Why DO women like prog?

I've noticed that, in the past few days, quite a few fellow women have joined the PA forum - hopefully to stay for a while and not just disappear into thin air immediately afterwards. In the past, there have been several threads and polls about why women can't get into prog, some of them descending into gratuitous, sexist stereotypes about women being only interested in 'mating' music like all kinds of dance music. I thought it was time to have a thread dedicated to the opposite situation, i.e. women like me and others here who do like prog, and have for some time.

I, for instance, have never been able to stand either dance music or, even worse, traditional 'female' music such as romantic pop songs, and have been into classic rock, prog and even metal for as long as I can remember. I suppose all the women who frequent these forums have a similar story to tell. Of course, guys are welcome to come here and discuss their own experiences with prog-loving ladies. So, what do you think makes a woman go for such an 'unwomanly' genre as prog, instead of piling up the Celine Dion or Barry White CDs?

I permanently fail to understand the fact that the percentage of men liking Prog is higher than that of women. Personally, I just don't see the difference between men and women in this aspect.

A lot of the girls i know are into (or at least like some) modern prog, but old stuff doesn't work. But I mostly listen to 00's prog anyway. 

This one girl I know was listening to TMV and started giggiling saying Cedric's voice her feel all happy inside.

Great thread Ghost Rider, as usual your insights make us reflect...
My wife was not a fan of prog until we met and I've gotten her into both prog and jazz. I think that perhaps due to the lack of exposure in certain circles( i.e. circle of friends et al. ) many people don't get to listen to the richness of this music. Since prog and classical music are often identified as being related I don't think that music preference is a question of gendre or we would not see so many women at classical concerts. Also I tend to have a theory by which if , as a child, you were stimulated intellectually to diverse sights, sounds, foods,etc, as an adult you probably have a more open mind to experiment with the likes of what i've described.
    

Edited by alias10mr - September 19 2006 at 11:23

Maybe there are a lot more than we know, but they don't join internet forums dedicated to it. Or maybe they keep it under wraps for whatever risk or reason. They are too hard to understand.

I was introduced to Prog by one of my friends, who happens to be a woman. 

Ghost Rider wrote: I've noticed that, in the past few days, quite a few fellow women have joined the PA forum - hopefully to stay for a while and not just disappear into thin air immediately afterwards. In the past, there have been several threads and polls about why women can't get into prog, some of them descending into gratuitous, sexist stereotypes about women being only interested in 'mating' music like all kinds of dance music. I thought it was time to have a thread dedicated to the opposite situation, i.e. women like me and others here who do like prog, and have for some time. I, for instance, have never been able to stand either dance music or, even worse, traditional 'female' music such as romantic pop songs, and have been into classic rock, prog and even metal for as long as I can remember. I suppose all the women who frequent these forums have a similar story to tell. Of course, guys are welcome to come here and discuss their own experiences with prog-loving ladies. So, what do you think makes a woman go for such an 'unwomanly' genre as prog, instead of piling up the Celine Dion or Barry White CDs?

sm sm wrote:     There's also an attitude that attracting more of the opposite gender would worsen the music. E.g. Bon Jovi and Poison were considered "chick metal bands", which did worsen the music by turning metal into nothing but pop music with distortion   I'm sure attracting more men to female dominated music would be considered to worsen the music as well.   In reality, it was the perceivement by the music monguls of how to attract more of the opposite gender that worsened the music.

Sean Trane wrote: [   Thing is that males are always coined as sexists and obsessed, but only women go to concerts of artists that they find cute (such as Bon Anchiove). And most of the males going to Anchiove concerts is to try to pick up chicks. (maybe the rare unaccompanied women go to prog concert to pick up cute dudes and never return because there aren't any) Oh, Hugues, what about you? Aren't you cute? BTW, I never went to a prog concert to pick up anyone... As a matter of fact, I never go ANYWHERE in order to pick up anyone! That's just not my thing...   I have yet to meet a guy that went to a Britney Spears concert because he thought she was cute (and she bloody well is). You're right... Usually men don't go to concerts to see 'cute' women, and many use much stronger words than that to define an attractive woman!

sm sm wrote: Chances are both sexism would also come equally from one's own gender, where if a man likes dance music, he would be labled emasculate by men, or if a woman likes prog, she would be labeled as butch by women

I want what you're on.