Is the audiophile world a secret boys’ club?
For some reason, the thought about gender imbalance in the hobby had never crossed my mind. That is until I saw a poll about the stereotype that audiophiles are mostly middle-aged men.
Even though it’s not the main topic, it became quite clear that female audiophiles are indeed a rare breed. Case in point: Out of more than 3K responses, only 129 are females.
This had me asking: “Why is this hobby so male-dominated?”
As a female audiophile, I can’t help but wonder about the reasons behind this gender disparity. Is it just because of preferences, or are there deeper factors at play?
Let’s look into the possible explanations below:
Societal Factors and Gender Roles
We can’t ignore how societal pressures and ingrained gender roles affect the audiophile community.
From a young age, women are often subtly discouraged from going after specialized interests. This includes audio equipment and technology, which have traditionally been seen as male-centric areas.
“We don’t have to look too far back into history to see how rigid the expectations for women to be traditionally feminine were. While a lot of these expectations have loosened up over the past century, we still live in a world where for some reason it matters that sex and behavior remain correlated in culture.” says one user.
“For example, audiophiles of the past were largely men. When women show interest in the field, they’ll probably get discouraged due to the lack of female representation unless their nerd side overrides their desire to fit in.”
What’s more, the harsh reality is that women are more likely to have less disposable income and free time compared to their male counterparts.
The persistent wage gap and discrimination in hiring practices can limit financial resources.
At the same time, there are societal expectations of household responsibilities and childcare. This often leaves women with fewer chances to get into hobbies that demand both time and money.
Perception of the Hobby: Technical Aspects and Sensitivity
The audiophile hobby is frequently viewed as being all about technical aspects, such as gear specifications, measurements, etc.
On the other hand, women tend to connect more with the emotional and experiential aspects of music. This focus on the analytical and gear-oriented side may be less appealing to women.
This was best summarized by Paul McGowan of PS Audio.
“We like our toys, we’re boys with toys. So I think that’s gotta have something to do with it.” says he says.
“But when it comes to music, women put us to shame. So if it were just a pure musical thing, I think it would be completely flipped around. But it’s not. We still love our boxes and our toys, and for that, I think the boys are always going to be greater in numbers.”
I admit that there have been moments when I’ve found myself zoning out during discussions about tiny technical details. In those instances, I wanted to escape the discussions and just use the gear.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate the technical aspects. It’s just that, for me, the emotional connection always takes center stage.
Interestingly, some experts also claim that women may have “better hearing” than men, especially when identifying noises. This is said to be due to their generally “superior hearing” which others have theorized to be an evolutionary thing to hear babies’ cries.
This sounds cool. But it could also dampen their enthusiasm, as HiFi gear can introduce them to more flaws and noise in the recordings.
Hostile Environment and Community Culture
Unfortunately, the audiophile community itself may unintentionally contribute to the scarcity of women in the hobby.
Plus, some women also have reported receiving inappropriate comments when interacting in online audiophile communities.
I also have an unforgettable experience regarding this one.
This happened when I attended my first audio meetup. As soon as I entered, someone immediately asked if I was just there to support my boyfriend. Another fellow attendee also made an unsolicited comment and kept mansplaining some concepts to me.
All this made such a bad impression that I never attended a meetup ever again.
Sure, there were a lot of attendees who were also welcoming. But I can’t ignore how amazed most of them were just by my mere presence. It’s as if I’m an alien!
I imagine a lot of women feel or have felt the same.
Practical Considerations
Besides the factors I mentioned, there are also practical stuff that may contribute to this imbalance.
For instance, some headphones and earbuds, may not be designed with women’s generally smaller head and ear sizes in mind. This can create fit issues that can detract from the overall listening experience.
I remember how one friend once ranted about how she had to give up on electrostatic headphones altogether due to this issue.
She was curious about these headphones and has tried a few. But none of them fit her at all.
For example, she tried the Stax SR-007. But, despite the good sound quality, they kept sliding off her head, and the headband frequently got tangled in her long, curly hair, making them uncomfortable to wear.
So What Now?
The underrepresentation of women in the audiophile community is undeniable. Yet, it’s important to recognize that progress is being made, albeit slowly.
When I first started this hobby, meeting another female was very rare. Now, I know quite a few and made friends with a lot of them.
I do wish there were more of us, but progress is progress.
In the end, I think instead of hiding in the shadows, female audiophiles must come out to support and lift each other up.
By sharing our experiences and love for music, we can encourage more women to join our ranks. This will create a diverse and vibrant community that celebrates the universal language of sound.
Together, we can drown out the voices of sad, bigoted men when needed.
And who knows? Maybe this increased visibility will lead some brands to recognize the need for products and designs that cater to a wider range of preferences and physical considerations. That would be a huge win for all of us!
As a male visitor to the site by way of Reddit, this article really makes me stop and think. I would love nothing more (for this hobby) than for it to become more open and less insular, and the Internet has been kind of double edged sword in that respect. It’s great that more women are able to participate in and engage with a passion in ways that they hadn’t before, but it makes my heart sad that it so often is only under the cover of anonymity and/or from a distance.
We need to start doing a better job of holding ourselves up to as high of a standard of humanity as we do our gear and its fidelity.
Just wanted to say I enjoyed the article. You made some great points, and anybody who takes issue with the basic premise really needs a long hard look in the mirror.