Coin Collectors Female Or Male?

Wow, I have to admit, I am surprised, 41 vs 6. So far we have only 14% female vs 86% for males in our coin community. I coulda swore we had many many more females in here. Perhaps they are afraid to answer, I can't imagine why. They don't have post or answer to this post--just sign in and VOTE!!--Come on ladies get outa the closet--

Welcome to the CCF H_t_H.....

The main reson why there are more males than females collecting boils down to the simple fact that females are too busy spending them...[:p]

I'm 21 and male.

With regards to the lack of females and the male over representation within the hobby I believe this is because of one key factor.

It has been said women don't enjoy collecting, women aren't collectors. This is rubbish... most (but not all) of the women I have known all collect something. Shoes and general clothing seems to be the favourite, although if my father is anything to go by he buys more shoes and coats than anyone I've ever met. So stereotypes are not absolute.

That said the one reason I've come across that seems to be more possible than most is the male obsession with ordering things and listing things. Look at the male dominated hobbies, coin collecting, sports statistic collecting, train spotting etc. They all involve collecting something and putting it in order and making lists of it. It is said that this type of categorisation behaviour is more common to males than females. However, this doesn't explain why most librarians and archivists are female... and boy do they make lots of lists!

So who knows?

There probably are psychological traits that predispose people to collecting. I like to play around with MBTI theory (a form of personality typing) and related psychological theories. It is somewhat controversial, and I don't believe it gets everything right, but it can be a useful tool. From this theory, it seems that a combination of two cognitive functions may play into this. Sensing, directed internally, concerns data storage, recall, and connections with the past. Thinking, directed externally, concerns ordering the world according to objective criteria, looking at empirical data, etc. These two functions, combined, would tend to lead to categorizing and organizing things. Some studies have indicated that, while preferences for thinking and feeling are about evenly split in society, men disproportionately prefer the thinking function, while women prefer the feeling function. However, there are significant numbers of people who deviate from this, so broad assumptions about individuals based on gender may be incorrect.

I am a type that prefers neither sensing nor thinking (I prefer internally-directed feeling, combined with externally-directed intuition). However, the precise combination that I was talking about, the one that goes well with categorization, is in third and fourth place, and I have developed these functions pretty well. But for me to want to do organize things, I need a compelling (generally emotional) reason. Coins, with their strong connections to history and other cultures, past and present, appeal to my primary functions. So to keep track of what I have, do research, and put the coins where I can easily find them again, I have to sort and categorize them. I wouldn't do this with something I didn't care deeply about.

I wonder if this gender disparity between the thinking and feeling functions has something to do with the greater numbers of men in the hobby. When I meet other coin people in person, it is clear to me that my personality is quite different from the norm in the community. This isn't a bad thing - it is just an observation I have made over the years, but it does make me wonder why I am so drawn to coins when, in many ways, I am not the "typical" coin collector. I guess, within any group or subculture, there is a certain amount of individual variation.

These are just some thoughts and opinions. Yours may vary.

Heather

Well Heather I'm known for being a bit Harry opposite. I tend to be more of a follow my feelings kind of person, rather than a rational thinking kind of person (and I'm a collector!). Although I have moments when I'm more of a thinker than a feeler. I find the two are often in conflict with me but I know the reason for this.

Some research shows that it's less gender specific and more about which side of the brain you use.

Right handed people tend to be more rational (as the left side of the brain is the rational, logical part), lefties tend to be more emotional (as that is what the right brain side controls).

It is ultimately slightly more complex than that as it doesn't always come down to just to which hand you prefer to write with, but whether you are left/right footed, favour the left or the right eye/ear more (when you answer the telephone do you always use the same ear?).

As a person that is very ambidexterous (slightly favouring the left), I tend to sometimes think with the left, sometimes with the right and thus it creates contradiction, which is why I like history and science! Science/Maths/Techincal drawings/Logical things are favoured by the left half of the brain (i.e right hander friendly), Poetry/Literature/History/Romance/Art are favoured by the right half of the brain (i.e left hander friendly).

Which is why many of my history teachers were left handers as were several of us students. You might think, well 'I'm right handed and I love poetry and art and stuff like that' (incidently I hate poetry). True but when growing up who taught you to write and did they stick the pen in your right hand? The reason stuff like this is just starting to show up more is because children are now being encouraged to write with the hand they prefer, rather than what is customary (and not communist)! So which side of the brain you use most is more clear.

I would think most list compilers and collectors who love categorising and organising are right handed. Those that appreciate the history and art behind the coins more and the more sentimental and wistful thinking side would be lefties or predisposed towards leftism.

Just a thought from the world of science there. It's yet to be proven either way.

quote:

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Originally posted by crystalk64

AEtheling its about time you showed up here! Apparently you have been OUT on one long coin buying spree?

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I've been busy but not out buying! I haven't bought anything in months Terry, I need the break though. I'll be all the more enthusiastic when I restart!

coinquest Many of us are well aware women can keep money! Shoot I have had a women keeping mine for most of my life!!!
Now let me just say this, I have nothing but admiration for those women, you included, who are NOT afraid to go where no woman has gone before! I see every one as equal and rather enjoy having women in this hobby and at the coin shop! Not to mention the fact a guy can talk to most women about any topic when most men can be just a little bit more narrow minded when it comes to many topics! And I don't mean that as an insult to all the guys out there its just that many men don't journey into conversations they are uncomfortable with or an area where they lack concrete knowledge. It is much easier to avoid those levels, so to speak. Women can do nothing more than strengthen this hobby so the hobby needs them and should welcome them with open arms! Glad to have ALL the ladies here and do hope they will pull up a chair and spend a little time with this family!

My Wife is very thrifty and I'm the one that blows the extra money! She is however great about my coin "habits". I quit smoking and drinking 10 years ago and probably spent as much on those "habits" back then as I do now on coins. At least I end up with something tangible at the end of the day! Mike