CactiGuide.com

I may be wrong off course , but it seems to me that there is significant more men than women that are growing cacti? Judged by the people I see on this site and other fora. That said, since most people use nick’s its not always easy to know the gender behind the nick though but if you read a bit, sooner or later the gender is revealed If my assumption is right, there are a lot more men than women in this hobby; why?

Read please "Stolen cactus" by Karel Capek.

I find the opposite true. Outside of specialized message boards and forums like this I find the majority are women or perhaps nearly split between men and women. Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube are loaded with passionate female growers. And if you take to succulents I find it's even more pronounced.

anttisepp wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 5:41 pm Read please "Stolen cactus" by Karel Capek.

I have searched for this book online and I can’t find any mentioning of it

Pereskiopsisdotcom wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:24 pm I find the opposite true. Outside of specialized message boards and forums like this I find the majority are women or perhaps nearly split between men and women. Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube are loaded with passionate female growers. And if you take to succulents I find it's even more pronounced.

I may be wrong then ( I am not on Insta,Tik Tok and various other SoMe) but if you are right about that, ( there is a lot more ladies on other fora than fora like this) why is it so?

I studied biology and it's one of the study programs with the highest proportion of female students. So my guess is that more often than not it is women who are more interested in nature (plants/animals) in general than men? The highest proportion of men you find in more "technical" programs, like IT-related ones, physics, and so on..
With a quick search I only found a German source for this, but it is probably similar in other countries as well.

Using my inborn British understatement, I would say this lady is quite enthusiastic about her succulents and cacti:

https://www.youtube.com/user/heartfullofhappiness

Now, chili-growing does seem to be a bit macho.

We have quite a few women members in Nottingham Branch BCSS, though that may be because they are wives of the men. Women do however tend to go for the none antisocial other succulents without spines or glochids, Echevaria's etc. I think the present Pandemic lockdown fad for our plants is largely female driven just as with most houseplant fads over the years, just as One Windowsill says.

eulaspiegel wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:54 am I studied biology and it's one of the study programs with the highest proportion of female students. So my guess is that more often than not it is women who are more interested in nature (plants/animals) in general than men? The highest proportion of men you find in more "technical" programs, like IT-related ones, physics, and so on..
With a quick search I only found a German source for this, but it is probably similar in other countries as well.

Yes, I belive you but studying biology doesn’t necessarily means interest in growing ‘houseplants’ ( or cacti in this case) I would guess?

One Windowsill wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 5:24 pm Using my inborn British understatement, I would say this lady is quite enthusiastic about her succulents and cacti:

https://www.youtube.com/user/heartfullofhappiness

Now, chili-growing does seem to be a bit macho.

Using a forum like this instead of youtube if you want to learn, have its advantages..you neither see or hear the ‘teacher’..

Yes, chili growing seems to be male dominated, from what I have seen .

DaveW wrote: ↑Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:26 pm We have quite a few women members in Nottingham Branch BCSS, though that may be because they are wives of the men. Women do however tend to go for the none antisocial other succulents without spines or glochids, Echevaria's etc. I think the present Pandemic lockdown fad for our plants is largely female driven just as with most houseplant fads over the years, just as One Windowsill says.

‘none antisocial’ From what I have seen on the net, I agree about the houseplant fad beiing largely female driven. I do wonder though how many of these new enthusiast will keep their plants..will they be tossed out as soon as a new fad comes along?

"I do wonder though how many of these new enthusiast will keep their plants. Will they be tossed out as soon as a new fad comes along?"

Depends if they are genuine growers or "interior decorators". If the latter it will have to be the latest room accessory from the plant world to impress their friends.

This page of the ELK (largest European succulent plant fair, held in Belgium) shows a picture of the event of a few years ago: http://www.elkcactus.eu/index.php?page_id=14 and is probably a good representation of sex difference. At least when it comes to visiting succulent fairs it is a 85%/15% or so? One should not rule out any partners coming along, though. I reckon the 'other succulents' get more attention from women than cacti only.

DaveW wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 5:47 pm "I do wonder though how many of these new enthusiast will keep their plants. Will they be tossed out as soon as a new fad comes along?"

Depends if they are genuine growers or "interior decorators". If the latter it will have to be the latest room accessory from the plant world to impress their friends.

Very true I would guess.

Aiko wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:19 pm This page of the ELK (largest European succulent plant fair, held in Belgium) shows a picture of the event of a few years ago: http://www.elkcactus.eu/index.php?page_id=14 and is probably a good representation of sex difference. At least when it comes to visiting succulent fairs it is a 85%/15% or so? One should not rule out any partners coming along, though. I reckon the 'other succulents' get more attention from women than cacti only.

From what I have seen on different fora, I would say your estimate seems correct. I must be one of the exceptions then..I feel much more related to the really spiny ones..

Out of the top three winners of the BCSS Spring Virtual Show, two were female. One of them is giving a talk on caudiciforms on Zoom next Tuesday. There are always questions at the end, you could ask about the gender balance. You don't have to be a member (or British) to watch or join in. Though it is the Society that is British, not all the members, and membership is very reasonably priced. No chatting during the talk.

https://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.p ... talks.html

For evidence that they like cacti and not just succulents:

https://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.p ... -show.html

One Windowsill wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:27 pm Out of the top three winners of the BCSS Spring Virtual Show, two were female. One of them is giving a talk on caudiciforms on Zoom next Tuesday. There are always questions at the end, you could ask about the gender balance. You don't have to be a member (or British) to watch or join in. Though it is the Society that is British, not all the members, and membership is very reasonably priced. No chatting during the talk.

https://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.p ... talks.html

For evidence that they like cacti and not just succulents:

https://www.society.bcss.org.uk/index.p ... -show.html

Thank you One Windowsill Zoom..join in.. I am familiar with BCSS as a ‘freeloader’ , have read a lot on the forum but never joined.

Mrs.Green wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:03 pm Zoom..join in..

I was very reluctant for a while. You do have to download the app to get any good quality, but it is just like any other sort of streaming after that. Working out what to press to get the sound, then fullscreen and then get rid of the small videos showing various angles of people eating their lunch and scratching themselves. I switch my webcam off before starting. It is fun, you will love it.

One Windowsill wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:28 pm

Mrs.Green wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:03 pm Zoom..join in..

I was very reluctant for a while. You do have to download the app to get any good quality, but it is just like any other sort of streaming after that.

You can also use the webbrowser (in incognito mode even, if you want). No need to install anything.