So I get around to finally checking my email. Something I am notoriously bad about doing as many people know. Anyway I have the usual emails in there about adding advertising links, paying for guest posts and content yadda yadda...
Then I come across one advertising links to various Female or Women oriented survival and prepper websites and webcasts. The body of the message says something about how Women are not adequately represented on the web for outdoors, homesteading, survivalist and prepper oriented sites and we should rectify that situation...?
Ahhhh What?
Ok. Now I will admit they have a point. There are in fact few actual Prepper/Homesteading/Survivalist sites out there oriented towards or written by Women. I know of some that are worthwhile and useful because you will find them linked off my site either to the right or the left. I am sure there are more than a couple I don't know about too but I am always on the look out for them.
That important fact being pointed out however the number of sites claiming to be within that genre written by Women far outpaces the number of Male oriented sites by a huge amount. I even went on a little jaunt through the sites I don't directly link to to see how many claim to be self sufficient, prepper or Homesteading oriented and if they are Male or Female authored or written. I counted almost a 4 to 1 ratio of Women to Men oriented sites.
I got to read about their recipes and how they threaten innocent passersby with their carry pistols. I know all about their trips to the doctor or what drapes go with a statue of some amphibian they like. All useful stuff I guess but nothing that answered my question.
How can anyone proclaim Women are anything but over represented in the World Wide Web of survival, homesteading or prepping blogs and sites? I mean I see them everywhere.
Now let me repeat here I am NOT bashing this fact only questioning the premise of this email I received is all.
I simply do not understand it.
I did wonder if maybe the Women are only getting paid 75 cents for every dollar the Men Bloggers are getting? :)
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
I'm sure that few of the actual women prepper blogs fit the stereotype of "survivalist" that someone who has never been voluntarily west of the Hudson river in their adult life.
ReplyDeleteOdy - Well you have a point but like I said the email didn't break em up or only stipulate Survivalist. I know there are some damned informational Homesteading and prepping sites out there written by Women. I just don't get this under represented claim.
DeleteWomen might be somewhat under represented at "survival sites" but homesteading and preps they tend to be the norm in my travels on the Internet. On average my visits tend to work out about 50/50 male to female ratio with perhaps a slight lead of female authored sites/blogs.
ReplyDeleteJust my opinon on motivation is women sort of focus on food, water and shelter security and more of a "homestead mindset". Guys sort of focus on a "Survivalist" protection, building, repair and some properly applied destruction. These are my observations and it does not mean no men are great at nurturing/ health care or there are not some gals that are great shots and hunters.
I think both men and women working as a team is the "optimum solution" because both sexes have, inherent strengths and weaknesses. I'm a woman that really like men in general and as a sex and think they are wonderful creatures. I'm also a women that has very little tolerance for babies or children of any sort. I'd never hurt them but it would take effort. Now give me an 17-22 year old to mess with as an Army NCO, I was darn effective.
I'm not normal I was a tomboy I love doing many things that are traditional male activities so I am not a good female representation for average.
MaSR - I don't disagree with any of that. I just don't get how anyone can claim Women are not more than equality represented unless they just say survivalist maybe. There was no distinction made and most of the ones they were promoting were not survivalist by any stretch.
DeleteWomen nest; men hunt. They compliment each other.
ReplyDeleteTewshooz - I would say Women nest Men build myself though.
DeleteI'm the anti stereotype here I guess. I come from a "manly" job as a carpenter but now stay at home to look after the kids. I do all the homesteading type jobs here, all the preserving, most of the cooking, baking etc. But when I work in the school holidays then we swap roles. My skill set is better duited to homesteading as thats where my interests lie.
ReplyDeleteI'd say I read far more blogs from women than men following this type of lifestyle though.
Kev - That is my point exactly. They lumped them all together survivalist/homesteading/prepper but even attempting to make a larger control group they still fall far short of their claim in my opinion.
DeleteHomesteaders are generally not what the public thinks of as preppers - particularly because many of them are from the left side of the spectrum. Depending on how loosely you defined homesteading, and particularly if you allowed the popular urban homesteading movement to count, you might have comparable numbers. But needless to say, there is not a lot of cross posting between the two groups: LOL.
ReplyDeleteRuss - No disagreement there but as I said they lumped em all together and I still think they have no ground for such a claim. Kinda a cake and eat it too sort of thing but failing.
DeleteI simply found the claim interesting and sometimes try and figure out how someone can justify such a claim in their own minds I guess.
Maybe you should start a "Survival Dad" blog and radio network of all male speakers to even things out.
ReplyDeleteSpinnersaw - Well I don't know if anything needs to be leveled out. I simply find the claim peculiar or how anyone could even look at the same thing I am looking at and come up with such a claim.
DeleteSorry PP I was trying to be funny. I was trying to point out that there are whole networks of female exclusive blogs about survivalism. I have not seen any male exclusive networks.
DeleteSpinnersaw - Really? I didn't know about them at all. I guess I never paid attention but that is really strange. And they are so rare to? :)
DeleteThank you for clarifying that I learned something there.
Quite rare. I do enjoy the Survival Mom Radio shows, especially Patrice Lewis of the Rural Revolution blog.
DeleteI don't understand the email, I never really thought about how many male or female are prepper bloggers or what ever we call them. I see tons of women blogging about skills that I associate with prepping and like the comment above, if you can pair the right men and women together it would work in a situation. The TV rich boy preppers will be up the creek when the MREs run out no matter what sex they are. Lots of women can butcher animals and cook/preserve all kinds of native food. Just a lot more to it than sticking a label on something.
ReplyDeleteSf - Exactly yet even setting this email aside I see constant messages that being one of the exceptional Female preppers is such a rarity. Just made me stop and think is all.
DeletePioneer: many people see things only with a political mindset and simply pick and choose data that simply enforces that predetirmined mindset. I don't think I'm the only one that could pick both men and women of the blogosphere that we would love to have as neighbors. We don't get hung up on the sex of the person as much as we think about what skills they bring to the table.
ReplyDeleteThis article might be a more subtle PC attack on all homesteaders, preppers and survivlists. We that prepare no matter what way are starting to look less crazy and the PTBs do not care for self-reliant individuals of any sort.
MaSR - You're correct on both observations. I guess the one is just an extension of the so called oppressed Women narrative. Funny how that one has permeated even the prepper types while the second is pretty obvious. Politics politics.
Delete