Gina, over at Pet Connection, posted this one, and it's pretty good, so I'm posting it here as well.
And yes, women are over-represented at dog shows. Demographic research shows 61% percent of dog show watchers are women and 39% are men. To put it another way, women are 19% more likely than the average adult to watch dog shows, while men are 20% less likely. Dog shows also have the greatest appeal among consumers ages 45+.
As for handlers -- the folks paid to walk a dog around a ring on a string -- they too are mostly women.
Are blondes under-represented at dog shows? I had not noticed, but it would not surprise me if it were true.
- Related Links:
** The Comedy of Dog Shows
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6 comments:
Oh wow, so glad I dragged out my headphones (school computer/crappy speakers/yeah) for a laugh this morning. That was HILARIOUS!
It's surprising the disproportionate female::male ratio in my vet tech school. Who said women can't dig science? Or is it that men just don't dig animals?
I find that most people who are in dogs are women. Most dog writers are women. Most small animal veterinarians are women. Most people at dogs events of any sort, including many types of working trials, are women.
I have no idea what the deal is, but if you're ever going to find any good dog writing by men, you almost always have to go to a hunting dog magazine.
The culture of dog shows should make any man wince. My sister was into majorette competitions, and I was dragged to dozens of them. I hated every minute of them. I especially hated the two hour long awards ceremony at the end. I don't see how a dog show is much different. It's just more money, more pomp and circumstance, and more vacuousness.
Viatecio,
I probably would have gone to vet school had I had a better inclination towards math. My brain does not do figures well. It's just one of its dysfunctions.
So I studied history, politics, and literature.
And yet ... the top winning professional handlers are men.
ANY animal-oriented activity tends to have more women than men. My brother the football coach would like to meet someone. I told him to stop coaching football and take up dog agility. He'd be outnumbered at least 20-to-1 and would meet lots of smart, active women.
If you correct for age, I would imagine that women also have gained in large-animal veterinary ranks. Women became a majority in vet schools within the last 20 years, and now are the overwhelming majority of graduates. I also know women who hunt -- and whose husbands/BFs don't -- and they largely came into it not for the hunting because their dogs like working.
Volunteers at the animal shelters? Picketers at a puppy-mill outlet? Recipe-traders at a vegan potluck? Women. Women. Women.
Gee, I'm just so glad I'm blonde!
I agree with Gina, almost all animal involved activities seem to be mostly, if not all, women. (Although I couldn't tell you about the vegan potlucks, that must be her thing.) But have you ever gone to a saddle club and watched the competitions? 3/4 or more are women. Honestly, I think most animals prefer women to men too, I think women on average tend to be calmer and a little more centered in general and animals can sense that.
Sue
Vegan potlucks, not my thing. But I have been to a few anyway.
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