who even posted in this thread have been turned off by typical, immature male antics. It disappoints me as a guy, but unfortunately it's all to common in the world, and the internet. It's been a breath of fresh air to have little of this on the photo forum, up until now. With your generalizing about women, it won't be long before all you have are ex-girlfriends. Interesting, Phrasikleia is an active and very thoughtful poster on this forum with a very useful point of view, and you simply dismiss her as "judgemental" and "sensitive" and "angsty." I think you have a lot of growing up to do. I really do. Her positive contributions to this digital photography forum outweigh yours by a factor of infinity.

I couldn't of worded this better myself. Every time she posts she writes like she is the head honcho in the joint and is better than everyone. I myself love to hear from women when it comes to photography. I feel they have a totally different perspective on things and sometimes its like my viewfinder barely works when I see what they see.

So, great. Just pile on when someone's being kicked. Can you provide some evidence of your own judgemental position? You say you love to hear from women, but when a strong, talented, educated, thoughtful and very friendly woman offers her thoughts on this forum on a regular basis, all you can do is feel threatened. You don't "love to hear from women" apparently unless they're weak and make you feel smarter than they are. What a shame.

Hope you got the point. You came in here posting like this is a women's rights hearing. Chill out.

Do all of us a favor and keep your attitude in this thread. I'd really hate to have your bias and unfriendly nature pollute the rest of the photo forum.

Phrasikleia, sorry I didn't respond earlier, but I didn't read this thread until just now. I have to say I'm really disappointed to see the type of petty immaturity raise it's ugly head here, and I'm solidly in your corner. If someone wants to take you on unfairly like a couple of punks high-fiving themselves for dissing someone they truly aren't even capable of understanding or relating to, they're taking me on as well.

 

[TheReef]

Besides, my girlfriend, my ex-girlfriend, and nearly every one of her girlfriends have either been photography students, or are hobbyists. It was an ex-girlfriend that introduced my to photography about 8 years ago. I made my point earlier humourously that men are here whining and women are out taking photos because, it's largely true. I know very few women who post on forums. They much prefer to be out socialising of if they must be indoors, they'll be on the phone. They do upload a lot of pictures to websites and comment, but the format is different to a forum like this one, it's not a place to discuss, just to post comment on pictures.

Interestingly the subject matter of male and female hobbyists is much different in my experience.

This is not a fair generalisation at all,
Phrasikleia has put a lot of passion posting to this community, she's helped shape it to become something truly great.
She's been contributing/discussing more so than most of us combined.
To ignore such fact is insulting.

I couldn't of worded this better myself. Every time she posts she writes like she is the head honcho in the joint and is better than everyone. I myself love to hear from women when it comes to photography. I feel they have a totally different perspective on things and sometimes its like my viewfinder barely works when I see what they see.

This is plain false, She never acted like she was better than anyone at all and put a lot of soul into her posts which were insightful and inspiring.

 

[ARF900]

I dont think its a male dominated hobby, I think its a male dominated profession, but a female dominated hobby, so I think it wont be a male dominated profession for long... if that post made any sense.

 

[MaddMacs]

I have not seen any real statistics in regards to the ratio of men vs women in the field of photography, so I won't engage in the speculation. I have known excellent photographers of both genders and hope only to glean tidbits of information from their expertise, including Phrasikleia.

This will be my last post here.

I hope sincerely this is not true. I see your avatar is now gone, and fear that this discussion and some insensitive, immature comments have put you off from the forum all together. Believe me the comments are not representative of all the members.

I really hope you will reconsider. You're one of the backbones of this forum.

Yes, please do. And yes, you are.

 

[63dot]

Hope you got the point. You came in here posting like this is a women's rights hearing. Chill out.

Being a former HR person, I saw that were were a lot of issues which involved gender in the workplace. Until our society reaches some sort of equilibrium, gender issues should be at the forefront of nearly any discussion.

We have to ask ourselves why there are more men in photography. Personally, I think it's a men's club like many, many other fields. This won't go away anytime soon, but future generations will get it closer to right.