Why is this game so male-dominated?

Once Mr. Polgar showed that three girls could compete at the very highest levels of chess, then the argument of male superiority vanished. You, StrengthInPawn, are a dinosaur. Your thinking has died out.

I know several women who are often quick to become friends with other women; interestingly the minority of these ladies are from the U.S.  One whom I'm close with told me she was out on a girl's night recently and all the girls were talking about how terrible men are.  It just occurred to me maybe women have avoided the game for centuries because it has often been considered a man's game and men can act really stupid around women when they put their minds to it.  Well Aristotle did say: "Men are good in one way, but bad in many," so we're lucky we have women who are good in so many more ways.  

Polgar also demonstrated that genius can be made, rather than just born - maybe not Carlsen-level genius, but certainly sub-Carlsen-level genius.

IMHO the main factor was that the Polgar girls grew up in an environment where their father was telling them that they can be good at chess and should strive for that, and that was their main influence. I know a lot of people question the morality of how Mr. Polgar raised his daughters, but at least he taught them to value themselves. Too many young girls grow up in an environment full of implicit messages in the media and in the resultant "culture" (or lack of culture) surrounding them, that they are to be valued mainly for their bodies and should put up with being treated like sh*t. The same culture implicitly teaches young boys that they are not "proper men" unless they treat women like sh*t. As far as I can tell, the main purpose of this is to create a totally artificial but highly lucrative market for things such as cosmetic surgery, lads' mags, and the like.

Anyway, I guess where I'm going with this is, is related to my own experiences of teaching chess to youngsters. With the boys, the main obstactle you've usually got to overcome is getting them to sit down and concentrate, not mess about etc. Once you get over this hump, they've got a chance to develop as chess players. With the girls, more often than not it's a confidence issue, and I've outlined above my theories as to what causes this. Once you can get them to really believe that there's no reason they can't compete with the boys, you're over the hump and they've got a chance.

Just my two cents.

Batgirl's explanation is neither a joke, sarcasm, nor denial.

I'd like a cite for those blanket statements.

I think it's just amazing how men never fight among themselves, or go to war.

 To be fair, the forums wouldn't be as fun without at least one of these around at any given time.

Here's a thought - why are people so keen to differentiate between "innate" characteristics and "acquired" ones? I don't see such a clear dividing line. What is nature if not nurture inherited from the development of previous generations of the organism? "Innate" properties do not simply drop from the sky, they are developed as part of the evolutionary process.

Are you aware that these blanket statements are likely "things you want to hear" instead of the truth?

Since I lack (lifelong) male friends, I might be a woman at heart?

Gosh, what a relief, I was worried about being too androgynous.

Thanks for the incisive clarification, @StrengthINPawns.  Burp. 

Has @Ciljettu really returned?

Each 'individual' claims his or hers spot in the ratings by effort, and according to his/hers biological and neurological possibilities

corrected

You're most definitely hung up on yourself. Narcissistic as hell. Everybody I've ever met in person with those traits are self centered d--k heads with a Nazi like superiority complex. Everybody else is beneath you, and not worth your consideration.

Yes, he does, but you don't.

You're still hearing what you want to hear.

Why are prisons so male-dominated?  Inquiring Minds Want to Know.

Such an absurd web we weave. 

You could also ask why prisons are predominantly more of one racial background than another.

Why are dominoes so male-dominated?

That is another important question would like answered.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to have got.

1) As a colective I do think women strength in chess is as good as males strength in chess the same way that women and men IQ's averge are comparable. I think in the last survey on this women average IQ surpassed men for the first time.

2)When you seek for the cases of extremely high chess ability, you find the proportion of men is bigger, cause "superbraniacs" are in bigger proportion men ||just a "frequentist" interpretation||. There is not a reason which prevents a woman from being a "superbraniac" but if you have to guess the genre of a Nobel Laureated you have better chances to succeed if you say it's a man. Men tend to the extremes...while the spectrum of IQ of women is more peaked around the average

Can we take a break from pseudo-science and look at the obvious social issues involved?

Every GM, whether male or female, has spent the majority of their life playing chess. Thing is though that at a certain age chess is social suicide. That is somewhere in the teens - the exact point in which coaches note the uneven ratio of male to female players. HOW ABOUT THAT? 

"You mean it's social suicide for a girl to play chess? Why golly gee this was not covered in number theory! You mean they're worried about looking like nerds?" Yes friends, I have blown your mind. 

"Wait, there can't be stigmas about intelligent woman out there? Surely the chess playing girls are at least accepted in the chess circle? Oh wait - maybe that's why every discussion about women in chess turns into some debate with crack-pot theories about IQ. Maybe that's why men go into super-mega posturing mode whenever a smart woman is even mentioned." 

And what's the easiest way to avoid all this crap? I'm sure you can put two and two together...

Hmmm?  Do I agree with the CG guy or the pawns guy?  Tough decision.  On the one hand, I'm pretty sure the CG guy has been outside.  On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that the pawns guy has been abducted by aliens.

Too close to call.

Are males, male dominated or female dominated ?

nameno1had wrote:

Are males, male dominated or female dominated ?

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