Why aren't there more women on audiophile forums?


I've seen this question bandied about on forums frequently. Here's a long analysis of the subject matter.  For those going to the beach and needing a read, the whole dissertation is available for download.

"Masculinity and gear fetishism in audio technology community discourse"
Annetts, Alex (2015)
Doctoral thesis, Anglia Ruskin University.

"This thesis is a study of audio technology community discourse and its historical features. I contend that the audio technology domain is fundamentally exclusive and hierarchically stratified, based on discursively inscribed prerequisites to participation and enunciation, notably a hegemonic masculine performance, gear fetishism and the articulation of technical knowledge.

I show that communities organised around audio technology, socially construct and perpetuate these features as components of their respective discourses. I expose all three elements to be rooted in culturally embedded gender stereotypes, dating back to a nineteenth century dichotomy of public and private space.

I present a deconstruction of the complex discursive performances of masculinity and offer opportunities for privileged masculine recordists to critically reflect upon their dominance and homogeneity within the domain as an original contribution to knowledge. In this endeavour, I investigate the emergence and development of exclusive tropes as components of audio technology culture, and demonstrate how they continue to be perpetuated in the face of both social and technological developments that offer possibilities to destratify the community hierarchy and enunciative function.

My methodology is based on a comparative discourse analysis of industry and academic texts, as well as the communities that surround and influence the construction of modern audio technology discourse. Case studies are conducted of two leading industry publications: Tape Op and Sound On Sound, and supplemented by an exploration of Women's Audio Mission. I combine these sources with interview material gathered from relevant industry professionals. In doing so, I observe how the audio technology community has maintained barriers to participation, often in the face of technological progress that offers supposed opportunities for democratisation. My work presents an argument against this notion, exposing the supposed democratisation as an illusion of accessibility and thus as mere massification."

https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/702044/
128x128hilde45
"I cannot recall a time when the world seemed more tribal and divided than it is now."
I seem to recall that Seward didn't fare all that well from the wrong end of a cane.

It is, however, unfortunate that polar ideology has injected itself into what was once a pretty cool audio website. Being nice isn't that hard but choosing not to be angry over certain perceived sleights evidently must be. 

This thread, like all the others, will soon disappear when someone calls the wrong person a Marxist....

C'mon MC, you can't be done with your conspiracy theories. Your not done making an arse out of yourself, right???
I'm waiting for MC to start waving a piece of paper stating:
" I have here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known ...."
And end it with a link to this:
https://orchidend.com/id-rather-be-a-russian-than-a-democrat-shirt?gclid=CjwKCAjwq7aGBhADEiwA6uGZp1_B7bYXp9OxWd06ikXG1Jik2y8BxVUnE7ZJnCoPqNenrVT05_MRLhoChdwQAvD_BwE&options=gildan-cotton-t-shirt-sport-grey&v=5d4fd4ae485b160001d5feb2

The conflicting positions would go right over his head.

All the best,
Nonoise

Perplexing. Agon veterans no doubt understand this anathematization phenomenon better than I do.