Why are there so less female chess-players?
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I will try to analyze this question and try to produce an answer by asking a second question.
"What if the girl/woman in question was autistic?".
I myself am autistic and will speak from an austistic's point of view.
An autistic person would not be effected by things such as social rules or social reasoning or even social "tradition" - so to speak - so they would most likely be not influenced by said things. Without social rules, reasoning, and "tradition" hindering their choices as to how to develop themselves, they would be more likely to play chess -- which, apparently, is frowned upon by popular culture, because they are not effected by such things (and I, an autistic, would even consider pop culture "a mere bagatelle of the human mind").
Non-autistic women would have a sense of duty to learn all of the life skills required to be a mother, the role of women in a family and, perhaps, on a larger scale, and thus would not even consider taking up a "waste of time" such as chess. The girls with autism would not have that sense of duty and, therefore, that thought about it and thus are more open to spend their time on things that non-autistic people would consider a "waste of time".
Answering that question, this leads to the answer of the original question: that not many women play chess because of social rules, reasoning, and tradition. Society is drawing a path to motherhood for the girls to follow, whilst chess is promoted more to the demographic are less preoccupied: men.
This does not mean, though, that all autistic girls are chess players, nor do all autistic people play chess, nor do non-autistic girls don't play chess. I am not trying to belittle anyone in this analysis, so please don't be offended should you ever. This is a general analysis and an attempt to answer the OP's question.
Oct 20, 2012
0
#107
VULPES_VULPES wrote:
I will try to analyze this question and try to produce an answer by asking a second question.
"What if the girl/woman in question was autistic?".
I myself am autistic and will speak from an austistic's point of view.
An autistic person would not be effected by things such as social rules or social reasoning or even social "tradition" - so to speak - so they would most likely be not influenced by said things. Without social rules, reasoning, and "tradition" hindering their choices as to how to develop themselves, they would be more likely to play chess -- which, apparently, is frowned upon by popular culture, because they are not effected by such things (and I, an autistic, would even consider pop culture "a mere bagatelle of the human mind").
Non-autistic women would have a sense of duty to learn all of the life skills required to be a mother, the role of women in a family and, perhaps, on a larger scale, and thus would not even consider taking up a "waste of time" such as chess. The girls with autism would not have that sense of duty and, therefore, that thought about it and thus are more open to spend their time on things that non-autistic people would consider a "waste of time".
Answering that question, this leads to the answer of the original question: that not many women play chess because of social rules, reasoning, and tradition. Society is drawing a path to motherhood for the girls to follow, whilst chess is promoted more to the demographic are less preoccupied: men.
This does not mean, though, that all autistic girls are chess players, nor do all autistic people play chess, nor do non-autistic girls don't play chess. I am not trying to belittle anyone in this analysis, so please don't be offended should you ever. This is a general analysis and an attempt to answer the OP's question.
A well reasoned point, but society is changing rapidly.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/201110/opting-out-having-children-who-is-and-why
corrijean wrote:
VULPES_VULPES wrote:
I will try to analyze this question and try to produce an answer by asking a second question.
"What if the girl/woman in question was autistic?".
I myself am autistic and will speak from an austistic's point of view.
An autistic person would not be effected by things such as social rules or social reasoning or even social "tradition" - so to speak - so they would most likely be not influenced by said things. Without social rules, reasoning, and "tradition" hindering their choices as to how to develop themselves, they would be more likely to play chess -- which, apparently, is frowned upon by popular culture, because they are not effected by such things (and I, an autistic, would even consider pop culture "a mere bagatelle of the human mind").
Non-autistic women would have a sense of duty to learn all of the life skills required to be a mother, the role of women in a family and, perhaps, on a larger scale, and thus would not even consider taking up a "waste of time" such as chess. The girls with autism would not have that sense of duty and, therefore, that thought about it and thus are more open to spend their time on things that non-autistic people would consider a "waste of time".
Answering that question, this leads to the answer of the original question: that not many women play chess because of social rules, reasoning, and tradition. Society is drawing a path to motherhood for the girls to follow, whilst chess is promoted more to the demographic are less preoccupied: men.
This does not mean, though, that all autistic girls are chess players, nor do all autistic people play chess, nor do non-autistic girls don't play chess. I am not trying to belittle anyone in this analysis, so please don't be offended should you ever. This is a general analysis and an attempt to answer the OP's question.
A well reasoned point, but society is changing rapidly.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/201110/opting-out-having-children-who-is-and-why
Thank you, corrijean. And thanks for the link.
Society is once again going through another metamorphosis. Soon, demographic and social trends will follow.
VULPES_VULPES wrote:
corrijean wrote:
VULPES_VULPES wrote:
I will try to analyze this question and try to produce an answer by asking a second question.
"What if the girl/woman in question was autistic?".
I myself am autistic and will speak from an austistic's point of view.
An autistic person would not be effected by things such as social rules or social reasoning or even social "tradition" - so to speak - so they would most likely be not influenced by said things. Without social rules, reasoning, and "tradition" hindering their choices as to how to develop themselves, they would be more likely to play chess -- which, apparently, is frowned upon by popular culture, because they are not effected by such things (and I, an autistic, would even consider pop culture "a mere bagatelle of the human mind").
Non-autistic women would have a sense of duty to learn all of the life skills required to be a mother, the role of women in a family and, perhaps, on a larger scale, and thus would not even consider taking up a "waste of time" such as chess. The girls with autism would not have that sense of duty and, therefore, that thought about it and thus are more open to spend their time on things that non-autistic people would consider a "waste of time".
Answering that question, this leads to the answer of the original question: that not many women play chess because of social rules, reasoning, and tradition. Society is drawing a path to motherhood for the girls to follow, whilst chess is promoted more to the demographic are less preoccupied: men.
This does not mean, though, that all autistic girls are chess players, nor do all autistic people play chess, nor do non-autistic girls don't play chess. I am not trying to belittle anyone in this analysis, so please don't be offended should you ever. This is a general analysis and an attempt to answer the OP's question.
A well reasoned point, but society is changing rapidly.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/201110/opting-out-having-children-who-is-and-why
Thank you, corrijean. And thanks for the link.
Society is once again going through another metamorphosis. Soon, demographic and social trends will follow.
The change has already occurred. It's been a dozen years or so since women surpassed men in the number of college degrees earned per year. My first manager when I got out of college was a woman almost 30 years ago, and trust me when I tell you that nobody questioned her intellect or ability to get things done.
My laboratory has more women than men, and the question of gender when assigning projects never arises. The one area that needs to catch up with the times is the number of women in upper management, and I think that this is largely a matter of attrition.
However, this site seems to have an endless fascination with the fact that fewer women than men play chess. As often as not, arguments are silly, fatuous and offensive. I'd ask whether we haven't had enough of this nonsense, but I'm sure another thread will pop up tomorrow.
The next time you make the argument that women are somehow constitutionally less equipped to be good chess players, imagine yourself explaining your reasoning to your daughter. Imagine yourself trying to explain it to Judit Polgar as she sweeps your pieces from the board.
Oct 20, 2012
0
#115
If everyone would imagine that, we probably wouldn't have a proliferation of women & chess threads.
I have to say that I think the OP's intent was a bit different than most who start women & chess threads, though.
Oct 20, 2012
0
#116
Also, we are judging this from our own cultural perspective. Remember that there are still countries where women aren't allowed to attend school, let alone being allowed to work or supervise.
Oct 21, 2012
0
#118
I don't believe in Natural Selection. I believe in Unnatural Selection! Look how over the centuries anyone who said anything sensible was killed by the idiots who run everything, whether secular or religious power centers. Over the centuries, humans have systematically eliminated from reproduction large numbers of people who thought powerful people were creeps or that religious beliefs were hokum or at least worth questioning about. The net result is that we now have a docile and submissive group of people whose brains hurt when they try to think.
This may well explain why so many arguments are filled with nonsense, name calling and non-sequiturs.
I believe in the social pressures Vulpes pointed to in his really interesting posts about autistic people's independance (is that the word, I don't think so). The question about women and chess is fascinating, and women who play wonder about it all the time because it can make them feel guilty. I work, I have a family, a child, but I need to play chess. My upbringing was, I think, quite different from others girls'. I was taught that being "mental" and "critical" was good and useful. Most girls aren't taught that, and actually are often made fun of for being mental and critical. The pressure is heavy, and that criticism comes from men as well as from women.
