platzer@utcsrgv.UUCP (Andrew Platzer) (07/17/84)
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Looking for a slightly less inflammable topic, I pose the question:
Why do only a miniscule number of women play games?
(Not relationship games, game games.)
I have noticed this in almost every game. I suppose bridge might be an
exception, but things like chess, computer games, backgammon, wargames,
video games, go, and Dungeons and Dragons are close to devoid of women. From
what I gather, women (in general) consider games to be a waste of time,
(quite rightly, I waste tons of time on them.) Is it just that women tend
to be a little more down to earth, and realistic about existence? How often
do they waste hours on debates of completely stupid nature? (Does teleportation
preserve the soul, or example.)
I haven't a clue, but I get the feeling that women are a little more concerned
about what is actually going to affect them than men, while men often live in
the past or future. (ie S-F is male-dominated.)
Any comments?
Tom West
{allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!platzerjamcmullan@wateng.UUCP (Judy McMullan) (07/17/84)
---- >Why do only a miniscule number of women play games? Maybe you are playing games with the wrong crowd. I don't have any inclination to play D&D with with one group here because it is all (seemingly) unwashed males in first year who are socially backward. I am totally out of place amongst them and they are as uncomfortable about it as I am. However, I know another crowd -- mainly couples -- who play D&D and I fit in very well with them and enjoy their company. The same phenomena might apply with the other games you play. It may just be that the crowd you happen to be in is not one that attracts women. >How often >do they waste hours on debates of completely stupid nature? (Does >teleportation preserve the soul, or example.) I haven't a clue, but... I haven't a clue either. I think it is "stupid" to debate whether women or men play games more or whether people are friendlier on the west coast than the east coast, etc. when most of us have no way of knowing any absolute answer without taking a nation-wide poll. Even then, the variation seen by any individual in a particular section or stratum of society is so far from the statistical norm that the "true" answer doesn't make any difference. >(ie S-F is male-dominated.) Depends on what authors you read...
wildbill@ucbvax.UUCP (07/25/84)
> Why do only a miniscule number of women play games? > I have noticed this in almost every game. I suppose bridge might be an > exception [...] > Tom West > {allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!platzer Not really. Although there are a fair number of female bridge players, the quantity of such is directly proportional to age and inversely proportional to ability beyond a certain minimal level. Once you progress beyond the social level (who knows how many women play a game of chess/ scrabble/etc with a consenting adult in the privacy of their home; this is the level of interest which I associate with the social games of bridge you are thinking of), bridge is quite male-dominated. As a serious bridge player of approximately 8 years' standing, I offer the following: o Local tournaments often hold a Men's Pairs and a Women's Pairs on Friday afternoons. Despite the fact that substantially more men than women have jobs which would be expected to prevent them from playing, the events attract roughly the same number of entrants. o Of the bridge players whom I know who are under 40, about 10% are female. (Once again, these are primarily tournament-level players.) Hardly any of these (there are a few) can be regarded as more than reasonably competent. Most are involved in the game because their husband/SO is either very interested or an outright fanatic. o In a recent Unmixed Pairs (only man/man or woman/woman partnerships allowed) at a major tournament, the highest finish by a female pair was 11th. o Only one woman has ever represented the United States in any of the open events (World Championship Teams, Olympiad Open Pairs, Olympiad Open Teams) since the organization of continuing world championship play. None have since 1960. o Only one woman has ever won the McKenney Trophy, awarded annually for the best performance in American Contract Bridge League sanctioned events. o Of the 25 members of the ACBL Board of Directors, only 2 are female. So I would have to say that bridge isn't really an exception. Maybe a little less male-dominated than most, but not a whole lot. ____ Bill Laubenheimer ___ / \ ___ UC-Berkeley Computer Science / \ | o o | / \ ucbvax!wildbill ------+++----------()----------+++------ ...Killjoy was here!
rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (07/28/84)
<ucbvax!wildbill><net.women><Re: Game playing> >> Why do only a miniscule number of women play games? >> I have noticed this in almost every game. I suppose bridge might be an >> exception [...] >Not really. I disagree. In the midwest, at sectional or regional tournaments, women tables easily outnumber men tables 2 or 3 to 1. This goes for pair or team events. How do I know? I get upset every time I see the disparity because the master point awards are based on tables, not ability of the competition. >Once you progress beyond the social level bridge is quite male-dominated. I dont think sectionals/regionals/nationals are social gatherings. Maybe when you get up to world competition, then I'll agree. Because males dominate the competition with respect to winning(your own words) mixed events, it does not mean they outnumber the women. ****************************************************************** Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to pull out my bulletin sight unseen and list the tournament results mentioned there-in(JULY). 1)regional-Bal Harbour, Florida Men's Pairs-104 Women's Pairs-222 Men's Swiss-38 Women's Swiss-90 2)regional-Boise, Idaho Men's Pairs-48 Women's Pairs-102 3)regional-Cornwall, Ontario Men's Pairs-88 Women's Pairs-116 Men's Swiss-26 Women's Swiss-48 4)regional-Wichita, Kansas Men's Pairs-56 Women's Pairs-128 5)regional-Redding, California Men's Pairs-40 Women's Pairs-108 6)regional-Oconomowoc, Wisconsin Men's Knockout-8 Women's Knockout-15 Men's Swiss-35 Women's Swiss-98 It appears to me that it matters little which tournament you look at. The numbers heavily favor the women. Can you provide any data to dispute this? I'd even wager the disparity is even greater at the nationals. Robert
rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (08/02/84)
<ucbvax!wildbill><Bill Laubenheimer> >> Why do only a miniscule number of women play games? I have noticed >> this in almost every game. I suppose bridge might be an exception. -- Tom West > Not really....... You can see my confusion over your article. You appeared to be disagreeing with someone who was saying that there are a good QUANTITY of women bridge players. I never made the connection you were actually talking about the QUALITY of women bridge players. I have no disagreement with you on the latter count. I was trying to say that there are more women than men bridge players. I just presented the facts. I gave no reasons for this apparant observation. You did a fine job in your second article of presenting possibilities. I now see you also agree with the original statement that was made. Sorry for the misinterpretation. > But once you progress beyond the social level, > bridge is quite male-dominated. Once again, I was still under the assumption that QUANTITY, not QUALITY was being discussed. You really should have presented your article under a different and new heading to make it obvious. I sort of naturally assume a response to an article will stick to the subject matter. Anyway, it does appear that we agree on both counts. We were just on different wavelengths. Robert