theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Why is this is a male-dominated industry?

B

BlackQueen

Jun 9, 2011
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As I'm getting to love this website more and more...i feel like im the only girl here, haha.
So why do you think this is mainly male dominated?
My theory is that this is a pretty ancient art, and relatively underground as well. Previous societies might not have LET women do this, and it's still underground, so maybe that's why?
Or do you think it's just because men are considered better showmen, especially with girls in sparkly dresses around them? :P
 
BlackQueen said:
As I'm getting to love this website more and more...i feel like im the only girl here, haha.
So why do you think this is mainly male dominated?
My theory is that this is a pretty ancient art, and relatively underground as well. Previous societies might not have LET women do this, and it's still underground, so maybe that's why?
Or do you think it's just because men are considered better showmen, especially with girls in sparkly dresses around them? :P
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You are not the only woman here...MALIBUARMY is also a woman (and a great friend of mine)...another 3 around also...I would say their name...but I don`t want to offend somebody if I am wrong...

Anyway..my opinion is...I don`t know...really....maybe it`s because women are more afraid to be put out there...to be honest, a great deal of people that start doing magic is because the social acceptance they receive when they perform...for women is a little bit different, Most of the time (and there could be exceptions) social acceptance is easier...for many factors, so they don`t "require" to call attention upon themselves...they can have it without to much effort...

well..that`s one theory...it also could be because (and I bear witness of this) when there is a women magician around, the other men magicians like her to much and they want to call her attention, and sometimes be boyfriends with them ( they think having a female magician as a girlfriend could be awesome...and maybe they get to do a magic act sometime together...like making a baby appear) and in response the female magician feels a little bit overwhelmed and they end up quiting...again...this can be the case in some situations...

I have other theories...also because is men`s fault...usually they think a woman magician is not as great as a guy (again...sometimes...not always)...wrong...dead wrong!!...so they look down at them...and I have seen it before...
 
i think the reason is what you said above.. that men are better showmen and that an image of the magician in his tux with his lovely assistant is set onto the face of magic. But yet, that doesn't eliminate the idea of why there isn't many women that get interested in doing magic as their full time job. It's a good question, but owns a difficult answer. :)
 
Interesting...i do agree that it's more of a traditional thing. I definitley disagree with the fact that men are better showmen- there are many women that could KILL on stage. But the same way some guys suck at showmanship, a lot of women probably suck too.

So in the end, I would agree it's more of a social stigma and the above said 'traditional' image of the magician and his lovely assistant.

As far as actual skill goes...i mean i think males and females are equally matched at dexterity, it's more of a matter of practice.
 
A Lot Of Tradition, Old And New

I echo tradition on several fronts as well. First, the historical tradition is that the "magician" is a male and has a (or several) female "assistant(s)". Especially back in the early days of the grand stage shows (and given the prejudices/inequalities that existed at the time) with females being viewed as the "weaker" sex, it undoubtedly played into the ability to shape an audience's perception that a "lowly female" really is just "doing her duty" by assisting the "headlining star" male and not doing anything sneaky. That same "headlining star" could then freely use that fact to the act's advantage when it came to both method and misdirection i.e., an audience being more likely to watch a female in a showy costume move, dance, etc. than they would a male. (I actually wouldn't be surprised to learn that many magical couples at this time were actually, if not secretly, more progressive in their views of the equality of the sexes than the majority of people.)

Nowadays it seems that magic is appealing even more to the "geeks" of the world ... and geeks still tend to be male. "Geek" is of course meant in the nicest way possible: folks who really and seriously get into like things like video games, computers, books, sci fi, math, science, art, etc. at far deeper levels than the masses. Folks who are far more inquisitive, intellectual, and studious than the average person. Are there female "geeks?" Sure. It's just that females in general typically have other (and/or broader) interests. Oddly enough, some of us male geeks (and I'm speaking solely about myself at this point, although I bet there's at least one or two others out there) who have discovered that magic is not only a phenomenal discipline worthy of lifetime study in its own right, but it is also something that can be used for the exact same purposes as poetry according to a certain Professor Keating </thinly veiled movie reference>.

I think it's sad that it's still male dominated, but at the same time it presents a tremendous opportunity for female magicians. And it's time we see some (more?) female close-up artists. Can you imagine the reputation and the following that a stellar and actively performing female close-up artist could garner?
 
A very legitimate question. I only know a few female magicians.

Looking at it in a wider scope, entertainment in general has been a male dominated genre for a long time. Fortunately that's changing. There could be many reasons and contributing factors that have affected this - and I certainly don't mean that it justifies it in any way.

We still live in a society where young people have to overcome validity obstacles when they perform. Where society views women as simply "not funny". That skin color still has a lot to do with professionalism. etc etc.

It's important though to realize that the only constant is change, and that even though society has these social rules it is still possible to change and bend them. Showing people the opposite creates cognitive dissonance - and there are only a few escape routes from that point. The most common is the make the cause the exception. That means that you specifically will but put outside of the "normal" and be seen as separate from the social rule. The other option is that the rule changes. This would take many more people over a longer period of time, but it definitively happens.
 
Beans25 said:
A very legitimate question. I only know a few female magicians.

Looking at it in a wider scope, entertainment in general has been a male dominated genre for a long time. Fortunately that's changing. There could be many reasons and contributing factors that have affected this - and I certainly don't mean that it justifies it in any way.

We still live in a society where young people have to overcome validity obstacles when they perform. Where society views women as simply "not funny". That skin color still has a lot to do with professionalism. etc etc.

It's important though to realize that the only constant is change, and that even though society has these social rules it is still possible to change and bend them. Showing people the opposite creates cognitive dissonance - and there are only a few escape routes from that point. The most common is the make the cause the exception. That means that you specifically will but put outside of the "normal" and be seen as separate from the social rule. The other option is that the rule changes. This would take many more people over a longer period of time, but it definitively happens.
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Today`s truth...is tomorrow`s bull****
 
I think it's because of tradition, but it doesn't make any sense. Female magicians are as good (or sometimes better) as male performers, there is no difference at all. If you don't believe me just watch a couple of videos that Ekaterina has uploaded to YouTube. She won the PaperCraneMagic contest, and to tell the truth, I think the prize couldn't be in better hands.
 
Maybe because magic or a lot of it is sort of dark and gritty? I think a creative girl could create amazing magic that is light and colorful full of flowers glitter and silks or whatever it sounds awesome! But most males won't go that far for the obvious reason.
 
WilliamMckeehan said:
Maybe because magic or a lot of it is sort of dark and gritty? I think a creative girl could create amazing magic that is light and colorful full of flowers glitter and silks or whatever it sounds awesome! But most males won't go that far for the obvious reason.
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I think it could work the other way around...a girl doing magic that is a little bit dark and gritty would be awesome!!
 
There is also another reason that hasn't been said here that I should address. Most young women find magic "geeky" and "uncool" these days, and wouldn't want to be caught dead doing magic. It would lower their social status and it wouldn't be something worth going into. Take into account not EVERYONE is like this, but most around me are, which is why I stopped performing for anyone at my school.
 
do they? Hmm...i didn't really notice that. Honestly most females i know waste half their lives on facebook XD
But i really don't understand why they find it 'geeky'. like, HELLO. You just did the [seemingly] IMPOSSIBLE right in front of their eyes.
 
There are certain trends and social expectations of sexes. The reason not many girls do magic is the same reason not many girls play with yoyo's or build miniature models. It's just not that interesting to the female mindset, especially in this day and age.
 
The last few posts are just anecdotal. I knew plenty of woman in wood shop, welding, and technical theater in highschool. In middle school a girl introduced me to the idea of steampunk, she was an "Airship captain" and probably could whip anyone's buttox. It may be true that girls hold different interests, but not necessarily away from hobbies or careers where they have to get their hands dirty.

Also I consider many girl magic assistance magicians. They do all the work, especially in illusions. I suggest anyone with Netflix to look up "Women in Boxes". It is a documentary on magic assistants.
 
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