Diversity in our interest

[Susie]

http://t.co/0bvmrWK5

Something struck me when I watched the video (I thoroughly enjoyed the video and applaud the sentiment behind it) which was there was just one female among the butterfly hunters and they were all white.

Diversity among butterfly enthusiasts doesn't seem to have changed much in the last 200 years!

Should more be done to try to including other groups in what seems to be a very white middle class middle aged male hobby?

[ChrisC]

a good point Susie,
it's the same with fishing and birdwatching, predominantly white but with a more varied age group. i think it is changing though, getting younger and more women. you only have to look at sussex kippers botany bay group photo to see it. what you have to bear in mind though, especially when i was young is peer pressure(on top the lure of sports and computers, add girls.cars and drink for older teens). no doubt the story will ring true for a few others on here when i say that friends and other kids took the mickey when I used to mention my hobby (birdwatching back then). I was fortunate that my interest reignited my old mans, so i had transport. if the parents of any budding young naturalist aren't interested these days then i doubt they would get the same chances i did. As for women, i applaud the likes of yourself, Pauline and Debbie who are brave enough to go out alone.

one thing that i can see growing amoung the younger generation, and i'm sure Gibster will be able to keep us up to date on it, is "pan-species listing" just as "twitching" made birdwatching more popular this will increase the interest in all areas of natural history though unfortunately not neccessarily conservation.

i don't know enough about other ethnic cultures to comment but what i will say is there aren't many middle class middle aged men on that video that haven't had butterflies as a hobby since they were alot younger than middle aged

my final thoughts are the digital revolution and it has been a revolution. i've never seen so many people and with cameras out than i have now. and another way forward in gardening for wildlife. there's no going back once you've had a garden full of butterflies.

Chris

[ScottD]

One thing that I have noticed up here is that it seems that female Countryside Rangers may even be in the majority.
However, they too seem to be largely Caucasian.

[Susie]

Perhaps because I think most rangers are now supposed to be educated to degree level. I wouldn't be surprised if it became female dominated;I think it is the same for many professions now. The majority of people studying to become lawyers, doctors and vets are women. 80 -90% female for vets I believe.

Girl power

[P.J.Underwood]

"80 -90% female for vets I believe"
Yes,but they don't last!
P.J.U.

[Susie]

They'll have to in future because there won't be the men to replace them!

[David M]

Venturing out into isolated places alone is almost always going to be largely a male preserve.

When I speak to female friends/work colleagues, many seem quite captivated by the thought but on those occasions when I suggest "well, why don't you do the same...", I get the answer "I'd be too frightened of someone jumping out from behind the bushes".

[Pauline]

I felt I had to comment on this because some of us don't have a choice and the alternative is to sit indoors alone and do nothing! Of course I'm wary, especially on a new site where I am unfamiliar with the layout. I find myself listening for the sound of squeaky gates or the alarm calls of birds, all signs of the potential approach of someone. However, I console myself with the thought that some of the places I visit are just sooo remote that anyone waiting 'to jump out of the bushes' would have to be a real optimist as they would need to be there for quite a long while before someone happened by - and that would likely be a guy with a large tripod

[Susie]

I felt I had to comment on this because some of us don't have a choice and the alternative is to sit indoors alone and do nothing! Of course I'm wary, especially on a new site where I am unfamiliar with the layout. I find myself listening for the sound of squeaky gates or the alarm calls of birds, all signs of the potential approach of someone. However, I console myself with the thought that some of the places I visit are just sooo remote that anyone waiting 'to jump out of the bushes' would have to be a real optimist as they would need to be there for quite a long while before someone happened by - and that would likely be a guy with a large tripod

My sentiments exactly!

[Neil Freeman]

...", I get the answer "I'd be too frightened of someone jumping out from behind the bushes".

Oh, OK then, I will try to stop doing that

Neil F.

[Pauline]

Before this thread dies a death can I just give credit to Chris for expressing several valid points and recognising some issues from a female perspective which in my experience is quite rare so thank you Chris.

[A_T]

I remember when I went to Prees Heath last year there was a very odd man lurking wishing to speak to anyone coming to look at the Silver-studded Blues. I don't think he was from UKB either! No doubt he was harmless but his presence did not exactly enhance my visit and I can believe that for a woman it would have been very uncomfortable.

[Debbie]

I agree that we must not sit in and sometimes that means going out on our own. But I always let somebody know where I have gone and my estimated ETA home. I was at a nature reserve that was not very isolated and a middleaged woman felt her need to express loudly and rudely her opinion on my lack of stunning good looks simply because I crossed the road away from her as she approached - I was following a orange tip. I really felt sorry for this woman being in such termoil, however I did feel threatened.

[Neil Freeman]

I went to one of my local spots this afternoon for a couple of hours to continue my seach for Essex skippers there.

This area is on the outskirts of Birmingham and sits between a couple of large housing estates although you would not think so normally. Today however I had an experience that made me think a bit.

A group of young lads, only aged about 10-12 passed me on one of the paths and started making 'comments'. I initially ignored them but the 'verbal' started getting worse so I am afraid I 'bit' and gave them a mouthful back. Now, I have been around a bit and can come out with a few choice phrases and I think this surprised them as they shut up and walked on with a few parting comments once they were far enough

I remembered this thread and it made me think about some of the previous comments in the posts above and for me it has certainly opened my eyes a bit about things that I take for granted whereby a woman, or indeed a less confident bloke, on their own, could certainy have felt threatened under similar circumstances.

Neil F.