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Is this an all male hobby?

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  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,484 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, September 23, 2010 9:09 AM

There are a couple of girls in the local Youth in Model Railroading group.  Some of their modules are among the best the group has at their shows.  So, there's some hope for the future.

I rode the Downeast Scenic Railway in Ellsworth, Maine a couple of weeks back.  I was surprised and again encouraged by the number of women involved in this all-volunteer operation.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Chamberlain, ME
  • 5,084 posts
Posted by G Paine on Thursday, September 23, 2010 8:47 AM

There have been a number of women active on this forum, but I have not heard from them in a while. Right Hug Quite a few wives partner with their husbands on their layouts.

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Flushing,Michigan
  • 822 posts
Is this an all male hobby?
Posted by HaroldA on Thursday, September 23, 2010 8:29 AM

Ok - I know I am probably opening up a can of worms here, but are there are any statistics relating to the number of men/women in the hobby?  Reason I asked in that I watched a portion of a Dream, Plan, Build video the other day and there was a line that went something like 'making a man feel like a boy and a boy feel like a man.'  So I looked at a couple other videos and there wasn't a single featured layout built by a woman.  So , I found the names of the NMRA Board of DIrectors and, at least by name, I didn't see any females.  Also, I rarely see any women scouring the shelves of the LHS's I frequent and it seems that most people who post here are men. 

I know in years past I have read articles on how we socialize our kids by the way we dress them, the toys they receive, the sports they play - and I wonder if we socialize them through the hobby.

Not that I think this is bad thing, but it did get me to wondering about the numbers and perhaps why we don't see more females involved in hobby - if that is a true statement.  Any thoughts?

There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....

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