17:3 Gender Ratio in my friend's school's Warhammer Club

[Teetengee]

So, I've been looking, and I can't find the source for that chart, though I see a lot of people talking about it. Does anyone know who ran the study and what the study methodology were?

[Scribe]

3 minutes ago, Teetengee said:

Can you site these studies or say what it is you claim they're afraid to? Also, what are your concerns with "breakdown in both men and women" and how is that relevant to the 40k hobby?/gen

 

I could probably look them up but I doubt I will.

 

There are numbers out there for, especially in the last 8-10 years.

 

Increased drug use among men, and increased homelessness, suicide rates, loneliness, and isolation.

Massive increases in mental illness among young women/girls, suicide rates (which is typically a male issue, its how most men before 50 die I believe I last read).

 

If you remove spaces for each sex (sports, gyms, shelters, and yes even hobbies) you disrupt a place where those people are able to feel safe and 'let their hair down' and connect with each other without the tension/judgement of the opposite sex. There is a catharsis there.

 

Men already struggle with connecting with other men, there used to be organizations, clubs, leagues, religion which kind of greased the wheels and gave men an easy option to again connect with other men in the community. As these things became less entrenched in society, and we shifted into gaming, its not particularly surprising to see that it was male dominated.

 

How is this relevant to 40K as a hobby?

 

Because it gave men an activity to bond over, like other activities, orgs, clubs, leagues in the past used to.

 

Not everyone is able to just go to the gym solo to grind out and/or suppress their emotions, like real men should. ;)

[Ayatollah_of_Rock_n_Rolla]

Don't worry, there's always historicals for the what-the-hell-is-a-woman experience. And if that fails, the good ol' trustworthy hex & counter.

[Teetengee]

Just now, Scribe said:

 

 

If you remove spaces for each sex (sports, gyms, shelters, and yes even hobbies) you disrupt a place where those people are able to feel safe and 'let their hair down' and connect with each other without the tension/judgement of the opposite sex. There is a catharsis there.

 

You're making an incredibly strong claim that lack of gender segregation is the cause of this, and I don't see any reason to accept it unless you can provide specific evidence.

But I know that men absolutely do struggle to connect with people, especially other men. We as a society don't teach men how to express emotional intimacy, not even giving language for it outside of romantic relationships. That definitely screws someone up, and the structures of our society are very much geared toward teaching men and boys to put up walls, instead of connecting. There's a conversation that happens in feminist spaces about how men often put all their emotional load on female partners, because it's the only socially acceptable place they're allowed to show vulnerability. And that's awful. It's awful for the women who have to handle all that pressure. It's awful for the men who are trapped, unable and disallowed from expressing themselves. Men absolutely need spaces where they can talk about how they feel, and those spaces are certainly lacking. I don't believe it's necessary or productive for those spaces to be segregated by gender, but I also understand very well how much men are taught to not let their guard down except under specific context. It's a complex issue, and there's not a single simple solution.

[phandaal]

24 minutes ago, Deus_Ex_Machina said:

So if you want to have a good time with her just lie and claim to be a bird watcher (only 50% score). LOL!

 

Does Tzeentch count?

[Scribe]

2 minutes ago, Teetengee said:

It's a complex issue, and there's not a single simple solution.

 

I'm not so sure it is all that complicated, but I know we have been headed in the wrong direction.

 

Either way, at this point I step back and realize there is no way this is a conversation that can be had here, at B&C.

[Norman Paperman]

7 minutes ago, Scribe said:

 

I'm not so sure it is all that complicated, but I know we have been headed in the wrong direction.

 

Either way, at this point I step back and realize there is no way this is a conversation that can be had here, at B&C.

Yeah, I've been trying to dance around this without flying too close to the sun and I don't know that it's possible past this point. Personally, I'm happy to have pushed back on some of the narratives that I have a personal problem with, but I don't want to go further a) because this just isn't the place for it, and b) I genuinely don't want the smoke of an argument on this topic. I am happy, because this used to be such a one-sided issue and I was legitimately terrified of sharing my feelings about it anywhere. B&C still ain't the place for it, but it touches on the hobby enough that I hope we have addressed it with compassion and not given the mods too many headaches for our trouble. 

 

Shout out to the boys, never let anyone say that it's a problem with our hobby that it's mostly men, you're frickin awesome. Shout out to the girls too, you're just as valid in the hobby as the boys are and you belong. We all bring different needs and baggage to the table, but at the end of the day we all just want to make fun of Tau players. 

[Valkia the Bloody]

Well, since I was a little kid, I just have been a person with 2 XX Chromosomes who just happened to like boys stuff. But still identified as female. 

I have been an outcast from an early age, not really fitting neatly in the offered boxes.

I can see where the girl space/ boy space thought comes from, but where would people like me fit? We basically get told by all sides to f... off.

I just found the solution in doing boy stuff anyways, I had an awesome Warhammer club at uni ( only XX person there), I made great friends and basically ignored any of the rare grumblers. I think I judged rightly that someone having an issue with the fact that by chance a X- sperm of my dad's was faster than any of the Y- chromosome sperm was a "you" problem and not a "me" problem.

I also was very good at convincing any of the scared awkward young boys that I am not really that scary and only rarely bite. I also have a sense of humor, which came as a surprise. I had soneone who could not talk or look ar me at the start of the game laughing with me by the end of the game.

I also have to say that the typically smelly nerds are much rarer than any memes say. Yes, I have met a couple, but I think that the issue is wildly blown up. 

My most awkward experience was at a tournament where a grown man 10 years older than me with a black eye from a bar brawl the night before started crying because he was loosing against me. But even that got solved- I did not let him win, but made friends, we had a beer and he took me to the bus station afterwards .

But I am a massive exception since I am a Warhammer über- nerd and had long email conversations with both Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson back in the day ( yes I am old). 

When I enter a new Warhammer store at a new town, and an employee comes up to me asking if I was looking for a present or if I wanted to paint space nuns, I just go "Whelp, let me tell you something about the old times." 

Oh, I should also add that I have diagnosed ADHD and this is where my obsession and collecting urge come from. Also, why in my 30 years in the hobby I took several year long pauses due to shifting interests. But so far, I always came back and KUDOS to all the men who made me feel welcome, who laughed with me, who shared battle stories and painting advice. Those are definitely in the majority. 

Thank you! 

 

 

[Scribe]

25 minutes ago, Valkia the Bloody said:

My most awkward experience was at a tournament where a grown man 10 years older than me with a black eye from a bar brawl the night before started crying because he was loosing against me.

 

That's pretty awesome actually. 

[LameBeard]

Email conversations? Show me the snail mail letters and then I’ll agree you’re old!

[Tawnis]

2 hours ago, Deus_Ex_Machina said:

It doesn´t matter if you like the outcome of this survey or not. Fact is that women in general have a profound distaste in several male hobby activities. And to speak to the younger male audience here who still date: If you are a tabletop gamer and her face turns sour when you mention your hobby then you just dodged a bullet. Here is another survey with the same outcome:

 

Least Attractive Hobbies for Men According to Women:

Time stamp: 2:43 min. (Collecting figurines with a 85% score)

 

So if you want to have a good time with her just lie and claim to be a bird watcher (only 50% score). LOL!

So, a Youtuber looking for clicks and engagement reacting to a chart that has no verifiable source and just showed up on social media one day is your "proof"? 

I'm not saying it makes it wrong, that's just not a source of information to be relied upon. 

[Tawnis]

On 11/7/2025 at 10:31 AM, Teetengee said:

So, I've been looking, and I can't find the source for that chart, though I see a lot of people talking about it. Does anyone know who ran the study and what the study methodology were?

I looked as well and couldn't find it, the closest I could get was it just showing up on social media one day. 

Likely something that someone just through together for attention. 

 

On 11/7/2025 at 10:36 AM, Scribe said:

If you remove spaces for each sex (sports, gyms, shelters, and yes even hobbies) you disrupt a place where those people are able to feel safe and 'let their hair down' and connect with each other without the tension/judgement of the opposite sex. There is a catharsis there.

I can only speak for myself, but I've never been unable to let my hair down and speak my mind around women to any greater extent than I have around other men. 

[Helbrechts_Sword_Servitor]

I don't think that 40k needs to be the "male bonding/space". 

 

It's a game of pushing futuristic toy soldiers. The more people playing it, the better. More opponents, more figs in the used market, easier to arrange a game.

 

You wanna bond over something? Make friends within your group. I'm part of a 40 member gaming group, where we pooled up our resources and rented (and completely furnished) a room with 6 gaming tables, fridge, mats and lockers for our figs. Even there, where you gotta be introduced by another member to join, I'm not friends with everyone.

 

I'm not gonna someone's friend just because he or she plays 40k. I might game with them though.

 

Finally, saying that women don't like gaming loses sight of how things changes over time. Just look at your average gym or crossfit box. Nowadays there are women lifting and being muscular, and making a pretty penny while at it.

 

Not long ago, these were VERY niche activities for women. In the gym they were relegated to fitness classes, while men pumped iron.

[Captain Idaho]

I'm just home from boxing coaching and I've noticed the topic appears to have evolved naturally but potentially gone off topic.

 

I don't think anyone is posting too aggressively at a glance but I'm going to close it down, using a mod intuition, just to review to make sure it is going in the right direction without getting out of hand. I'm doing this partly because I want everyone to get on and the topic is inherently positive in OP, but also because I have been alerted to some sense of political referencing.

 

Be back with you good people tomorrow, before I go off again. If another mod comes in and does something between now and then, remember we're a team and anything good I can take credit for too right!

 

Good evening all.