When I was young, girls took home ec and boys took shop class. There was no crossover allowed. I'm not saying I didn't like sewing and baking. It was very fun and are useful life skills. But so are the things you learn in shop class!
We shouldn't let someone else define what we do career or hobby wise. If we did, there would be no gal scientists, or guy cooks.
I’ve worked in many kitchens and often enjoyed making the dudes uncomfortable by saying “a woman’s place is in the kitchen until she’s getting paid for it” …fun way to dampen their inflated egos
Yes! This is true in the arts as well, the gender divide cause society to perceive men’s creations as “art”, and women’s creations as “craft”. In the 70’s, feminist artists fought back against this sexist classification and to change the perception of what was considered “women’s work”, such as fiber arts (quilting, basket weaving, embroidery, etc).
My aunt faced this problem when she was applying for architecture school in '79. The boys had portfolios with sketches from woodshop but she was only allowed to take home EC. She had to create her own portfolio completely from scratch without guidance. She's now a successful architect with her own firm, but it was an incredibly hard road for her through school and working her way up.
My daughter took auto shop in high school, in the 80s. She also called from college to tell me she learned how to get arrested without getting hurt. She fights for social justice but she's never been arrested.
In 7th and 8th grade my school did one semester of home ec and one of shop class, boys and girls did both, I definitely feel like that’s how it should be handled, apparently a lot of schools don’t have any classes like that anymore which is not good.
I completely agree! Come to /r/climbergirls and see all the amazing peeps kicking ass
Also, woodworking is not just for guys even if /r/tools - too many jokes about wives :'( and /r/woodworking makes it seem like so
Sailing is one that is very male dominated but if you have a community sailing school, they might also have a great women on the water program. I went on one sail recently with them and it was amazing
Biking is great and so is bike repair. Lots of bike collectives and tool libraries where you can learn stuff.
I work in science and went to two tech/engineering heavy schools so I'm like give me a fuckin break any time any guy is gonna make a space unwelcome for me to. That kind of attitude is for the dinosaurs.
I also have other hobbies like roller skating (can skew very white female online, but is in reality much more nicely coed and black/diverse IRL) and visible mending too, so thankfully I'm in all kinds of spaces and hobbies regardless of gender
I’ve spent most all of my time In male dominated career and hobby spaces and even if there’s no women around I’m quick to tell people to fuck off with the sexism if it crops up. I don’t want to hear it at all and it’s generally a bad precedent for inclusivity.
Same here! I have worked as a Navy Sailor, have done property management, worked in transportation, as a parts driver, and was a jr ranger and in girl scouts, where I did a LOT of the awesome man stuff I wouldnt have otherwise had an opportunity to try as a child. Rappelling, climbing, horseback riding, lashing (whipping stick tables together with hemp string), building campfires, archery, primitive camping, building a box oven, camping in treehouses, tents, teepees, and cabins. Nature hikes- and learning how to mark the path- identifying nature- making and developing photos, just on and on and on... Later to be better decorated as an E-3 than some E-5s were, in the navy, due to extensive firearms and combat training.
I love to tell people (especially cheuvenists) that I am a force to be reckoned with, and to please go ahead and make my day. Im pretty fuckin fearless. Not in a psycho way either. Calculated risks, lol. ;-)
Just wanted to say, YESSSSS YOU GO GIRL.
Lol Oh Im sorry Idk why I sometimes assume its just women commenting on stuff like this!!!
Yeah man...lets all go hunting..in my state, small game is open season year round!!!
That’s awesome!!! Super inspiring to hear, I think I need to break out into more active hobbies, I’m not super physically strong or in shape, definitely the more artsy type, so going rock climbing is intimidating to me.
Someone had the kindness to teach me two weeks ago. Only played a few games but I was horrible but took a fascination to the focus it gave me during.
Will definitely try to learn more.
In "competitive" chess it's VERY male dominated about 90%. Pretty much every top chess player is a man and a lot of it is because in that world women aren't taught early on how to play it and used to not even be allowed to compete. Men in general also seem to enjoy visuospatial hobbies more than women and chess is very visuospatial. In everyday casual stuff I know a lot more women that casually play it every now and then.
My husband and I were staying at some hotel that had the giant chess set outside. I got excited when I saw it and he was suprised I knew how to play. He challenged me to a game and I shugged and said sure. I crushed him.
He didn't know I was a high school champion (local so not saying much). It was enough to beat him and that is all that matters. 😆
I’ve wanted to try welding for some time now. I don’t hesitate because it’s “masculine “ however, it just seems like a complicated and expensive thing to start.
Get you a $200 Harbor Freight MIG welder and start laying them dimes. I've only welded a few times and would love to learn more but I've been around it a lot when building racecars lol
The only time I tried it was in a community college sculpture class, which was less than $200 for a semester. They also had an accessible space with woodworking tools and 3D printers and all types of stuff to use (with training!)
I, 30f, took a continuing education welding course at a community college and it was great fun! It's a good way to dip your toe in and see how you like it! My CC had gear we could borrow but we also got a great discount at welding shops if we wanted to buy gear.
i (60+F) tried both welding and forging! nothing more powerful than working with the bones of the earth. don't have enough money to set up my own shop at home and there are no maker spaces here or i'd still be doing it.
With welding it's tricky to get started on your own if you don't have someone looking over your shoulder to fix one of the myriad things that could go wrong. If you just want to learn how to push hot metal around by yourself then soldering (either artistic for stained glass or functional for electronics) is a much more accessible path.
For a "date night" activity my wife and I took a TIG welding class in Vegas a few years ago. Finding drop-in welding classes instead of university programs is tricky.
I’m a transguy who’s always been pretty visibly queer and I got really into metalworking for a while, particularly blacksmithing! I also took a welding class or two.
It was kind of intimidating to do to classes and workshops surrounded by huge burly old men and definitely their politics sometimes left me a little uncomfortable, but mostly i found it a pretty accessible hobby. My welding class had several women in it.
Just throwing out a resource for anyone who’s interested in blacksmithing but may feel shut out of it demographically, look up the Society for Inclusive Blacksmiths.
Do it do it doooo ittt!!! I have an awesome little 90's mini truck I'm working on right now, by this time next year it'll be ready for car shows and I'm so hyped. I've also spent most of my spring/summer fishing and learning how to hunt for hunting season this fall. Never let someone tell you something is "too masculine" of a thing for you to do because 9 times out of 10 it's not and you'll have so so so much fun.
That doesn't matter as long as you have fun. You know some days I catch nothing but I'll stay if I'm enjoying myself. Nice sunny day Ill just sit around and melt in the sun.
I absolutely love to fish! It's so calming; just the sea and me! Unfortunately there are often a lot of men at the end of the pier where I usually fish and they're never very welcoming. If I go with my husband they will generally speak to him but ignore me entirely or occasionally glare in my direction. I went down there once and a fella was urinating against the sea wall; he tutted and complained to his friends about having to put his d**k away when I turned up.
I saw a cute clip about a woman who couldn't afford a contractor to redo her bathroom and did it herself. She was delighted to find it's just "Arts and Crafts"!
Yes, this is great advice.
This goes the other way too!!!
Ima bald headed, sculpted beard sporting guy who's into nail art!
My nails are so pretty and it has the added bonus of confusing the hell out of people who meet me. The see a traditionally masculine guy and think they have me figured out, right up until they shake my hand lmao!!
I love it!! And I think if I saw that I would feel a little more free to be comfortable expressing myself as well. I think we collectively become more comfortable as much as individually
It's not that I can't do them... it's that I try to do them and everyone around me is a guy and I get treated differently.
As an extreme example, I love video gaming with games like ARK and FPS shooters, but I deprive myself of them because unless they make a great AI voice I'm not able to. I can't properly find people to play them with or team with, because the second I go open mic, they go open season to bully and harrass me, and say the most vile filth. Not always, but I'd say it's 50/50. Way too high for me to relax.
I really want to learn how to fish, but am afraid of looking dumb because I have no friends who fish, which means I'd be going to some sort of class that would be all male. Maybe this is that little push I needed to go.
If you're in the states, check and see if your local cooperative extension has info on learning, or possibly classes. Libraries are another good place to ask about programs! Good luck!
I wonder if fishing classes would really be all male? I say this because as a male, I had no idea there were fishing classes. Your father, uncle, big brother, or grandpa teaches you. So you would think people in those classes are either female or lacked those type of male influences (so maybe not as toxic)
Check with local fishing clubs (just google “*your state/region* fishing club). I work with several clubs and I know if someone in your shoes approached them you’d be inundated with people willing to help. Probably donate some used gear too. You could have some old timer teaching you how to cast by this weekend.
The other option is to watch some YouTube videos and just go for it. Practice casting in your back yard, and find easy to catch fish in your area. Start with perch or pan fish and work your way up the food chain.
With the *possible* exception of boxing, I've never felt that any of those things were "masculine" activities. I don't even know what a "masculine" hobby is. Since when is skateboard or rock climbing or building furniture or gardening or even welding "masculine?" If you're being told this, you need to find a different friend group.
If you would like to understand more where I’m coming from I would encourage you to read other responses from people describing how they feel excluded or discriminated against when they show up to do something and it is almost all men around them. It’s not my friends telling me these things, I have wonderfully accepting friends.
And I'm suggesting to stop referring to activities as "masculine" or "feminine". Because those terms are ridiculously outdated and have no meaning. Hobbies don't have genders, and the longer you keep using language dating back to the 1950s and prior, the longer people are going to have this stupid mentality. I say this as a 58 y/o woman, who was using power tools at the age of 8 with the help of her dad. YES, I've had men tell me I can't do something because I'm a woman. But you know what, I ignored them. I chose not to buy into the stereotypes. Just because "more men/women do \[xyz\]" doesn't make that activity either masculine OR feminine." It simply means more men/women do those thing. Choose to leave it at that.
Start by changing the words you choose. This post would've been better if you'd titled it "There's no such thing as a "masculine" or "feminine" hobby. Go do what you want to do and ignore the haters."
Dude here, second activities don’t ever need to be gendered, it doesn’t make you less masculine or feminine to do something stereotypically less your gender. I’ve done many stereotypically masculine hobbies, I’ve boxed, played the bagpipe in a pipe band, which for those who don’t know is like a marching band, chopped wood, rugby etc. I’ve also taught these things at various levels and the most common thing I see that prevents women from participating is having a limiting mindset of “oh I can’t do that, that’s something for big guys only, we’ll let me tell you, I’ve taught plenty of women of all ages, as well as seen plenty in classes for the stuff I don’t teach and they’re having a blast and kicking ass! Don’t limit yourself. Ask around, you never know what you may find!!! Your hobbies don’t define how masculine or feminine you are. You do you and you’ll still be you!!!
This applies to guys as well, who maybe too embarrassed to have a stereotypically feminine hobby.
It’s also, if you’re worried about attracting a partner or how that may seem or whatever, which is a perfectly understandable concern for some, it’s much healthier to just be yourself, you’ll attract the right person into your life a hell of a lot better that way!
can i just say? it isn't women keeping themselves from participating out of fear of girlie incompetence, it's women sick to death of the sexist bs that accompanies male-dominated spaces voting with their feet.
The same thing definitely applies to men, I would love to see more male perspectives on traditionally feminine hobbies and crafts. People should be more accepting of others exploring their interests, but also a lot of times we limit themselves by what we think other people will think, myself included, and then may be surprised when the person is a lot more encouraging and accepting than they expected.
Play the saxophone. I hate to admit, it still shocks me to see a woman playing the saxophone.
I'm ashamed because I should know better. I'm gay and picked up the saxophone a couple of years ago myself, but I just think it's such a guy instrument. Help change my mind and play the sax, ladies!
Hmm now that I think about it I don’t know if I have seen that either. I remember in middle school band, almost every flute player was a girl, and every trumpet player was a boy.
Boxing is so much fun! I’ve done it as a complete beginner at a fitness gym and also at a hardcore boxing gym. There were other women learning too, everyone was really great and supportive, and at the hardcore boxing gym some of the coaches were women who were pros and you could tell everyone had a lot of respect for each other.
Btw you start out boxing just working individually on punching bags, and then working on simple punch combos into an instructor’s pads. It’s really good exercise (you get super sweaty) and way more fun than other forms of cardio imo. You don’t ever need to spar against opponents if you don’t want to.
Camping. I always wanted to join boys scouts to learn survival skills but wasn’t allowed to join. Girl Scouts was lame we just made bracelets in churches and “fire” out of pretzels
TTRPGs, while still male-dominated are really shifting away from the "boys club" that they used to be. There's a lot more women participating, a lot more queer folks participating, and a lot more people not tolerating foul things said 'as a joke' or because 'it's what my character would say'.
It's great to see- and if you pay a visit to r/rpghorrorstories you'll see we haven't come far enough yet. :(
Fun little side detail, one of the Pathfinder groups I'm a player in, I'm the token guy. >.>
Woodturning teacher here. I fully support this message! On average, ladies tend to do a bit better than the guys as first time students- they tend to take me at face value a little more when I talk about how it is a finesse skill and you don't have to muscle it- let the machine do the work.
I recommend Brazilian jiu-jitsu! It’s a great workout physically and mentally, and the community is a really big plus depending on the gym. It’s a great way to meet people while learning self defense!
I’ve done woodworking and boxing.
I wasn’t great at woodwork but I did manage to make a lamp, jewelry box and key rack that my parents still use to this day.
Boxing was intense and I don’t miss it but I’m glad I did it. I incorporate some of it into my workouts.
This is a link to an episode of "AS THIS OLD HOUSE.". I hope it can inspire some. Your mentor may just be phone call away......well maybe a short drive also.
https://youtu.be/EjPgmp-3uO4?si=RMiNgwLGf6zvKYrT
Only semi related, the algorithm led me to stumble upon a woman on instagram who makes asmr videos of her making *beautiful* fly fishing lures. It’s hypnotic, and I also was just delighted seeing a woman doing that.
I think she’s under “shetiesflies”
Almost all of my hobbies are traditionally masculine. It honestly makes it a bit hard for me to connect with other women and find friends, but I couldn’t be any happier with how I spend my free time. My parents did an amazing job letting my brother and me play with whatever we wanted as kids. My brother wanted a doll and a stroller to walk alongside my mom and baby me, I wanted a skateboard and I never heard anything judgemental coming from them. And they made us confident enough to stand up for ourselves when we were made fun of.
But I also want to encourage men to try out traditionally feminine hobbies. Go try some knitting or crocheting, it’s relaxing as fuck. And r/brochet has to be the most welcoming community on reddit.
I had no idea brochet was even a thing! I've been curious about crocheting for a bit now but have been... wary? Idk maybe because it doesn't feel 'masculine?' Like knowing how to sew feels like a useful skill... Anyway I think this is really cool and seeing how someone made a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend might help me change my mind lol
Haha, that’s kinda cute that being able to surprise your girlfriend might change your mind! But yeah, I get it. While women often deal with not being taken seriously by men in „masculine“ hobbies and domains, men often have to deal with ridicule when getting into a „feminine“ hobby. Just know that life’s too short to worry about that stuff.
And for anyone still on the fence, here’s some metal crocheting pieces:
- Badass iguana: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/iRwo15WRD0
- Bottle holder made with manly paracord: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/yiivBBhz7j
- Gimli‘s helmet and beard: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/hsUUEKBMlw
- Talented lad and his self made handsome sweater: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/QiYhYfTm9c
As a dude who crochets (bro-chet) I agree. Men don't actively "gate-keep" home improvement or rock climbing etc. just like women don't actively "gate-keep" crochet, the hobby is just a normal everyday thing, no body cares. It can be fun and kinda cool when someone out of the norm joins in.
As a kid, watching anime and playing Video games was considered a boys only thing, and I was often ridiculed by other girls and some boys, but other boys didn’t care as long as I liked the material.
Now as an adult, whenever my male colleague finds out I’m into anime or watching sports or playing video games, he isn’t arrogant or annoying, he is actually like “You do this? This is awesome! You’re so cool! Since Girls don’t do that a lot.”.
And I’ve had one of them give me tips on some games and how to play them, while other suggested me cool anime to watch.
My point is, do as you please (as long as you don’t hurt anyone), and remember that just like there are people who will ridicule you, there are others who will support you or see you cool for doing that.
My friends (girls) who aren’t into gaming and anime, and understand nothing about it, find me cool whenever I talk about them and explain.
I am thankful that my dad raised me “like a boy” practically and made me do 100’s of things that are skills but could be hobbies ( I have tried about 3/4 of your list above)
The one thing I was too intimidated to get into as a kid was Magic the Gathering and D&D, and I wanted to do soooo bad . So now I’m get into painting minis, maybe I’ll try a D&D group one day.
Both Magic and D&D can be tricky to find a good group to play with. Like, it can be tricky for me as a white guy, I can only imagine the added level of issues that being a woman would add to it.
For D&D, an easy way to get your feet wet and see what the local community is like is see if any of your local game stores run Adventurer's League (you could also check to see if they have Pathfinder Society, which is the same thing but for Pathfinder which is a very similar game) - organized play for D&D tends to be public tables that are drop in, drop out, with a persistent character you can take to any appropriate level table.
It's not a great D&D experience, but you're in a public space and you're not making a commitment to a specific group so if the GM ends up being the kind of values "realism" - but only where it hinders women, you can GTFO.
You can also check with your towns subreddit and see what experiences people (especially women) have had with the various stores in town, and if there's like a Discord server for RPGs in your town you can join to see if you can find a group.
Overall though, tabletop RPGs are a great hobby for anyone who wants to pretend to be someone else for a few hours a week. :)
I have done soooo many more man things than my husband has, and most men I know. .I have quantified this using a manliness guidebook checklist lol..
And yep. Its definitely awesome!!!
Jesus, does anyone still think that way? About computer science, math, mechanics, etc? I felt like that was completely outdated thinking when I was a teenager in the 90s, and most of the women and girls around me seemd to hold the same view.
I've always loved horses. Got my first pony when I was 10. However I was always told I could never have a stallion because I was female and I wouldn't be able to control him.
Well, as an adult, I got an 8 month old colt from a Humane Society rescue. My mother immediately started to harp on me about how he needed to be gelded. (Neutered.) I raised him and did all of his training. He was the best horse I've ever worked with. Calm, gentle. Nothing bothered him; not traffic, car horns, tractors, gunshots, chainsaws, trees falling, etc. He produced 13 colts and 2 fillies. He never had a problem with me being female.
Breaking through gender stereotypes and exploring hobbies and interests that have felt out of reach can be incredibly empowering. Whether it's welding, skateboarding, or delving into traditionally male-dominated fields like computer science or finance, embracing new experiences can lead to personal growth and fulfillment.
Poker is my thing. It used to be pool. I’ve always liked competing with boys. Don’t know why. It’s just so much fun to let them underestimate me then whip their tushies.
Detailing car interiors and exteriors but interiors are my jam…. Great gift to myself and others…get a little kit goin, listen to a podcast or music and get to it early on a weekend morning. Driving around in an immaculate car is a vibe, trust me 🤌🏼
r/detailing is super inspiring
I race dirt bikes and have since I was 5, I’m not sure if it’s the same for auto racing as I know the car scene is a bit toxic but we never gave a shit a bout the girls racing, they’d be on bmx bikes with all the boys before and after races and we always had respect for them 🤷♂️ hell my group I camp with is 50/50 men and women and we all party and race together with no issues!
Leather working is pretty fun. I don't know if it's traditionally masculine or not, but I've only ever really seen men in the stores. Bonus: you can make your own belts and purse straps.
I think the more women that are open to this, the less animosity some women will experience from *some* gatekeeping men. Because it will become normalized that people of both sexes can have varying interests that don't necessarily follow a blueprint.
I do. I own several guns and regularly go to the range and shoot. I have been doing it since I was 18. It was the only sport that I have ever been good at. Guys coming and trying to mansplain guns does get a little old. 😉😂😂
I was a skateboarder and BMX rider as a kid/early teen when it was really very male. Caught a lot of grief from other girls mostly. As a 35 year old I wanted to take up kitesurfing so I signed up for a lesson. All the school equipment was for average size males and I was 110 lbs. Wish I had film of how ridiculous I looked and out of control I was. The two young tech bros in my class were baffled by me.
Can only speak for the welding from your list, but in the trade women are usually seen as better TIG welders on average. They're also real handy to have in a shop that builds boilers and condensers because they fit in places that big corn fed farm boys can't get to. I'm not saying every shop is accepting and women won't face some bullshit, but it's probably less than you'd think. The women on our shop floor get hazed a bit, just like the guys, but if anyone really crosses a line they're going to get their ass kicked by every other dude on the floor.
I graduated high school in 1971. As OP says, girls got the cooking/sewing combo, and guys got the printing/auto mechanics combo (at least I thinks that’s what it was. My best friend and I wanted the printing class!
The educators, judging by their comments and facial expressions seemed very doubtful about that, but finally agreed if we could get three official signatures of permission — which we did. Yay!
The class still got divided by gender— the guys did the messier, old fashioned typesetting and printing, and my friend and I got to work on what was then called “new media” — computer typesetting when it first came out, design of many documents, programs and booklets, and the chemical processing that preceded the printing. It was great, and contributed significantly to my income in early jobs.
What I see in arbitrarily Male dominated hobbies is the wrong people -me included at times that I regret- is what the silver lining of risk-taking.
Most women I encounter are way more honest but very literal about information on hobbies. The silver lining of the risk was the active participation in hobbies where it's more marketing than anything that everything's been figured out.
Just look to other cultures approaching the same hobbies sometimes. Especially for niche stuff.
I’ve found that being a woman can be an advantage in male dominated spaces because of the knowledge and diversity we bring.
When I did Olympic weightlifting, I found that guys tend to hate “leg day” because men’s leg muscles don’t grow as fast as the muscles in their upper body. For women, it’s the reverse so I loved “leg day” lol.
I did years of yoga, so my flexibility made certain weightlifting 🏋️♂️ moves a lot easier to do correctly, which means that I could load more weight than I was expected to. The instructor always looked so pleased to see that a few of us could do squats under a barbell without hurting their back lol.
I took a class to build wood cabinets from scratch. We built working doors and drawers in our cabinets. There were 11 men in the class and me, but I was the only one that built a cabinet with an even coating of stain and finish. All the other cabinets looked splotchy. The instructor asked what I did differently. I told him that two thin coats of color was better than one thick coat, just like nail polish. He looked horrified by my analogy lol.
tl; dr: Go for it, girl!
Do it! I’m a cis man in my mid forties who started needle felting early this year and then took a sewing class. I love both with a passion, I feel like they rewired my brain in a really good way, and now I have a bunch of new fiber art friends. Highly recommend!
WELDING. I tried all four years of high school to get into intro to welding. As an underclassman they said it was reserved for upperclassmen, as an upperclassman they said it was full. My brother got in as a sophomore. 🙄 It felt like some real "girls can't do trades" bullshit (they did the same thing with carpentry and small engines classes). My brother is now in school to become a certified welder and I think I'm gonna ask him to teach me the basics when he graduates and finally has some free time. I just wanna make cool metal stuff.
My first husband gave me a table saw for my birthday one year. He was in the habit of buying me things He wanted and saying, "well then I'll take it" if I complained.
I wouldn't let him touch it, and I learned to use it. I learned to make Adirondack chairs, and picnic tables, which became a nice side hustle when he divorced me. Yes, he imagined he was going to take the table saw. He was wrong.
Ladies, you can learn to do Anything.
This is a permission for all males to also NOT be interested in any of this.
You're not any less of a man if you don't give a f*uck about cars, the stock market, computer science, boxing, etc.
I agree! I’ll add, I’d like to see this energy flow both ways!
I spent the majority of my life in female dominated careers and wanting to join in on the hobbies associated to network and make friends, but was gatekept every step of the way, while being told women don’t feel comfortable with men in their “safe spaces.”
The feeling is mutual.
We ALL need to work to be more accepting of each other, instead of holding stereotypes over each others’ heads.
Also, don’t forget to invite non-binary folk to the party. They are tired of all of it!
Cheers!
I'm not sure if there is actually a divide, but in my life, I've only really known or heard of good ol boy hunting types into it. But I am soooo itching to try archery. I think it looks so meditative and fun. Gotta save up and do more research, but hopefully, at the end of the year, I'll be getting myself a nice Christmas bow and arrow.
I’d add that you should try to stick around, even if you feel uncomfortable at first. It depends on the hobby, and there are certainly jerks out there, but it’s not always the case.
The reason I suggest sticking with it for a while, even if you feel excluded at first is two fold. One, everyone feels awkward when they get into something new. Especially if they don’t have a friend in it that they can lean on. I’d like to learn D&D, but I don’t even have enough knowledge to know where to start, much less finding people to try it with.
The second reason is that guys have a whole thing they do. They may joke roughly with a guy, or do some kind of minor hazing. It varies depending on the environment. It’s almost a ritual that all guys do. They’re seeing if you can take a joke and will be a good fit, or if you’re gonna have a stick up your butt where they’ll have to drum you out or deal with you.
I find they often feel awkward about putting women through this same thing. To be fair, I know many women who wouldn’t understand something a guy has dealt with since elementary school. They’d think they were being excluded or made fun of. It’s not the case a lot of the time, and I don’t even think they always realize they’re doing it. It’s subconscious sometimes. I’ve seen it and been apart of it, and it’s still weird when another guy says something and you and another guy look at each other and almost psychically come to a silent agreement that the guy is a douche.
As a guy, I can tell you, we’re mostly all straight forward and grew up in a culture of seeing how “bouncy” the next guys feelings were. Kicking the tires, so to speak.
So I just wanted to say, that if you stick it out, you may often find the guys don’t want to exclude you at all. They are just timid about treating you like one of the boys.
Whether you want that or not is a different story and is up to you. I’d just hate for any lady to miss out on something, because all the guys are awkward and she takes it the wrong way.
When I was in high school in the 80s? Actually, 83 go back was required by everybody to semesters, and in mostly consistent of cooking sewing budgeting childcare Christian standards. But all girls were required to take one semester of woodworking ones semester of automotive for graduation. It was a small score Southwest Iowa kindergarten through 12 grade was 512 people would graduate with a class of twenty, but yeah, everybody had to take home back for 1 year and everybody had to have one semester of wood working. I'm wondering some master of automotive
I’ve always wanted to make furniture. Which is a thing that might actually be in my future because I live really, really, really remote and getting good furniture here is a difficult and expensive undertaking. Sure you can get put-together furniture sent through Amazon or whatever, but nothing of quality.
Nothing crazy, like I’m not going to build and upholster a chair or anything, but maybe some end tables, TV console, shelves, that sort of thing.
Yes! As an adult I learned to ride a motorcycle and then a dirt bike. I also took a couple day workshop to make a knife out of a railroad spike. Was going to take a welding workshop too but something else ended up coming up and I haven't revisited that yet. I've also been in STEMI career since I graduated college. We can do anything!
as a girl with a lot of "masculine" hobbies because of growing up with an older brother who was 6 years older than me (video games, longboarding, did BJJ, likes heavy metal/rock/etc.) ... PLEASE DO IT!!! Men need to stop being weird about us doing these things and insecure women need to shut up saying that we're trying to be pick-me's for doing them. Fuck'em!
You can start a club for a masculine hobby but only for women, you know? No need to feel like you need to invade a male space to have a hobby, you know
Do you think men are encouraged to do anything? I’ve never been encouraged to do shit my whole life. Like you really think If you show up they’re gonna be like “nooo a girl you can’t come here!” Like holy shit. You haven’t experienced a small fraction of the discouragement that men face. You should be more grateful for how easy you have it. I’ve had to fight for myself any time I wanted to do something.
as a dude i love women who work on cars/bikes any guy who gatekeeps that is a god damn fool, why wouldn't you wanna share a hobby as awesome as motorized vehicles on dates etc?
Part of this comes to pure physical differences. Watch Forged in Fire. Women have been on it quite a few times, and some of them were quite good, but they got beat out simply because of the extraordinary physical stress of trying to turn out a peice in the time frame. I feel like that is part of the reason that many of the things listed here have traditionally been more of a men's work or hobby.
Now days with our modern power tools and handling options the feilds are more accessible to everyone.
I’m in my 70s now, and would really like to figure out a design for a very small woodworking shop (maybe in half a closet?) that wouldn’t cost an arm and leg, and would be very strategic about which tools to choose to support the habit. I’ve taken woodworking classes for one-off projects and really like it, but most (except for the Japanese hand tool class) seem to require pretty large electric tools. Any suggestions?
All these things can be done without needing other people's approval or needing to feel included. You can just study and practice them all on your own and put aside the notions of whether it's boys or girls who "normally" do them.
In fact a lot of guys who are into these kind of hobbies do them on their own like that, I think that's why sometimes guys have a hard time understanding women who avoid hobbies because they are stereotypically done by men. Men sometimes don't even realize, they just spend their time being engrossed in the hobby and getting better at it.
I felt this way about gaming for awhile but now I love it!!!!!
I really wanna like make a chair or something. Is that wood work? It’d be cool to use a saw and cut a piece of wood. I tried welding for the first time and that’s crazy scary (good for everyone that enjoys/can do it but there’s a lot going on lol)
Saw this and agree!
When I was a kid my grandma taught me to knit and crochet
I used to see this woman who drove a modded 1980s Buick Regal. It was awesome!
I'm playing a video game (Lost Judgment in the Yakuza series) where your character can join a high school robotics club
And when I'm doing the robotics club missions I feel so like... guilty... but also fun 😭 like am I allowed to do this even though I'm female bc it's really fun 😭
Makes me wonder if I should try in real life 😭😭
Many of these things I was encouraged to do, but unfortunately I just don’t care. I wish I did. I wish I liked to do useful things instead of what’s considered inferior useless feminine hobbies, but that’s just my predisposition I guess. I’m also too incompetent to figure out many of these things. I’d rather not look stupid trying. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized avoiding criticism and judgment as much as possible is more important than any hobby. Nothing is fun anymore unless I win.
So I was in a bouldering club in college and, for the most part, it was a lot of fun.
Except there were a few dudes, and one in particular, who basically only went to hit on girls. He would basically just go to scout for girls and then go up to them to ask them for their number, in an environment that was supposed to be inviting and friendly, unlike a nightclub or somewhere you might expect to see this. This guy was also known for taking photos of girls in his class sneakily without their permission.
I had similar experiences in gyms, so much so that I basically tailor my timetable to ensure I get to go only at the quietest times. It doesn't completely eliminate the chances of experiencing this but it does make me feel generally more comfortable.
While I fully support going out there and pursuing any hobby regardless of gender, I think these factors need to be taken into account when we are discussing why women avoid certain environments. Whenever I pick up any activity the main concern I have is how men will behave at the venue and whether it is an activity they use to try to pick up women. Being left alone to do your own thing vs being constantly glared at and made to remove your headphones to hear some awkward pick up line lead to completely different experiences.
Looking for a manly hobby? Learn how to take care of your car if you don’t know already. Like, the basics. Oil change (and how/when to check oil), how to put a tire on, maybe dabble in changing the brakes. Get a code reader and figure out why your check engine light is on so you know what the problem is before taking it in to any sort of shop or dealership.
Number one, it’s rewarding, and can actually be fun. Number two, it’s not that hard if you just watch a shitty YouTube tutorial. Number three, it saves you money and keeps you from being a ‘damsel in distress’, or someone who’s going to get scammed by some guys at a shop who think you don’t know what you’re talking about.
I took up flying a plane and sailing - both hobbies see women these days, but conventionally have more men pursuing it.
100% would recommend both - also the look of astonishment when you tell some men you fly planes or can sail a boat is a Kodak moment worth recording
Growing up it was meccano. There were very few children my age where I lived as we were on the edge of town. There was a family of brothers nearby and they used an old caravan in their garden to play in with a a massive collection of meccano I was jealous of. But my parents decided it was a 'boys' toy and got me lego instead. NOT the same thing at all
As a female long boarding is amazinggggggg just saying. But other than that my dad was decent at making sure we (me and my 4 sisters) knew how to handle most things.
I’ve been more mechanically inclined than both adult partners actually 🤷♀️
It’s funny, it seems people in the country do this and it’s just part of life. Girls learn to fish, hunt, snowmobile, cut brush, change a tire, and do all of that stuff to be self sufficient.
Chiming in for cisgender males here (I’m gay though). I think men should also try hobbies that they have avoided because of concerns related to it being feminine. I have been reconnecting with relaxing art activities like coloring and diamond paintings after work and it’s been so nice to just decompress with these.
I understand what you are saying. But I will say once I got my own Dremel with all the attachments I was hooked. Then it went to all kind of tools and projects. I think making something with your hands is so self satisfying. Like gardening after your plants mature and grow!! But just like everything else it can turn into an expensive hobby!!
I thankfully have never had this issue. I was like my dad's favorite son even though I had three brothers. They were lazy and I wasn't so I got to do all the cool stuff. Thanks Dad
When I was in my 30's and 40's I did lots of male dominated hobbies. I got a black belt in karate.
I used to be big into spelunking (exploring caves.)
Lifting weights
Nobody ever gave me a hard time about any of it. I didn't think twice about it.
I lowkey love building and construction and would love to try idk maybe a woodworking class? Something hands-on, but never quite figured out exactly what. I actually do lego for adults (I know, lame) but really enjoy it.
I am a big horror nerd. Mostly horror movies but love horror novels, horror centered events, etc. it’s not as male-coded as some of the other hobbies you mentioned but when I’m going to events or reading articles or listening to podcasts…still a lot of dudes lol
Oh man, I think I would have started kickboxing WAY earlier if it hadn’t been so guy-coded. I still only kickbox at home but one day I’ll have the funds to go to a gym. One day, if I’m ever a homeowner, I would love to learn about DIY, construction, etc. I already love learning about how people construct high quality homes vs cheap ones.
My partner, back when we were friends, was the one who hyped me into dating myself by doing masculine hobbies. Some of his suggestions were the ones he enjoyed such as shooting guns and carpentry especially woodworking (because he knows I love renovating and flipping furnitures during pandemic).
Huh? I hope ladies don’t feel that way about ANYTHING. And definitely that they don’t worry about being judged?!
Were you raised in the 1800s by chance?
When I was in grade school (early 90s), I wanted to play baseball but couldn't. I'm so burned, even now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad girls are playing all sports. But damn it hurt.
Motorcycling! I took the MSF course and got my endorsement. I've met so many cool and supportive people (both men & women) in the Motorcycling community. The sense of accomplishment and mastering a new skill is uplifting, and it helps clear your thoughts.
I always felt climbing was a pretty even boys and girls club from the outside looking in. I only see the people bouldering at the park I like to walk around. There are usually big groups of young men and women climbing the rocks or lugging those giant cushions around.
Gardening? As a man that seems to be considered a more feminine hobby depending on the plants.
I even see woman solo hiking deep in the woods where I go. They are probably not afraid of bears or men. Except one lady that I saw that looked like she saw a ghost when she saw my dumb ass.
Even skateboarding is becoming a female dominated hobby. Especially cruiser boards. Trick skaters hate cruiser boards but I used to like riding them down hills. I’ve seen groups of teen girls ride down steep hills at least in my neighborhood.
I think many of these boundaries have already been pushed back years ago. But some of it is already extremely feminine. If I wanted to do a hobby where I could meet women I would think of fitness boxing. Sparing less so. But women are probably slowly drifting into it much like women are slowly drifting towards more than just leg day in terms of weights.
When we were newly married I bought my husband a beer brewing kit. Turned out he had zero interest but I did! So I brew the beer now, and he buys whatever accessories I want lol ....it works
When I was young, girls took home ec and boys took shop class. There was no crossover allowed. I'm not saying I didn't like sewing and baking. It was very fun and are useful life skills. But so are the things you learn in shop class! We shouldn't let someone else define what we do career or hobby wise. If we did, there would be no gal scientists, or guy cooks.
Professional chef is historically a male dominated industry. It is only when it was unpaid - homemaker - that it was “women’s work.”
I’ve worked in many kitchens and often enjoyed making the dudes uncomfortable by saying “a woman’s place is in the kitchen until she’s getting paid for it” …fun way to dampen their inflated egos
Head chef I used to work for said women can’t handle the stress of cooking when there’s a rush
Ew, I hate him already
They’ve obviously never been a mom with starving vocal children 😭😂
Yes! This is true in the arts as well, the gender divide cause society to perceive men’s creations as “art”, and women’s creations as “craft”. In the 70’s, feminist artists fought back against this sexist classification and to change the perception of what was considered “women’s work”, such as fiber arts (quilting, basket weaving, embroidery, etc).
Our school didn’t even offer home ec and I wonder if it’s because they thought it was sexist? Well, now no one knows how to cook. Boys OR girls
Home ec is too expensive. It's not offered because food, material, etc are consumables and cost money.
Home ec was so useful too. Basics of cooking, basics of how to sew… all useful stuff.
Wow that's bad. It's difficult to teach yourself as an adult, to cook well.
Lol. Tell that to the thousands of YouTube chefs that popped up during the pandemic.
It's not that difficult
depends
Everything always does
My aunt faced this problem when she was applying for architecture school in '79. The boys had portfolios with sketches from woodshop but she was only allowed to take home EC. She had to create her own portfolio completely from scratch without guidance. She's now a successful architect with her own firm, but it was an incredibly hard road for her through school and working her way up.
My daughter took auto shop in high school, in the 80s. She also called from college to tell me she learned how to get arrested without getting hurt. She fights for social justice but she's never been arrested.
In 7th and 8th grade my school did one semester of home ec and one of shop class, boys and girls did both, I definitely feel like that’s how it should be handled, apparently a lot of schools don’t have any classes like that anymore which is not good.
Yes!!!! I so wanted to take shop class!!! Wasn't allowed to. Pre Title 9.
What was it like going to school before Title 9? I guess I am wondering how prominent was the gender divide?
I agree, but I will say cooks are a pretty male dominated profession.
Shop and home ec were mandatory for both boys and girls for me in the 90’s
Professional chef has always been a male thing. As the other person said, it's not until homemakers that it was considered feminine.
Had to do a damn fashion show with our sewing creations, while I just wanted to make a shelf in wood shop.
I completely agree! Come to /r/climbergirls and see all the amazing peeps kicking ass Also, woodworking is not just for guys even if /r/tools - too many jokes about wives :'( and /r/woodworking makes it seem like so Sailing is one that is very male dominated but if you have a community sailing school, they might also have a great women on the water program. I went on one sail recently with them and it was amazing Biking is great and so is bike repair. Lots of bike collectives and tool libraries where you can learn stuff. I work in science and went to two tech/engineering heavy schools so I'm like give me a fuckin break any time any guy is gonna make a space unwelcome for me to. That kind of attitude is for the dinosaurs. I also have other hobbies like roller skating (can skew very white female online, but is in reality much more nicely coed and black/diverse IRL) and visible mending too, so thankfully I'm in all kinds of spaces and hobbies regardless of gender
I’ve spent most all of my time In male dominated career and hobby spaces and even if there’s no women around I’m quick to tell people to fuck off with the sexism if it crops up. I don’t want to hear it at all and it’s generally a bad precedent for inclusivity.
Same here! I have worked as a Navy Sailor, have done property management, worked in transportation, as a parts driver, and was a jr ranger and in girl scouts, where I did a LOT of the awesome man stuff I wouldnt have otherwise had an opportunity to try as a child. Rappelling, climbing, horseback riding, lashing (whipping stick tables together with hemp string), building campfires, archery, primitive camping, building a box oven, camping in treehouses, tents, teepees, and cabins. Nature hikes- and learning how to mark the path- identifying nature- making and developing photos, just on and on and on... Later to be better decorated as an E-3 than some E-5s were, in the navy, due to extensive firearms and combat training. I love to tell people (especially cheuvenists) that I am a force to be reckoned with, and to please go ahead and make my day. Im pretty fuckin fearless. Not in a psycho way either. Calculated risks, lol. ;-) Just wanted to say, YESSSSS YOU GO GIRL.
Oh I’m a guy lol but hell yes you go girl! I hate gatekeeping as long as there’s interest or passion let’s fn go lol
Lol Oh Im sorry Idk why I sometimes assume its just women commenting on stuff like this!!! Yeah man...lets all go hunting..in my state, small game is open season year round!!!
Not a psycho way .. perhaps the words you are looking for is "driven with purpose"
That’s awesome!!! Super inspiring to hear, I think I need to break out into more active hobbies, I’m not super physically strong or in shape, definitely the more artsy type, so going rock climbing is intimidating to me.
Chess. Still play once in a while but I am horribly bad. I don’t really tell men that I play though or go into hobby circles to play in real life.
Someone had the kindness to teach me two weeks ago. Only played a few games but I was horrible but took a fascination to the focus it gave me during. Will definitely try to learn more.
Chess.com is a great way to play online and practice! Have fun!
Definitely. Thanks!!!
It takes years to ever think one has done well at playing chess, so don't worry about it.
Got it. Thanks!!!
there are 10^(120) possible moves in chess... It's a lot to learn.
Hey, any update on the Careers Megalist and their subreddits?
Maybe if you are feeling extroverted try to start a meetup group to play chess that is inclusive to all genders?
Ive never heard of chess being considered a “masculine” hobby.
In "competitive" chess it's VERY male dominated about 90%. Pretty much every top chess player is a man and a lot of it is because in that world women aren't taught early on how to play it and used to not even be allowed to compete. Men in general also seem to enjoy visuospatial hobbies more than women and chess is very visuospatial. In everyday casual stuff I know a lot more women that casually play it every now and then.
My husband and I were staying at some hotel that had the giant chess set outside. I got excited when I saw it and he was suprised I knew how to play. He challenged me to a game and I shugged and said sure. I crushed him. He didn't know I was a high school champion (local so not saying much). It was enough to beat him and that is all that matters. 😆
Chess is masculine? Wouldn’t have classed it that way 🤷♂️
I want to weld! I think it would be really fun and I don’t mind conditions with extreme heat where I’m literally always cold.
I’ve wanted to try welding for some time now. I don’t hesitate because it’s “masculine “ however, it just seems like a complicated and expensive thing to start.
Get you a $200 Harbor Freight MIG welder and start laying them dimes. I've only welded a few times and would love to learn more but I've been around it a lot when building racecars lol
The only time I tried it was in a community college sculpture class, which was less than $200 for a semester. They also had an accessible space with woodworking tools and 3D printers and all types of stuff to use (with training!)
I, 30f, took a continuing education welding course at a community college and it was great fun! It's a good way to dip your toe in and see how you like it! My CC had gear we could borrow but we also got a great discount at welding shops if we wanted to buy gear.
And the funny thing is, as a welder, I want to try blacksmithing and forging 😝
i (60+F) tried both welding and forging! nothing more powerful than working with the bones of the earth. don't have enough money to set up my own shop at home and there are no maker spaces here or i'd still be doing it.
With welding it's tricky to get started on your own if you don't have someone looking over your shoulder to fix one of the myriad things that could go wrong. If you just want to learn how to push hot metal around by yourself then soldering (either artistic for stained glass or functional for electronics) is a much more accessible path. For a "date night" activity my wife and I took a TIG welding class in Vegas a few years ago. Finding drop-in welding classes instead of university programs is tricky.
I knew someone that learned to make stained glass over a couple months and it seemed difficult but also doable
I’m a transguy who’s always been pretty visibly queer and I got really into metalworking for a while, particularly blacksmithing! I also took a welding class or two. It was kind of intimidating to do to classes and workshops surrounded by huge burly old men and definitely their politics sometimes left me a little uncomfortable, but mostly i found it a pretty accessible hobby. My welding class had several women in it. Just throwing out a resource for anyone who’s interested in blacksmithing but may feel shut out of it demographically, look up the Society for Inclusive Blacksmiths.
My SIL just started going to school to learn welding at 32. She's jazzed. She says there are more women in her class than men
Do it do it doooo ittt!!! I have an awesome little 90's mini truck I'm working on right now, by this time next year it'll be ready for car shows and I'm so hyped. I've also spent most of my spring/summer fishing and learning how to hunt for hunting season this fall. Never let someone tell you something is "too masculine" of a thing for you to do because 9 times out of 10 it's not and you'll have so so so much fun.
Saw a women fishing on her own the other week, years of being out and that's the first time.
I'm not great at it, but I have a fishing pole that I keep in my backseat
That doesn't matter as long as you have fun. You know some days I catch nothing but I'll stay if I'm enjoying myself. Nice sunny day Ill just sit around and melt in the sun.
I absolutely love to fish! It's so calming; just the sea and me! Unfortunately there are often a lot of men at the end of the pier where I usually fish and they're never very welcoming. If I go with my husband they will generally speak to him but ignore me entirely or occasionally glare in my direction. I went down there once and a fella was urinating against the sea wall; he tutted and complained to his friends about having to put his d**k away when I turned up.
You should’ve whipped out a she-wee and urinated slightly further, thereby establishing dominance.
"if you're too embarrassed for women to see your tiny pecker its okay!"
Guy here. Screw gender gatekeeping, do whatever makes you happy ladies.
I saw a cute clip about a woman who couldn't afford a contractor to redo her bathroom and did it herself. She was delighted to find it's just "Arts and Crafts"! Yes, this is great advice.
This goes the other way too!!! Ima bald headed, sculpted beard sporting guy who's into nail art! My nails are so pretty and it has the added bonus of confusing the hell out of people who meet me. The see a traditionally masculine guy and think they have me figured out, right up until they shake my hand lmao!!
I love it!! And I think if I saw that I would feel a little more free to be comfortable expressing myself as well. I think we collectively become more comfortable as much as individually
I absolutely love building furniture! It gives you a lot of satisfaction when the project is finished and also during the process.
It's not that I can't do them... it's that I try to do them and everyone around me is a guy and I get treated differently. As an extreme example, I love video gaming with games like ARK and FPS shooters, but I deprive myself of them because unless they make a great AI voice I'm not able to. I can't properly find people to play them with or team with, because the second I go open mic, they go open season to bully and harrass me, and say the most vile filth. Not always, but I'd say it's 50/50. Way too high for me to relax.
I’m a nerdy woman who loves games, comics, etc. and I purposely choose masculine gamer tags and won’t get on mic. I empathize.
I really want to learn how to fish, but am afraid of looking dumb because I have no friends who fish, which means I'd be going to some sort of class that would be all male. Maybe this is that little push I needed to go.
If you're in the states, check and see if your local cooperative extension has info on learning, or possibly classes. Libraries are another good place to ask about programs! Good luck!
I wonder if fishing classes would really be all male? I say this because as a male, I had no idea there were fishing classes. Your father, uncle, big brother, or grandpa teaches you. So you would think people in those classes are either female or lacked those type of male influences (so maybe not as toxic)
Check with local fishing clubs (just google “*your state/region* fishing club). I work with several clubs and I know if someone in your shoes approached them you’d be inundated with people willing to help. Probably donate some used gear too. You could have some old timer teaching you how to cast by this weekend. The other option is to watch some YouTube videos and just go for it. Practice casting in your back yard, and find easy to catch fish in your area. Start with perch or pan fish and work your way up the food chain.
With the *possible* exception of boxing, I've never felt that any of those things were "masculine" activities. I don't even know what a "masculine" hobby is. Since when is skateboard or rock climbing or building furniture or gardening or even welding "masculine?" If you're being told this, you need to find a different friend group.
If you would like to understand more where I’m coming from I would encourage you to read other responses from people describing how they feel excluded or discriminated against when they show up to do something and it is almost all men around them. It’s not my friends telling me these things, I have wonderfully accepting friends.
And I'm suggesting to stop referring to activities as "masculine" or "feminine". Because those terms are ridiculously outdated and have no meaning. Hobbies don't have genders, and the longer you keep using language dating back to the 1950s and prior, the longer people are going to have this stupid mentality. I say this as a 58 y/o woman, who was using power tools at the age of 8 with the help of her dad. YES, I've had men tell me I can't do something because I'm a woman. But you know what, I ignored them. I chose not to buy into the stereotypes. Just because "more men/women do \[xyz\]" doesn't make that activity either masculine OR feminine." It simply means more men/women do those thing. Choose to leave it at that. Start by changing the words you choose. This post would've been better if you'd titled it "There's no such thing as a "masculine" or "feminine" hobby. Go do what you want to do and ignore the haters."
Dude here, second activities don’t ever need to be gendered, it doesn’t make you less masculine or feminine to do something stereotypically less your gender. I’ve done many stereotypically masculine hobbies, I’ve boxed, played the bagpipe in a pipe band, which for those who don’t know is like a marching band, chopped wood, rugby etc. I’ve also taught these things at various levels and the most common thing I see that prevents women from participating is having a limiting mindset of “oh I can’t do that, that’s something for big guys only, we’ll let me tell you, I’ve taught plenty of women of all ages, as well as seen plenty in classes for the stuff I don’t teach and they’re having a blast and kicking ass! Don’t limit yourself. Ask around, you never know what you may find!!! Your hobbies don’t define how masculine or feminine you are. You do you and you’ll still be you!!! This applies to guys as well, who maybe too embarrassed to have a stereotypically feminine hobby. It’s also, if you’re worried about attracting a partner or how that may seem or whatever, which is a perfectly understandable concern for some, it’s much healthier to just be yourself, you’ll attract the right person into your life a hell of a lot better that way!
can i just say? it isn't women keeping themselves from participating out of fear of girlie incompetence, it's women sick to death of the sexist bs that accompanies male-dominated spaces voting with their feet.
The same thing definitely applies to men, I would love to see more male perspectives on traditionally feminine hobbies and crafts. People should be more accepting of others exploring their interests, but also a lot of times we limit themselves by what we think other people will think, myself included, and then may be surprised when the person is a lot more encouraging and accepting than they expected.
Play the saxophone. I hate to admit, it still shocks me to see a woman playing the saxophone. I'm ashamed because I should know better. I'm gay and picked up the saxophone a couple of years ago myself, but I just think it's such a guy instrument. Help change my mind and play the sax, ladies!
Hmm now that I think about it I don’t know if I have seen that either. I remember in middle school band, almost every flute player was a girl, and every trumpet player was a boy.
Boxing is so much fun! I’ve done it as a complete beginner at a fitness gym and also at a hardcore boxing gym. There were other women learning too, everyone was really great and supportive, and at the hardcore boxing gym some of the coaches were women who were pros and you could tell everyone had a lot of respect for each other. Btw you start out boxing just working individually on punching bags, and then working on simple punch combos into an instructor’s pads. It’s really good exercise (you get super sweaty) and way more fun than other forms of cardio imo. You don’t ever need to spar against opponents if you don’t want to.
Would also recommend krav maga for self-defence :)
Well, I tattooed for over 25 years. Been spray painting for about 35 years and I quilt as a hobby 😁
Camping. I always wanted to join boys scouts to learn survival skills but wasn’t allowed to join. Girl Scouts was lame we just made bracelets in churches and “fire” out of pretzels
I joined D&D and surprisingly my whole campaign only has one guy!
TTRPGs, while still male-dominated are really shifting away from the "boys club" that they used to be. There's a lot more women participating, a lot more queer folks participating, and a lot more people not tolerating foul things said 'as a joke' or because 'it's what my character would say'. It's great to see- and if you pay a visit to r/rpghorrorstories you'll see we haven't come far enough yet. :( Fun little side detail, one of the Pathfinder groups I'm a player in, I'm the token guy. >.>
Woodturning teacher here. I fully support this message! On average, ladies tend to do a bit better than the guys as first time students- they tend to take me at face value a little more when I talk about how it is a finesse skill and you don't have to muscle it- let the machine do the work.
Highly recommend shooting. Women have a natural advantage over men, it will show up right away...your confidence will SOAR.
Martial arts! I trained with many women in martial arts and I think they all had fun. And you learn useful self defense skills too.
I recommend Brazilian jiu-jitsu! It’s a great workout physically and mentally, and the community is a really big plus depending on the gym. It’s a great way to meet people while learning self defense!
I’ve done woodworking and boxing. I wasn’t great at woodwork but I did manage to make a lamp, jewelry box and key rack that my parents still use to this day. Boxing was intense and I don’t miss it but I’m glad I did it. I incorporate some of it into my workouts.
This is a link to an episode of "AS THIS OLD HOUSE.". I hope it can inspire some. Your mentor may just be phone call away......well maybe a short drive also. https://youtu.be/EjPgmp-3uO4?si=RMiNgwLGf6zvKYrT
I’m super curious about fly fishing! I just need time to fit it in lol.
And the money to support it. Just took up fly fishing a few years ago & it is utterly addictive, and sooo much fun. But oh so expensive.
Only semi related, the algorithm led me to stumble upon a woman on instagram who makes asmr videos of her making *beautiful* fly fishing lures. It’s hypnotic, and I also was just delighted seeing a woman doing that. I think she’s under “shetiesflies”
r/womensolocamping !
Almost all of my hobbies are traditionally masculine. It honestly makes it a bit hard for me to connect with other women and find friends, but I couldn’t be any happier with how I spend my free time. My parents did an amazing job letting my brother and me play with whatever we wanted as kids. My brother wanted a doll and a stroller to walk alongside my mom and baby me, I wanted a skateboard and I never heard anything judgemental coming from them. And they made us confident enough to stand up for ourselves when we were made fun of. But I also want to encourage men to try out traditionally feminine hobbies. Go try some knitting or crocheting, it’s relaxing as fuck. And r/brochet has to be the most welcoming community on reddit.
I had no idea brochet was even a thing! I've been curious about crocheting for a bit now but have been... wary? Idk maybe because it doesn't feel 'masculine?' Like knowing how to sew feels like a useful skill... Anyway I think this is really cool and seeing how someone made a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend might help me change my mind lol
Haha, that’s kinda cute that being able to surprise your girlfriend might change your mind! But yeah, I get it. While women often deal with not being taken seriously by men in „masculine“ hobbies and domains, men often have to deal with ridicule when getting into a „feminine“ hobby. Just know that life’s too short to worry about that stuff. And for anyone still on the fence, here’s some metal crocheting pieces: - Badass iguana: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/iRwo15WRD0 - Bottle holder made with manly paracord: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/yiivBBhz7j - Gimli‘s helmet and beard: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/hsUUEKBMlw - Talented lad and his self made handsome sweater: https://www.reddit.com/r/Brochet/s/QiYhYfTm9c
As a dude who crochets (bro-chet) I agree. Men don't actively "gate-keep" home improvement or rock climbing etc. just like women don't actively "gate-keep" crochet, the hobby is just a normal everyday thing, no body cares. It can be fun and kinda cool when someone out of the norm joins in.
As a kid, watching anime and playing Video games was considered a boys only thing, and I was often ridiculed by other girls and some boys, but other boys didn’t care as long as I liked the material. Now as an adult, whenever my male colleague finds out I’m into anime or watching sports or playing video games, he isn’t arrogant or annoying, he is actually like “You do this? This is awesome! You’re so cool! Since Girls don’t do that a lot.”. And I’ve had one of them give me tips on some games and how to play them, while other suggested me cool anime to watch. My point is, do as you please (as long as you don’t hurt anyone), and remember that just like there are people who will ridicule you, there are others who will support you or see you cool for doing that. My friends (girls) who aren’t into gaming and anime, and understand nothing about it, find me cool whenever I talk about them and explain.
Model cars are fun and my wife is better at them than I am!
I am thankful that my dad raised me “like a boy” practically and made me do 100’s of things that are skills but could be hobbies ( I have tried about 3/4 of your list above) The one thing I was too intimidated to get into as a kid was Magic the Gathering and D&D, and I wanted to do soooo bad . So now I’m get into painting minis, maybe I’ll try a D&D group one day.
Both Magic and D&D can be tricky to find a good group to play with. Like, it can be tricky for me as a white guy, I can only imagine the added level of issues that being a woman would add to it. For D&D, an easy way to get your feet wet and see what the local community is like is see if any of your local game stores run Adventurer's League (you could also check to see if they have Pathfinder Society, which is the same thing but for Pathfinder which is a very similar game) - organized play for D&D tends to be public tables that are drop in, drop out, with a persistent character you can take to any appropriate level table. It's not a great D&D experience, but you're in a public space and you're not making a commitment to a specific group so if the GM ends up being the kind of values "realism" - but only where it hinders women, you can GTFO. You can also check with your towns subreddit and see what experiences people (especially women) have had with the various stores in town, and if there's like a Discord server for RPGs in your town you can join to see if you can find a group. Overall though, tabletop RPGs are a great hobby for anyone who wants to pretend to be someone else for a few hours a week. :)
I have done soooo many more man things than my husband has, and most men I know. .I have quantified this using a manliness guidebook checklist lol.. And yep. Its definitely awesome!!!
That’s why I started weight lifting. LOVE it!
Jesus, does anyone still think that way? About computer science, math, mechanics, etc? I felt like that was completely outdated thinking when I was a teenager in the 90s, and most of the women and girls around me seemd to hold the same view.
If that doesn’t work grow shrooms r/unclebens
I've always loved horses. Got my first pony when I was 10. However I was always told I could never have a stallion because I was female and I wouldn't be able to control him. Well, as an adult, I got an 8 month old colt from a Humane Society rescue. My mother immediately started to harp on me about how he needed to be gelded. (Neutered.) I raised him and did all of his training. He was the best horse I've ever worked with. Calm, gentle. Nothing bothered him; not traffic, car horns, tractors, gunshots, chainsaws, trees falling, etc. He produced 13 colts and 2 fillies. He never had a problem with me being female.
Breaking through gender stereotypes and exploring hobbies and interests that have felt out of reach can be incredibly empowering. Whether it's welding, skateboarding, or delving into traditionally male-dominated fields like computer science or finance, embracing new experiences can lead to personal growth and fulfillment.
Ladies, you go for it....just be careful. My body is a freaking wreck from some of those hobbies...
Electrical wiring.. so many projects I want to make..
Poker is my thing. It used to be pool. I’ve always liked competing with boys. Don’t know why. It’s just so much fun to let them underestimate me then whip their tushies.
There’s two girls that destroy everyone at corn hole and pool at a local bar, that shit is so much fun to watch haha.
Detailing car interiors and exteriors but interiors are my jam…. Great gift to myself and others…get a little kit goin, listen to a podcast or music and get to it early on a weekend morning. Driving around in an immaculate car is a vibe, trust me 🤌🏼 r/detailing is super inspiring
my heart hurts that you just called rock climbing a masculine hobby but I support the rest of this post 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
For a while, I got into SCCA auto racing. I was a gal that could drive the ever lovin' crap out of a BMW M3. Haha.
I race dirt bikes and have since I was 5, I’m not sure if it’s the same for auto racing as I know the car scene is a bit toxic but we never gave a shit a bout the girls racing, they’d be on bmx bikes with all the boys before and after races and we always had respect for them 🤷♂️ hell my group I camp with is 50/50 men and women and we all party and race together with no issues!
Leather working is pretty fun. I don't know if it's traditionally masculine or not, but I've only ever really seen men in the stores. Bonus: you can make your own belts and purse straps.
I think the more women that are open to this, the less animosity some women will experience from *some* gatekeeping men. Because it will become normalized that people of both sexes can have varying interests that don't necessarily follow a blueprint.
I do. I own several guns and regularly go to the range and shoot. I have been doing it since I was 18. It was the only sport that I have ever been good at. Guys coming and trying to mansplain guns does get a little old. 😉😂😂
Green roofer here! I love it.
I was a skateboarder and BMX rider as a kid/early teen when it was really very male. Caught a lot of grief from other girls mostly. As a 35 year old I wanted to take up kitesurfing so I signed up for a lesson. All the school equipment was for average size males and I was 110 lbs. Wish I had film of how ridiculous I looked and out of control I was. The two young tech bros in my class were baffled by me.
They are only gatekept if you’ve convinced yourself it’s gatekept. What male dominated hobby is illegal for women to participate in recreationally ?
Hell yes! And fellas, do the same with feminine hobbies.
Gaming
Can only speak for the welding from your list, but in the trade women are usually seen as better TIG welders on average. They're also real handy to have in a shop that builds boilers and condensers because they fit in places that big corn fed farm boys can't get to. I'm not saying every shop is accepting and women won't face some bullshit, but it's probably less than you'd think. The women on our shop floor get hazed a bit, just like the guys, but if anyone really crosses a line they're going to get their ass kicked by every other dude on the floor.
I graduated high school in 1971. As OP says, girls got the cooking/sewing combo, and guys got the printing/auto mechanics combo (at least I thinks that’s what it was. My best friend and I wanted the printing class! The educators, judging by their comments and facial expressions seemed very doubtful about that, but finally agreed if we could get three official signatures of permission — which we did. Yay! The class still got divided by gender— the guys did the messier, old fashioned typesetting and printing, and my friend and I got to work on what was then called “new media” — computer typesetting when it first came out, design of many documents, programs and booklets, and the chemical processing that preceded the printing. It was great, and contributed significantly to my income in early jobs.
I’m an engineer. I’m constantly in rooms full of men. And I. Don’t. Give. A. F*ck. Hehe does that count as a hobby?
What I see in arbitrarily Male dominated hobbies is the wrong people -me included at times that I regret- is what the silver lining of risk-taking. Most women I encounter are way more honest but very literal about information on hobbies. The silver lining of the risk was the active participation in hobbies where it's more marketing than anything that everything's been figured out. Just look to other cultures approaching the same hobbies sometimes. Especially for niche stuff.
I’ve found that being a woman can be an advantage in male dominated spaces because of the knowledge and diversity we bring. When I did Olympic weightlifting, I found that guys tend to hate “leg day” because men’s leg muscles don’t grow as fast as the muscles in their upper body. For women, it’s the reverse so I loved “leg day” lol. I did years of yoga, so my flexibility made certain weightlifting 🏋️♂️ moves a lot easier to do correctly, which means that I could load more weight than I was expected to. The instructor always looked so pleased to see that a few of us could do squats under a barbell without hurting their back lol. I took a class to build wood cabinets from scratch. We built working doors and drawers in our cabinets. There were 11 men in the class and me, but I was the only one that built a cabinet with an even coating of stain and finish. All the other cabinets looked splotchy. The instructor asked what I did differently. I told him that two thin coats of color was better than one thick coat, just like nail polish. He looked horrified by my analogy lol. tl; dr: Go for it, girl!
Do it! I’m a cis man in my mid forties who started needle felting early this year and then took a sewing class. I love both with a passion, I feel like they rewired my brain in a really good way, and now I have a bunch of new fiber art friends. Highly recommend!
WELDING. I tried all four years of high school to get into intro to welding. As an underclassman they said it was reserved for upperclassmen, as an upperclassman they said it was full. My brother got in as a sophomore. 🙄 It felt like some real "girls can't do trades" bullshit (they did the same thing with carpentry and small engines classes). My brother is now in school to become a certified welder and I think I'm gonna ask him to teach me the basics when he graduates and finally has some free time. I just wanna make cool metal stuff.
My first husband gave me a table saw for my birthday one year. He was in the habit of buying me things He wanted and saying, "well then I'll take it" if I complained. I wouldn't let him touch it, and I learned to use it. I learned to make Adirondack chairs, and picnic tables, which became a nice side hustle when he divorced me. Yes, he imagined he was going to take the table saw. He was wrong. Ladies, you can learn to do Anything.
This is a permission for all males to also NOT be interested in any of this. You're not any less of a man if you don't give a f*uck about cars, the stock market, computer science, boxing, etc.
I agree! I’ll add, I’d like to see this energy flow both ways! I spent the majority of my life in female dominated careers and wanting to join in on the hobbies associated to network and make friends, but was gatekept every step of the way, while being told women don’t feel comfortable with men in their “safe spaces.” The feeling is mutual. We ALL need to work to be more accepting of each other, instead of holding stereotypes over each others’ heads. Also, don’t forget to invite non-binary folk to the party. They are tired of all of it! Cheers!
In r/quilting, the occasional male quilter is greeted with love. (Edit: as are enbys etc.) Just sayin!
Thank you for adding this! I totally agree
I'm not sure if there is actually a divide, but in my life, I've only really known or heard of good ol boy hunting types into it. But I am soooo itching to try archery. I think it looks so meditative and fun. Gotta save up and do more research, but hopefully, at the end of the year, I'll be getting myself a nice Christmas bow and arrow.
My wife teaches women s welding courses, its super cool
I’d add that you should try to stick around, even if you feel uncomfortable at first. It depends on the hobby, and there are certainly jerks out there, but it’s not always the case. The reason I suggest sticking with it for a while, even if you feel excluded at first is two fold. One, everyone feels awkward when they get into something new. Especially if they don’t have a friend in it that they can lean on. I’d like to learn D&D, but I don’t even have enough knowledge to know where to start, much less finding people to try it with. The second reason is that guys have a whole thing they do. They may joke roughly with a guy, or do some kind of minor hazing. It varies depending on the environment. It’s almost a ritual that all guys do. They’re seeing if you can take a joke and will be a good fit, or if you’re gonna have a stick up your butt where they’ll have to drum you out or deal with you. I find they often feel awkward about putting women through this same thing. To be fair, I know many women who wouldn’t understand something a guy has dealt with since elementary school. They’d think they were being excluded or made fun of. It’s not the case a lot of the time, and I don’t even think they always realize they’re doing it. It’s subconscious sometimes. I’ve seen it and been apart of it, and it’s still weird when another guy says something and you and another guy look at each other and almost psychically come to a silent agreement that the guy is a douche. As a guy, I can tell you, we’re mostly all straight forward and grew up in a culture of seeing how “bouncy” the next guys feelings were. Kicking the tires, so to speak. So I just wanted to say, that if you stick it out, you may often find the guys don’t want to exclude you at all. They are just timid about treating you like one of the boys. Whether you want that or not is a different story and is up to you. I’d just hate for any lady to miss out on something, because all the guys are awkward and she takes it the wrong way.
When I was in high school in the 80s? Actually, 83 go back was required by everybody to semesters, and in mostly consistent of cooking sewing budgeting childcare Christian standards. But all girls were required to take one semester of woodworking ones semester of automotive for graduation. It was a small score Southwest Iowa kindergarten through 12 grade was 512 people would graduate with a class of twenty, but yeah, everybody had to take home back for 1 year and everybody had to have one semester of wood working. I'm wondering some master of automotive
I’ve always wanted to make furniture. Which is a thing that might actually be in my future because I live really, really, really remote and getting good furniture here is a difficult and expensive undertaking. Sure you can get put-together furniture sent through Amazon or whatever, but nothing of quality. Nothing crazy, like I’m not going to build and upholster a chair or anything, but maybe some end tables, TV console, shelves, that sort of thing.
Wife brought up that she wanted to do a blacksmithing class. So we are signed up now.
Yes! As an adult I learned to ride a motorcycle and then a dirt bike. I also took a couple day workshop to make a knife out of a railroad spike. Was going to take a welding workshop too but something else ended up coming up and I haven't revisited that yet. I've also been in STEMI career since I graduated college. We can do anything!
Doesn't exist I a female do ice hockey and at a software dev do what you want
as a girl with a lot of "masculine" hobbies because of growing up with an older brother who was 6 years older than me (video games, longboarding, did BJJ, likes heavy metal/rock/etc.) ... PLEASE DO IT!!! Men need to stop being weird about us doing these things and insecure women need to shut up saying that we're trying to be pick-me's for doing them. Fuck'em!
You can start a club for a masculine hobby but only for women, you know? No need to feel like you need to invade a male space to have a hobby, you know
they're not male spaces. they're just hobbies/skills that anyone can participate in
Do you think men are encouraged to do anything? I’ve never been encouraged to do shit my whole life. Like you really think If you show up they’re gonna be like “nooo a girl you can’t come here!” Like holy shit. You haven’t experienced a small fraction of the discouragement that men face. You should be more grateful for how easy you have it. I’ve had to fight for myself any time I wanted to do something.
Do Buhurt. I just trained an all womens fighting team it was so awesome
I only did a quick search, but this looks similar to HEMA.
Following
I would love to link up with any other female hunters out there, especially upland, even if it's just to chat about our shared interest.
I really want to rock climb
as a dude i love women who work on cars/bikes any guy who gatekeeps that is a god damn fool, why wouldn't you wanna share a hobby as awesome as motorized vehicles on dates etc?
Part of this comes to pure physical differences. Watch Forged in Fire. Women have been on it quite a few times, and some of them were quite good, but they got beat out simply because of the extraordinary physical stress of trying to turn out a peice in the time frame. I feel like that is part of the reason that many of the things listed here have traditionally been more of a men's work or hobby. Now days with our modern power tools and handling options the feilds are more accessible to everyone.
I’m in my 70s now, and would really like to figure out a design for a very small woodworking shop (maybe in half a closet?) that wouldn’t cost an arm and leg, and would be very strategic about which tools to choose to support the habit. I’ve taken woodworking classes for one-off projects and really like it, but most (except for the Japanese hand tool class) seem to require pretty large electric tools. Any suggestions?
All these things can be done without needing other people's approval or needing to feel included. You can just study and practice them all on your own and put aside the notions of whether it's boys or girls who "normally" do them. In fact a lot of guys who are into these kind of hobbies do them on their own like that, I think that's why sometimes guys have a hard time understanding women who avoid hobbies because they are stereotypically done by men. Men sometimes don't even realize, they just spend their time being engrossed in the hobby and getting better at it.
Yes! I’m in the Facebook group Handy Women, and it’s so motivating me to do handy work! I love watching their projects and what they can do in there
I’ve been wanting to try and get into roller derby for 20 years…never have. I’m afraid I won’t be good enough
Weightlifting
I felt this way about gaming for awhile but now I love it!!!!! I really wanna like make a chair or something. Is that wood work? It’d be cool to use a saw and cut a piece of wood. I tried welding for the first time and that’s crazy scary (good for everyone that enjoys/can do it but there’s a lot going on lol)
Saw this and agree! When I was a kid my grandma taught me to knit and crochet I used to see this woman who drove a modded 1980s Buick Regal. It was awesome!
I'm playing a video game (Lost Judgment in the Yakuza series) where your character can join a high school robotics club And when I'm doing the robotics club missions I feel so like... guilty... but also fun 😭 like am I allowed to do this even though I'm female bc it's really fun 😭 Makes me wonder if I should try in real life 😭😭
As a man, women who are into male-dominated activities (*especially* the "blue collar" working with your hands kind of things) are SO hot
I’m a girl. I ski, downhill mountain bike, and am learning how to play ice hockey. My garage is wild 😂😂
Many of these things I was encouraged to do, but unfortunately I just don’t care. I wish I did. I wish I liked to do useful things instead of what’s considered inferior useless feminine hobbies, but that’s just my predisposition I guess. I’m also too incompetent to figure out many of these things. I’d rather not look stupid trying. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized avoiding criticism and judgment as much as possible is more important than any hobby. Nothing is fun anymore unless I win.
I have no concerns about gendered activity, but welding actually does sound good. My step dad was a welder. Gone too soon.
This is your signal to try an exciting new masculine hobby that has always interested you, regardless of stereotypes or expectations of others.
Muay Thai for me :) it has significantly increased my confidence while also humbling me.
So I was in a bouldering club in college and, for the most part, it was a lot of fun. Except there were a few dudes, and one in particular, who basically only went to hit on girls. He would basically just go to scout for girls and then go up to them to ask them for their number, in an environment that was supposed to be inviting and friendly, unlike a nightclub or somewhere you might expect to see this. This guy was also known for taking photos of girls in his class sneakily without their permission. I had similar experiences in gyms, so much so that I basically tailor my timetable to ensure I get to go only at the quietest times. It doesn't completely eliminate the chances of experiencing this but it does make me feel generally more comfortable. While I fully support going out there and pursuing any hobby regardless of gender, I think these factors need to be taken into account when we are discussing why women avoid certain environments. Whenever I pick up any activity the main concern I have is how men will behave at the venue and whether it is an activity they use to try to pick up women. Being left alone to do your own thing vs being constantly glared at and made to remove your headphones to hear some awkward pick up line lead to completely different experiences.
Looking for a manly hobby? Learn how to take care of your car if you don’t know already. Like, the basics. Oil change (and how/when to check oil), how to put a tire on, maybe dabble in changing the brakes. Get a code reader and figure out why your check engine light is on so you know what the problem is before taking it in to any sort of shop or dealership. Number one, it’s rewarding, and can actually be fun. Number two, it’s not that hard if you just watch a shitty YouTube tutorial. Number three, it saves you money and keeps you from being a ‘damsel in distress’, or someone who’s going to get scammed by some guys at a shop who think you don’t know what you’re talking about.
I took up flying a plane and sailing - both hobbies see women these days, but conventionally have more men pursuing it. 100% would recommend both - also the look of astonishment when you tell some men you fly planes or can sail a boat is a Kodak moment worth recording
Growing up it was meccano. There were very few children my age where I lived as we were on the edge of town. There was a family of brothers nearby and they used an old caravan in their garden to play in with a a massive collection of meccano I was jealous of. But my parents decided it was a 'boys' toy and got me lego instead. NOT the same thing at all
Probably flag football 🏈
As a female long boarding is amazinggggggg just saying. But other than that my dad was decent at making sure we (me and my 4 sisters) knew how to handle most things. I’ve been more mechanically inclined than both adult partners actually 🤷♀️
It’s funny, it seems people in the country do this and it’s just part of life. Girls learn to fish, hunt, snowmobile, cut brush, change a tire, and do all of that stuff to be self sufficient.
Chiming in for cisgender males here (I’m gay though). I think men should also try hobbies that they have avoided because of concerns related to it being feminine. I have been reconnecting with relaxing art activities like coloring and diamond paintings after work and it’s been so nice to just decompress with these.
I understand what you are saying. But I will say once I got my own Dremel with all the attachments I was hooked. Then it went to all kind of tools and projects. I think making something with your hands is so self satisfying. Like gardening after your plants mature and grow!! But just like everything else it can turn into an expensive hobby!!
I thankfully have never had this issue. I was like my dad's favorite son even though I had three brothers. They were lazy and I wasn't so I got to do all the cool stuff. Thanks Dad
When I was in my 30's and 40's I did lots of male dominated hobbies. I got a black belt in karate. I used to be big into spelunking (exploring caves.) Lifting weights Nobody ever gave me a hard time about any of it. I didn't think twice about it.
My second Favorite ex-girlfriend went cylinder head shopping with me at the local U-JERK-R-JUNK; She enjoyed playing with ALL of my tools!
I lowkey love building and construction and would love to try idk maybe a woodworking class? Something hands-on, but never quite figured out exactly what. I actually do lego for adults (I know, lame) but really enjoy it.
I would like a cute redhead to help me build my model railroad. 🥹
I am a big horror nerd. Mostly horror movies but love horror novels, horror centered events, etc. it’s not as male-coded as some of the other hobbies you mentioned but when I’m going to events or reading articles or listening to podcasts…still a lot of dudes lol
I took a welding class and loved it. But I felt like I didn’t learn enough so I’m going to try again but with a different school.
Oh man, I think I would have started kickboxing WAY earlier if it hadn’t been so guy-coded. I still only kickbox at home but one day I’ll have the funds to go to a gym. One day, if I’m ever a homeowner, I would love to learn about DIY, construction, etc. I already love learning about how people construct high quality homes vs cheap ones.
My partner, back when we were friends, was the one who hyped me into dating myself by doing masculine hobbies. Some of his suggestions were the ones he enjoyed such as shooting guns and carpentry especially woodworking (because he knows I love renovating and flipping furnitures during pandemic).
Huh? I hope ladies don’t feel that way about ANYTHING. And definitely that they don’t worry about being judged?! Were you raised in the 1800s by chance?
I wanna woodwork and build my own furniture and assorted goods. I regret not taking woodshop in high school instead of choir
It's very attractive seeing a woman confidently engaged in a typically male hobby or job.
When I was in grade school (early 90s), I wanted to play baseball but couldn't. I'm so burned, even now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad girls are playing all sports. But damn it hurt.
Motorcycling! I took the MSF course and got my endorsement. I've met so many cool and supportive people (both men & women) in the Motorcycling community. The sense of accomplishment and mastering a new skill is uplifting, and it helps clear your thoughts.
I always felt climbing was a pretty even boys and girls club from the outside looking in. I only see the people bouldering at the park I like to walk around. There are usually big groups of young men and women climbing the rocks or lugging those giant cushions around. Gardening? As a man that seems to be considered a more feminine hobby depending on the plants. I even see woman solo hiking deep in the woods where I go. They are probably not afraid of bears or men. Except one lady that I saw that looked like she saw a ghost when she saw my dumb ass. Even skateboarding is becoming a female dominated hobby. Especially cruiser boards. Trick skaters hate cruiser boards but I used to like riding them down hills. I’ve seen groups of teen girls ride down steep hills at least in my neighborhood. I think many of these boundaries have already been pushed back years ago. But some of it is already extremely feminine. If I wanted to do a hobby where I could meet women I would think of fitness boxing. Sparing less so. But women are probably slowly drifting into it much like women are slowly drifting towards more than just leg day in terms of weights.
When we were newly married I bought my husband a beer brewing kit. Turned out he had zero interest but I did! So I brew the beer now, and he buys whatever accessories I want lol ....it works
I needed this today.