Female Brewers?

[D-brewmeister]

The other day my girlfriend said that she and a friend of hers wanted to start brewing to prove that it isn't just a good old boy sort of hobby. And before she mentioned that I hadn't even thought about the fact that everyone I know who brews beer is a male. I may be wrong, and just haven't met a large enough cross section of the brewing population, but I get the sense that there are proportionally many more male brewers than there are female. Am I right at this? How many women are there who are a part of this forum, for example? Now, I consider myself to be a liberal minded, pro-feminist sort of guy, but this sort of opened my eyes to some of my own hidden prejudices. Is it just that beer is a "guy" kind of thing? I see no reason that it should be; in fact, our local micro brewery was started by a woman. Let me know your thoughts on this. I would be glad to hear that my perception is not really the case universaly. And if it is, what do you think we should do about it?

 

[rightwingnut]

I wouldn't call your observation prejudice; it's an observation. I hate how people are considered "prejudiced" when they point out demographic facts. Sure there are female brewers...a brew shop near me is owned by three women (they are wine brewers at heart.) But I would bet my life that the majority of brewers are men...as are the majority of "beer lovers". "Stereotypes" exist because of the facts that surround any class or interest...there is nothing wrong with noticing or pointing out such statistics...in fact, to ignore it is, well, ignorant. "Political correctness" blinds us to the truth. Do these things matter? Absolutely not, at least in most circumstances. But lets not homogenize the world and pretend differences don't exist. Variety is what makes the world interesting, in fact fascinating.

 

[rightwingnut]

I would be glad to hear that my perception is not really the case universaly. And if it is, what do you think we should do about it?

What would the harm be if it were true (and I think it is) that there are more male brewers? We shouldn't "do" anything about it. If someone wants to brew, they will brew. You can't force a change like that. Once you start messing with things like that, everything gets screwed up, as with quotas. Let it happen because people want to be involved. I've heard people say things like the NHL is a racist organization, but I ask you, how many black people WANT to play hockey? Blacks excel in sports; if there were more blacks desiring to be hockey players, there would be more black hockey players. The same holds true for any institution. Women who want to brew will brew, and I'm sure many do, and that's awesome, but there's nothing we can or should "do" about it. You know?

 

[D-brewmeister]

Women who want to brew will brew, and I'm sure many do, and that's awesome, but there's nothing we can or should "do" about it. You know?

I would only be concerned if women felt like they were not welcome because of the predominantly male make-up of the brewing community. The sort of "boy's club" sort of mentality can easily take hold if a majority of any group are male, thus excluding women by default. I don't think that this forum or any other group is in any way sexist, at least not more so than any comprable group anywhere in our society. Maybe I am just too much of a bleeding liberal, but it does make me wonder why more men are into brewing, since plenty of women that I know like to drink beer as much as any guy I know. Could any ladies perhaps fill me in on the issue? Hey LADIES!?!

 

[TxBrew]

After my wife expressed much interest I bought her all the parts and a book on wine making. It's in the process of collecting dust lol. I will probably be the first to use it. Just waiting to move in a couple months.