Well, it's kids playing make-believe, and in a physically active way, I'm all for it.
This actually looks like a lot of fun.
Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
81–90 of 158 posts
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#82So 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…
In the northwest US, there's a good split between men and women riding horses, the primary difference seems to be the competitions.
Men seem to focus on events where the goal is on the rider's other abilities, such as roping, while women seem to focus on events that focus on riding skills, such as barrel racing and jumping. There's also very few younger men who do dressage style events.
Of course, we still have an active "cowboy" job, where riding on a (horse/ATV) is still a requirement on ranches.
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
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Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
So if 40% of boys were not interested, it would be denied to girls? That seems noble in intent, but draconian in application.
From what I can tell from a short search, it seems it's 40% of the board of the organization, not 40% of the members.
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#85So 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…
There's a gender imbalance towards girls being interested in working with animals. It might be an extension of that.
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 activit…
I'm not seeing it; Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin Durant and Novak Djokovic all make millions playing.
It would be weird (and dismissive) to describe their activities as just "playing" though; "playing football" or "playing tennis" yes, but we think of those quite differently from "playing". At least I do.
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#87So 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…
This discussion reminded me of a video I saw a while back. It's a song that gives a moving glimpse into the male dominated urban horse culture in Dublin, Ireland. It's amazing to see shots of teenage boys racing their horses through city streets.
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#88Sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting old and no longer get things, or if the world is just getting crazier.
One merely has to look at the Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA, 1966) to realize that adults playing dress up and having competitions has been a part of our collective culture for decades (if not longer).
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#89So 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…
Imho different gender preferences might play a big role. A horse combines utilitarian with something emotional: You get means of transportation but you also gotta empathize and take care of said transportation because it's a breathing and feeling being.
While most males probably prefer the "no hassle" approach of motor vehicles, where you don't have to empathize to figure out what's wrong but only need to check for "mechanical failures".
Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls
#90So 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…
My facile observation for the day: I think horse riding is less enjoyable for men due to differences of anatomy.