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You know, I was thinking: The world of A/V enthusiasts and home theater freaks, of which I'm admittedly a member, is mostly populated by men. That seems to be just a fact. What I've wondered about is why. I came across an article on the Klipsch website touching on this issue from the female perspective:
I find it disappointing that we don't see more women that are A/V enthusiasts, and I wonder if we just scare them away for perhaps subtle reasons. Conceptually, love of movies, good sound, and music, is something I think both genders enjoy equally. I have never seen any statistics, but I would venture to guess that men and women buy the media of music and movies in relatively equal proportions. So why do aren't there more women that participate in the equipment side of our hobbies, to make those movies and music albums look and sound better for more enjoyment? While women are certainly out there that are into A/V and home theater, they appear to be the exception, not the norm. Some possibilities I've come up with:
1. Lots of A/V stuff is geared towards "gadgets". And when it comes to buying, tinkering with, and calibrating "gadgets", for whatever reason unknown to me, this appeals to men more than women. Could this be a stereotype that our society has perpetuated (to use some buzz words here) that technical stuff like electronics, mathematics, and physics are something for men, not being ladylike? Or is it something actually inherent in the gender? The A/V industry creating easy-to-setup-and-use equipment like Home Theater in a Box seems to appeal to women by reducing the confusion of complex setups.
2. Women seem to instinctively appreciate more of the asthetic side of products. Thank goodness for that, too, as I wouldn't even think of a lot of the issues my wife brings up, and with few exceptions they end up making everything look better. I'm all for making things look good, but my priority is strict performance and function, regardless of how it looks. I think women may be scared off from A/V and home theater hobbies due to the stigma of big unsightly equipment. Again, I think the industry making products like small Bose speaker cubes appeals to women. I don't have a problem with that when the products maintain proper functional performance, but when they compromise picture and sound reproduction for a shiny little box (ahem... BOSE) it ticks me off because then people start thinking THAT's the ideal component without having any basis of comparison.
3. Equipment sales. Hmmm... I feel totally comfortable putzing around A/V stores, browsing for the latest equipment. I'm not a people person, though, so I usually like to just be left alone by the sales reps and look on my own. Trying to envision what equipment shopping must be like for a woman, though, I can see that it would be somewhat intimidating, especially with some nosy salespeople. This might be akin to car buying, where women sometimes feel intimidated because they don't feel like they know technical stuff very well and are afraid they're going to be sold something they don't really need because they don't know better. Whether this is true or not is another issue, as there's certainly many guys out there that wouldn't know the difference between good and bad speakers either. The difference may be that men often THINK they know what they're doing, making them feel more comfortable in a sales environment.
Whatcha guys think? Should we start a recruiting drive to try and bring high A/V fidelity to the sexes equally?
CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"
I find it disappointing that we don't see more women that are A/V enthusiasts, and I wonder if we just scare them away for perhaps subtle reasons. Conceptually, love of movies, good sound, and music, is something I think both genders enjoy equally. I have never seen any statistics, but I would venture to guess that men and women buy the media of music and movies in relatively equal proportions. So why do aren't there more women that participate in the equipment side of our hobbies, to make those movies and music albums look and sound better for more enjoyment? While women are certainly out there that are into A/V and home theater, they appear to be the exception, not the norm. Some possibilities I've come up with:
1. Lots of A/V stuff is geared towards "gadgets". And when it comes to buying, tinkering with, and calibrating "gadgets", for whatever reason unknown to me, this appeals to men more than women. Could this be a stereotype that our society has perpetuated (to use some buzz words here) that technical stuff like electronics, mathematics, and physics are something for men, not being ladylike? Or is it something actually inherent in the gender? The A/V industry creating easy-to-setup-and-use equipment like Home Theater in a Box seems to appeal to women by reducing the confusion of complex setups.
2. Women seem to instinctively appreciate more of the asthetic side of products. Thank goodness for that, too, as I wouldn't even think of a lot of the issues my wife brings up, and with few exceptions they end up making everything look better. I'm all for making things look good, but my priority is strict performance and function, regardless of how it looks. I think women may be scared off from A/V and home theater hobbies due to the stigma of big unsightly equipment. Again, I think the industry making products like small Bose speaker cubes appeals to women. I don't have a problem with that when the products maintain proper functional performance, but when they compromise picture and sound reproduction for a shiny little box (ahem... BOSE) it ticks me off because then people start thinking THAT's the ideal component without having any basis of comparison.
3. Equipment sales. Hmmm... I feel totally comfortable putzing around A/V stores, browsing for the latest equipment. I'm not a people person, though, so I usually like to just be left alone by the sales reps and look on my own. Trying to envision what equipment shopping must be like for a woman, though, I can see that it would be somewhat intimidating, especially with some nosy salespeople. This might be akin to car buying, where women sometimes feel intimidated because they don't feel like they know technical stuff very well and are afraid they're going to be sold something they don't really need because they don't know better. Whether this is true or not is another issue, as there's certainly many guys out there that wouldn't know the difference between good and bad speakers either. The difference may be that men often THINK they know what they're doing, making them feel more comfortable in a sales environment.
Whatcha guys think? Should we start a recruiting drive to try and bring high A/V fidelity to the sexes equally?
CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"
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