Why so many guy flashaholics?

It seems all of the posts that mention the opposite sex are from guys - in fact unless I've gone brain dead many clear indicators show that this forum is overwhelmingly male. I mean maybe 99%. I think we just kind of take it for granted somehow that it's just the way it is - just more of a guy thing (although the gals are welcomed and appreciated here).

But why is this? What in the evolutionary process would trigger the flashlight gene in males? Is it because we carried the torches? Does it make us feel we are better protectors since we can better see the enemy? Guesses?

Just because someone doesn't use a nickname that has gender specific connotations doesn't mean that members of "the opposite sex" aren't around. You're assuming and how on earth could you come up with any percentages not really knowing? :thinking:

You may indeed be right about the majority being males, but take that assumption a little too far.

We won't get into why folks hide behind nicknames or why they pick the names that they do. There are plenty of real names here as well, eh?

Did I just hit a sensitive topic here? You've got me - actually I am certain the real % is NOT 99 - I am only trying say that it seems to me that the "vast majority" of posts FOR WHICH GENDER IS CLEAR are male - in fact it seems overwhelmingly so. But I have no basis for an actual percentage - it's just been an observation, and one I've been a little surprised and confused about.

The nicknames mean nothing to me and I didn't really even think about it, but I think the posts where the real name is given it's the same clear trend - mostly male names.

And does it matter? Not at all!! Just curious why that would be....

I believe that if you research the topic further, you'll find that in majority of cases where a female indicates her status she is plagued with unwanted attention. It's not horribly obvious, of course - you probably won't find a "What kind of light should I buy for my purse??" post followed up by dozens of marriage proposals and stuff. Some men just tend to make the environment a little bit less welcoming for the ladies..

As for why the numbers are the way they are, well, that's a demographics study all on it's own right there..

That is a good point ACMarina. And sad. And I am sure true.

they're all gay cops..

so, AC, doing anything tonight?

neophiliacism and flashoholicism is in the male genes:
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1008372006

it seems we all have common relatives

Seems to me that guys are just more interested in "stuff." Cars, gadgets, weapons, tools, whatever. Not to say that a lot of women aren't, just that the majoroty of folks into things like this are men.

:laughing:

What Sigman and ACMarina said. While I also believe that the majority of CPF members are male, I can think of at least a dozen females here. Most of the females seem to be a little less vocal in CPF then the men; I'm not sure how much of this is the difference between how men and women socialize versus differences in "gadget" interest level, although I think a little bit of the difference can be chalked up to that fact that a big, bright light carries more of a "protector" image to it.

Personally I'm happy to see that there is a modest number of female members here, however stealthy some of them might be.
:wave:

BTW - I didn't mean to project any negative tone in my post, just posting my thoughts on the subject. It's not "sensitive" to me, but I respect those that feel it is to them.

if there is a shoe forum, go there and see how many guys are on it.....

i assume there are plenty of other topical forums out there (think "knitting" or "sewing") where females make up the large majority of the membership. i don't mean to pick on people who knit or sew, but use that simply as an example of activities i believe to be primarily of interest to females.

i'd guess the reasons for this are numerous, ranging from the societal gender roles that are imprinted on us all from birth to the well-researched brain differences between males and females.

i've got a few observations on the topic...

• the CPF members who have chosen to declare their gender in their handle -- for example, sigMAN -- seem to be primarily male. i've seen handles like ____MAN, ____BOY, ____DUDE, etc. but i've never seen a handle like ____GIRL, ____GURRL, or ____WOMAN.

• there are aspects of the flashlight hobby that probably tend to make it more attractive to males. for instance, the craftsMANship that goes into a well-designed, well-engineered, well-made flashlight.

• pehaps it's the symbolism of projected light being subconsciously associated with strength or power, similar in some ways to the gun hobby.

• machining -- a necessary skill in making a good flashlight -- is and has always been a predominantly male task. circuit design -- electrical engineering -- is currently a male-dominated field.

• and the one i saved for last: i've observed that some members overtly indicate their association of the flashlight with the male member. there is a sigline containing the motto "size does matter" which features a photoshopped representation of an unnaturrally long m*glite. i've seen other siglines that make a similar assocation. (i tried to be careful the way i said this, hope i didn't cross the line)

I think ABTOMAT summed it up fairly well. Gadgets are mostly a male-dominated field. It seems to be both a cultural tendency and a fundamental part of human nature.

liqht said:

• and the one i saved for last: i've observed that some members overtly indicate their association of the flashlight with the male member. there is a sigline containing the motto "size does matter" which features a photoshopped representation of an unnaturrally long m*glite. i've seen other siglines that make a similar assocation. (i tried to be careful the way i said this, hope i didn't cross the line)

Click to expand...

This *kind* of thing happens quite a bit...if it's not in someone's sig, it's part of a thread tangent somewhere. It's not the kind of activity that defines CPF, but it makes it perhaps less welcoming to those who just want to talk flashlights and don't care for unnecessary innuendo.

My sig is a complete joke--not any actual feeling I'm aware of having. Since most of the discussion of lights on CPF is for the little high tech lights at the expense of Mag-Lites, and I've received some humorous comments about the linear size of my collection, I thougt that cliche'd phrase would be good for a laugh in this context. I also found it funny that "Mag-Lite" is frequently bleeped out like a swear.