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UFO experiences-is it a gender thing?
- Thread starter Shannon
- Start date
)? Or as people who witness/experience the phenomena?Welcome to a subject that will continue to bend your mind and elude explanation.
I was thinking experiencers but why not throw the italicized researchers into the mix! Any thoughts on this?
Aaron LeClair
Paranormal Maven
As for people with an interests, males may be greater by a little. Same way that most Star Wars and Trek fanatics seem to be males. Why? dunno.
As for one gender being abducted more, or having ces more than another? It's around even it seems. Maybe females a little more in regards to abductions. Hard to tell ultimately.
Males seem to be dominant as researchers.
As for one gender being abducted more, or having ces more than another? It's around even it seems. Maybe females a little more in regards to abductions. Hard to tell ultimately.
Males seem to be dominant as researchers.
Noanswers
Skilled Investigator
I'm with Aaron, anecdotely it seems roughly 50/50.
I wonder too, if in terms of CE4 cases, males are less apt to report the event.
When I read your post, initially I would have leaned the other way and thought there were more women involved in abductions.
But the more I think about it, this may be a misinterpretation due to the fixation within ufology through the 90's with apparent genetic tampering on the part of whatever the hell is doing this.
I wonder too, if in terms of CE4 cases, males are less apt to report the event.
When I read your post, initially I would have leaned the other way and thought there were more women involved in abductions.
But the more I think about it, this may be a misinterpretation due to the fixation within ufology through the 90's with apparent genetic tampering on the part of whatever the hell is doing this.
wicro
Skilled Investigator
I have just finished (actually I'm procrastinating here and am almost finished) a small scale survey of attitudes to the 'paranormal'. Please note that I used adapted Paranormal belief scale that I'm not entirely happy with, that 'lumps' a range of beliefs together. The results were ,females had statistically (p < 0.05, two tailed) a much more positive attitude to the 'paranormal' than males.
From a qualailtive analysis of experience that was included in the survey the overwhelming reason given for this attitude was because of having previous experiences they deemed 'paranormal'
Susan Blackmore 1997 survey also found similar results (http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Articles/BJP 1997.htm).
Noanswers, you picked up on one of my 'confounding variables' are males less likely to report that they have had an experience, or that they hold beliefs such as this due to 'men' being stereotyped as the 'rational male' I'm not sure Possibly in a future study I could try to use an implicit rather than explicit testing method to uncover men’s true paranormal beliefs if i ever get the time.
Not sure what it all mean, but there you have it!
From a qualailtive analysis of experience that was included in the survey the overwhelming reason given for this attitude was because of having previous experiences they deemed 'paranormal'
Susan Blackmore 1997 survey also found similar results (http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Articles/BJP 1997.htm).
Noanswers, you picked up on one of my 'confounding variables' are males less likely to report that they have had an experience, or that they hold beliefs such as this due to 'men' being stereotyped as the 'rational male' I'm not sure Possibly in a future study I could try to use an implicit rather than explicit testing method to uncover men’s true paranormal beliefs if i ever get the time.
Not sure what it all mean, but there you have it!
Aaron LeClair
Paranormal Maven
Rainbow head?
I've always missed the boat when it comes to her brilliance.
I've always missed the boat when it comes to her brilliance.
Really interesting stuff..thanks wicro. I'd be curious to see if you look into this further.
I noticed that when I discuss these topics with people and they have personal experiences it seems that the men overwhelmingly are interested in UFOs whereas the women are interested more in ghosts & psychics. I also noticed in my very unscientific survey that the UFO folks tended to have a love of science fiction and the ghost people all said they love history & romance. I also noticed that there are a number that fear that they aren't ever going to have a personal experience-that only certain people are sensitive enough to have them.
I suppose what got me thinking about this is that I moderate a small group on a knitting community site about the paranormal. There are 144 members-I want to say maybe 5 are men. I keep bringing up the UFO phenomena and no one seems interested in discussing it. In fact there was a thread that some people felt that the term paranormal should only apply to ghosts! I totally disagree with that of course but that's what got me thinking about the gender division (if there is one).
I noticed that when I discuss these topics with people and they have personal experiences it seems that the men overwhelmingly are interested in UFOs whereas the women are interested more in ghosts & psychics. I also noticed in my very unscientific survey that the UFO folks tended to have a love of science fiction and the ghost people all said they love history & romance. I also noticed that there are a number that fear that they aren't ever going to have a personal experience-that only certain people are sensitive enough to have them.
I suppose what got me thinking about this is that I moderate a small group on a knitting community site about the paranormal. There are 144 members-I want to say maybe 5 are men. I keep bringing up the UFO phenomena and no one seems interested in discussing it. In fact there was a thread that some people felt that the term paranormal should only apply to ghosts! I totally disagree with that of course but that's what got me thinking about the gender division (if there is one).
wicro
Skilled Investigator
Thanks Shannon, although my study was way to small to draw any real conclusions, your right in saying that males tended to answer more positively to the question 'Intelligent alien life has visited the Earth' than female respondents.
One of the sections of the survey had a section, to list any books related to the topic that the participant had read in the last year, unfortuantly my respondents were not a very literature based bunch with only three actual listing anything , not enough to draw any conclusions!
Another thing I noticed, was the use of rhetorical devices by males such as 'I used to be sceptical of ... before this' when they had encountered something 'paranormal'. I interpreted this as their way of justifying there position so as not to appear they were just 'gullible', something the female respondents did not use which is interesting in itself.
It does appear gender stereotypes may be having an effect on the way, people talk and think about the 'paranormal' something researchers should take note off!
One of the sections of the survey had a section, to list any books related to the topic that the participant had read in the last year, unfortuantly my respondents were not a very literature based bunch with only three actual listing anything , not enough to draw any conclusions!
Another thing I noticed, was the use of rhetorical devices by males such as 'I used to be sceptical of ... before this' when they had encountered something 'paranormal'. I interpreted this as their way of justifying there position so as not to appear they were just 'gullible', something the female respondents did not use which is interesting in itself.
It does appear gender stereotypes may be having an effect on the way, people talk and think about the 'paranormal' something researchers should take note off!
Raevenskye
Seer of All Things Spooky
I would probably skew your results: I love both scifi and history/romance (certain types). I have had both UFO and ghostly experiences. I talk pretty openly about the ghost stuff, and hardly at all about the UFO stuff (on here more than in real life), and I am peen-free 
wicro
Skilled Investigator
I would probably skew your results: I love both scifi and history/romance (certain types). I have had both UFO and ghostly experiences. I talk pretty openly about the ghost stuff, and hardly at all about the UFO stuff (on here more than in real life), and I am peen-free
I would have just been glad to know you actually had read some books! I maybe should have put a section about web activity, being an 'old' git it slipped my mind till after I had completed the project. I wonder if people get most of there information through this media now, or at least more so than books.Curse my biases!
I would have been a 'statistical outlier' myself, I've had 'paranormal' experiences, watch some of the shows, read the books but am skeptical. There always a few eh?
Tyger
Paranormal Adept
I have been struck by the presence of men in this area. There is a conference going on at Joshua Tree this August and nearly all - if not all - of the presenters are men. Looking at videos of panel discussions and debates on YouTube, usually men. What's curious is that gender is not an issue for me but I found it popping out at me. It's noticeable.
I, too, am interested in the UFO phenomena, and am a long standing science fiction fan - in fact I go back far enough to when our fondest dreams were to be mainstream and not a genre one surreptitiously read under the covers at night. There is a lot of similarity between those early years of science fiction and the UFO stigma now, in fact, now that I think of it.
I am not interested in ghosts - and that's not because I don't 'believe' in them. I am too well aware of the paranormal realm and have no desire to mess with it. There are few who are able to traverse that realm without becoming unbalanced in my experience. Playing with the paranormal reminds me of a quote from Mark Twain:: "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."
So while I love history (and romance) I beat a path to the door when it comes to paranormal dilettantism. I know of nothing good that has ever come of that.
Burnt State
Paranormal Adept
In listening to stats on the paranormal, women tend towards ghosts and life after death while guys go in for Bigfoot and UFO's - sounds fairly stereotypical, doesn't it?
Randall
J. Randall Murphy
boomerang
Paranormal Adept
I don't know what the stats say about relative interest levels. I don't care too much. But it seems like certain late night mass media productions focus on female guests for the subjects of re-incarnation, astrology, etc., and male guests for things like bigfoot and ufos. At any rate, substantial numbers of women are definitely interested in the subject of ufos.
As for bigfoot research: If a man can find a woman willing to chase around in the woods with him with a six pack of beer and munchies, I suggest he hang on to her because that's true love !
As for bigfoot research: If a man can find a woman willing to chase around in the woods with him with a six pack of beer and munchies, I suggest he hang on to her because that's true love !