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Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

nytimes.com

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Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#41

Post by belorn »

daliusd wrote: post #24
ktpsns wrote: post #16

It makes me sad that this is a "celebration of girlhood" but boys are not even mentioned in this article. Why can't boys also practice hobbyhorse training?

It seems boys can, they simply don't. It seems for some reason it became girly thing in Finland (like fake eye lashes, maybe) and boys avoid it. Citation from another article: """ There doesn’t seem to be that many boys riding hobbyhorses? Alisa: I think it’s quite sad, actually. It feels like boys aren’t allowed to do this thing that is considered to be a girly thing. At the same time, I think it also means we have…

I have a hard time imagine a area where boys would be allowed to have a similar community with that skewed gender ratios. The common assumption is that any gender segregation is caused by the minority being discriminated against.

If competitive hobbyhorse riding officially became a sport here in Sweden it would have to follow some recent laws dictating affirmative action within the sport organization. A minimum of 40% men and women. No exceptions.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#42

Post by wavefunction »

dalbasal wrote: post #21
blarg1 wrote: post #4

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting old and no longer get things, or if the world is just getting crazier.

Kids have always played wierd make-believe games. Sometimes it starts getting more formalized and attracts slightly older kids. People usually think it's weird, then they get used to it. ...like dungeons and dragons. Skeptical articles lean into the knee-jerk reaction that "something must be broken with society." Ultimately, lots of stuff is wierd if you approach it from a judgemental outsider's perspective. Wtf is g…

Or Quidditch leagues.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#43

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

nabla9 wrote: post #30
blarg1 wrote: post #4

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting old and no longer get things, or if the world is just getting crazier.

Is it crazier than square dancing? Square dancing, freestyle canoe [2], cosplay, cross-stitch etc. These are all activities that people do for the sake of the activity itself without any extra motivation except maybe to be able to hang around with others. [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofq_nl366VM

In the UK, the local equivalent of square dancing might be morris dancing, and yes, people regularly mock it as a silly pursuit of weird people.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#44

Post by lmm »

wemdyjreichert wrote: post #36
michaelt wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not sure why the community would see that as a problem If someone is learning martial arts, you might see that as a demanding sport, for tough serious athletes, demanding discipline, hard work and self-control. Or you might see it as playing at being Bruce Lee. Hiiii-Ya! Needless to say, the former perspective implies more respect for the people doing it! But there's not a bright line between 'serious' activities and…

I'd say there's a bit of a difference between martial arts and a toy pony. I know martial artists who can break a dozen cinder bricks with an elbow; that's a serious pursuit. I'd say there is a serious difference between that and riding a toy stick. This extends to many other sports and activities: you can practice at a serious level or an amateur one. The difference here is that I see no serious level for this. Same…

> I know martial artists who can break a dozen cinder bricks with an elbow; that's a serious pursuit. I'd say there is a serious difference between that and riding a toy stick.

What difference would that be? Real-world application? No-one hires martial artists for demolition work.

They're both recreational activities. Doing them well is difficult enough that your ability can be (and is) assessed competitively. Seems much the same to me (at least, if the competition results are consistent between judges).

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#46

Post by lmm »

modzu wrote: post #10
BurningCycles wrote: post #3

Well, it's kids playing make-believe, and in a physically active way, I'm all for it.

“If someone says we are playing, it strips away everything we made, it strips away the reality,” said Ms. Aarniomaki. it looks like playing to me as well, and not sure why the community would see that as a problem. even professional sports players know they are playing a game. an interesting and unusual perspective for sure.

I find it frustrating that BDSM folk seem to have settled on "play" as the standard terminology. These activities are purely recreational, sure, but when something is a big part of your life, when you spend a lot of time and effort honing your craft and performing to the best of your ability, it feels dismissive to call it "play".

I also do long-distance cycling, which is just as much of a purely recreational activity (even when competing for points). But no-one calls that "play".

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#47

Post by kyrra »

pjc50 wrote: post #40

So as an occasional (male) rider of real horses, there's something I've always wondered about: how did the recreation become so gendered? Up until about the middle of the 20th century there was still utilitarian and military horse riding. Men would learn to ride. Now it seems to be culturally associated almost entirely with young upper-middle-class girls or middle-aged women. Is this the result of toy marketing (My L…

(totally unrelated, but made me remember it). When I went to college for a BS in Computer Science, my CS adviser (a woman) pitched some of the equine courses to her male students as a way to meet women on the campus. She actively pushed to get you to sign up to the class as an elective. :)

(I probably would have done it, but I'm horribly allergic to horses.)

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#48

Post by ip26 »

pjc50 wrote: post #40

So as an occasional (male) rider of real horses, there's something I've always wondered about: how did the recreation become so gendered? Up until about the middle of the 20th century there was still utilitarian and military horse riding. Men would learn to ride. Now it seems to be culturally associated almost entirely with young upper-middle-class girls or middle-aged women. Is this the result of toy marketing (My L…

Speaking as a bystander, there appears to be an inherent, magnetic attraction for some young girls.

It's not exactly recent. Black Beauty well predates MLP.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#49

Post by gowld »

pjc50 wrote: post #40

So as an occasional (male) rider of real horses, there's something I've always wondered about: how did the recreation become so gendered? Up until about the middle of the 20th century there was still utilitarian and military horse riding. Men would learn to ride. Now it seems to be culturally associated almost entirely with young upper-middle-class girls or middle-aged women. Is this the result of toy marketing (My L…

Quora has a great discussion of gender in Anglo/Euro horse culture, with good and bad partial answers.

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-it-seem-like-more-women-than-...

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#50

Post by kwhitefoot »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #43
nabla9 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it crazier than square dancing? Square dancing, freestyle canoe [2], cosplay, cross-stitch etc. These are all activities that people do for the sake of the activity itself without any extra motivation except maybe to be able to hang around with others. [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofq_nl366VM

In the UK, the local equivalent of square dancing might be morris dancing, and yes, people regularly mock it as a silly pursuit of weird people.

I think the Morris is generally a slightly more serious affair than square dancing.

Also I think most that of those mocking Morris dancing probably do it from a safe distance!

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