Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 158 posts

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#141

Post by ummonk »

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…

On the other hand there is aikido, which is basically playing at make believe martial art.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#142

Post by Gibbon1 »

zorked wrote: post #111
freeflight wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 "…

I live near a riding school. I asked my son whether he wanted to learn how to ride a horse. He said yes, enthusiastically, and spent days reading and watching movies about cowboys. Then we went to visit the school on the weekend. He only saw girls wearing pink giggling and riding the horses. Before we even entered the gate he said he was no longer interested.

Your son done goofed!!!

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#143

Post by belorn »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #142
zorked wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live near a riding school. I asked my son whether he wanted to learn how to ride a horse. He said yes, enthusiastically, and spent days reading and watching movies about cowboys. Then we went to visit the school on the weekend. He only saw girls wearing pink giggling and riding the horses. Before we even entered the gate he said he was no longer interested.

Your son done goofed!!!

No more than a girl having the same reaction from entering a computer gaming club and only seeing boys. I would expect to see this kind of behavior universally in all cultures and across gender, and being most profound around the ages 10-18.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#144

Post by belorn »

icebraining wrote: post #84
whenchamenia wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That is right, but the political discussion around it involved more than just the board. The idea is that the organizations need to become more welcoming and as a start the government want that the boards get a minimum of 40% men and women.

Recent survey show that two national organizations that manage a major sport has failed to comply. Ice hockey and horse riding. 80% men in one, 80% women in the other.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#145

Post by zeristor »

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…

Famously in Korea they've gone one step further and mime riding a horse without even the wooden hobbyhorse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#146

Post by pavlov »

p1esk wrote: post #122
pavlov wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thousands of pre-teens disagree.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure if you do a poll of random 12yo girls those who think it's "cool" will be a rounding error. For the record, I'm all for fun physical activities like this, just don't try to compare it to rock'n'roll.

I guess I wasn’t communicating all that clearly. What I meant was that middle-aged people tend to misunderstand/underestimate even the huge rising trends like rock’n’roll — so they’re even more likely to make a wrong summary judgment on fringe activities like this.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#147

Post by ethbro »

munificent wrote: post #106
johtso wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19A53SyAUak

This reminds of the feeling when I discovered some urban areas have subcultures of mostly black people riding dirt bikes and four-wheelers around cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D34OOYXF10 Such a remarkable juxtaposition of people, vehicles, and setting, like watching a schooner drift through a grocery store.

Atlanta's got a strong bike (and ATV) culture. It's not uncommon to see a group of 10-20 blow through downtown on the weekends when the weather's nice.

I think it's awesome! Find your passion and do it.

They're boisterous and the bikes are loud, but the larger clubs generally self-police reasonably well. They're usually not doing anything more dangerous than a wheelie and are obviously having a great time.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#148

Post by ethbro »

btilly wrote: post #140
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…

Here is what I once said jokingly to a woman who liked to ride, and to my surprise she agreed with it. Large hairy beast who does what you ask and wants to make you happy. Horses resemble your taste in men. I wouldn't want to guess for how many that is a factor. But the number is not zero.

If we're speaking genderedly, the same could be said of male car culture.

Something whose sound makes your spine shiver, is fast enough to feel on the edge of control, and looks a million times better than you?

"The number is not zero."

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#149

Post by KaoruAoiShiho »

zeristor wrote: post #145
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…

Famously in Korea they've gone one step further and mime riding a horse without even the wooden hobbyhorse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Okay this made me laugh.

Re: Finland’s Hobbyhorse Girls

#150

Post by freeflight »

okmokmz wrote: post #105
freeflight wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 "…

For this to hold true you need to buy into the traditional gender stereotypes

Really depends on how you define "stereotype".

It's my understanding that these "gendered differences" have been shown to be more than mere "stereotypes" in a number of different studies across different fields.

That's not to say there's "male brain" and a "female brain", but it very strongly hints at gender influencing preferences which are not entirely based on socialization but also involves its fair share of biological factors.

If this wouldn't be the case, how are trans-people be able to feel like "being stuck in the wrong body" if all brains and consciousness are alike? If there are zero biological factors at play, then that feeling of trans-people would be entirely imagined on their end, wouldn't it?

Post reply on HN