No one likes prog so why should women be left out of the equation?
There are maybe 37 prog fans worldwide. My take is that at least 12 are women if not transgendered.

Why do most men dislike Twilight?

Because prog bands are full of mostly unkempt hairy, ugly men who are up themselves (!).

I think part of the reason why there are not as many women who like prog as men is cultural. Children learn gender roles at a young age and the media often intentionally or unintentionally reinforces a set of cultural norms, such how certain behaviors are not ladylike. Although it might not go to the extent it has in the past, I think that the idea that women are the gentler sex promoted the idea that they should be more polite, passive and meant to be pursued. Think of how in many situational comedies, the women are portrayed as the voice of reason compared to the antics of the male lead. If I'm being honest with myself, I'll admit some of my own views are misogynistic.

I am reminded of a 2014 review of 1986 video game Alter Ego, written by Jimmy Maher, aka The Digital Antiquarian, whose blog chronicles the history of video games, with an emphasis on interactive fiction (aka text-based adventures):
"As with a lot of games I write about, I played Alter Ego with my wife Dorte. She played with the female version, I with the male, and we took turns playing through a life phase at a time and comparing notes. Our agreed approach was to each play ourselves, making the choices we thought we would make at those ages in those situations. As we played, I found myself getting more and more angry at the game and sad for Dorte, as I kept getting to do cool and/or bold things and she kept being offered only meek girlie stuff. I got to go skydiving; she got to get an eyebrow tattoo. I slashed a hated teacher’s tires; she got a new hairdo. I got to buy video equipment or a flash new computer; she got to buy jewelry or “gourmet cooking accessories.” She always got offered the subordinate role, the pretty girl cheering on the boys who were actually doing something. I got to try out for the baseball team; she got to try out for the cheerleading squad. I got to start a rock band with some buddies; she got to call in to a radio show and win backstage passes to a concert."

Also, progressive rock was long seen by society as a nerdy hobby, together with pastimes such as science fiction, fantasy, role-playing games, wargames, programming and video games. Nerds are generally depicted as being unpopular, overweight or scrawny, having poor social skills, poor fashion sense, poor hygiene, in other words, the complete opposite of a conventionally attractive woman. I think this reason also plays a role in how fewer women work in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). In fact, the media still generally portrays being an actress, singer or fashion model as the acme of success for women.

Additionally, the great majority of prog musicians are male (as in many other fields), so I can understand if some feel a lack of inclusion. I think this also plays a role in why fewer women pursue STEM careers. In many fields, characteristics such as boldness, aggressiveness, rebelliousness, stubbornness and challenging convention are lauded, the very things women were instilled to eschew.

That is not to say I think that cultural norms are entirely responsible for fewer women being interested in prog compared to men. I do think women are better at reading and interpreting social cues, expressing empathy and that social interactions play a more important role in their lives. As such, I can see how many women could prefer to listen to the same music their friends listen or to music that is meant to be enjoyed in a social context, such as parties, dancing, or karaoke.

On an unrelated note, the thought just occurred to me that certain conditions, such as color blindness, affect men disproportionately compared to women due to the fact that women have two X chromosomes (which are responsible for a lot of mental functions), so that if there is a recessive gene on one chromosome, its can still be masked if the other X chromosome has the dominant allele. Thus, the same X chromosome has a normalizing effect. I do not claim to be an authority on genetics beyond what I remember from high school and this is pure speculation on my part, but perhaps this same effect might be responsible for some of the rather colorful personalities in the music world and why more men might be interested in the innovations characteristic to prog. After writing this entire paragraph out, I realized I am basically claiming that men have a higher rate of incidence for a "prog gene". Maybe I need some sleep...


Edited by Replayer - April 27 2017 at 23:45

Raff wrote: ... women as a whole tend to look at the big picture rather than obsess about the tiniest detail.

Really? Where did that come from? Why is this perception that I've never noticed ever ever ever in my life so obviously true, as opposed to the ubiquitously made observation that women (tend) to not like Prog? If we're explaining away one purported myth with another purported myth we're not making much progress.

"Why don't proggers like girls?" 

Logan wrote: ^^ Yes, but we also have

Catcher10 wrote:    Why dont many girls like prog?   Simply brilliant !!!!

I know several women who love prog.  Old and new.  Yet, none of the women I know like prog harder then Dream Theater.   They dig Steven Wilson, Big Big Train, IQ, and Italian Prog.

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: There are plenty of women at ProgDay & RIO, mix is probably 75:25.

Indeed. Almost half of ProgDay's organizing committee are women - all good friends of ours, and into rather challenging stuff, as I am myself. If you want to get an idea of what I like, click on either of the links in my signature. Unfortunately, due to personal issues and general burnout, I have given up reviewing, but I am still on the lookout for interesting new music. Though I don't dislike  music that has plenty of melody (far from that), a lot of what is widely considered "woman-friendly" prog bores me to tears. Maybe I am an exception, but I am not the only one.

As a side note, these discussions (which crop up on the site every now and then) do not really help to make PA more attractive to women. In fact, some of the remarks I have seen in this thread are not particularly complimentary towards us. Anyway, one thing is for sure: women as a whole tend to look at the big picture rather than obsess about the tiniest detail. The obsession with categorizing that is so distinctive of the "prog community" (though not limited to it) is definitely more of a masculine than a feminine trait.