Barbara said:
>I've been troubled by the agreement with "stereotypes", too. One
>problem with stereotypes is that when people use them, they tend
>to ignore conflicting information.

Well, someone asked for our opinions, and seeing as all but 2 of the female
birders I know of have children and continually complain about their burdens
of work/home/family cutting into their birding time, I thought the
"stereotype" hit home this time! I have now met 8 other women who would LOVE
to be out there twitching or listing or just having a hell of a time, but they
have to go home to feed the kids, do laundry, clean house, carpool kids, take
kids to medical appointments, piano lessons, school activities, sports clubs,
etc. I'd say they would not appreciate being told that they can't be counted
in this discussion, simply because they fit a stereotype.

I can't recall that anyone in this discussion has said "this fits why ALL
female birders aren't hotshots more". We have each been putting in our
reason.

A note about the "males obsess more than females" - here is where I see the
stereotypes coming into play in a poor manner. Obviously, these people have
never been in a competitive dressage/hunterjumper barn! My god - little girls
obsessing to the point of absurdity (just like male basketball fans!),
competition at an unbelievable height, and this continues for years. And it
costs more than birding, too! :)


I'm not sure what it is this week. I've just contradicted myself again. I
think it's this 24 hour flu that has lasted a week!


Susan Collicott Seattle, WA
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA
susan at pmel.noaa.gov