Readers' Gender

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

scheherazade	19 Jan 2003
Was wondering... am I right in saying that most Tarot readers are female? If so, why so?

Alex	19 Jan 2003
most are. Why? I ain't have no clue. Alex.

violinlily	20 Jan 2003
yup, I too believe that most readers are female, as are most professional psychics (I think, am I making an over-generalized statement??).... Uhh, the reason might be that men sometimes have to swallow pride and get past the fact that tarot is read mostly by women. Who knows, that might be the whole reason they're warded off, "cause it a woman thing". every tarot reader you see anywhere is female (on james bond, miss cleo.... cringe). kudos to any man who is proud to read tarot, if what was stated earlier is the case!!

bec	20 Jan 2003
we had a similar thread once, think it was round last year or maybe even longer ago. and what I recall, I might be wrong, is that the readers here in forum is actually quite equal in gender ;) usually major tom, tarotbear, umbrae and lee gets started when some one claims, we are most femaler readers :P I myself am all woman

Umbrae	20 Jan 2003
No most readers are not women. That may be the perception, but not the truth. If ya believe it? Whadda loada krap! Been to a psychic fair lately? Almost 50% of the readers are men. What about John Edwards and James Van Praagh (SP?), they’re not women. Crowley, Levi, de Gebelin, De Mellet, Etteilla, Christian, Papus, Mathers et al… Such statements are ‘hasty generalizations’ devoid of research and facts. Sorry...I feel much better now.

Insomnia Turtle	20 Jan 2003
You know, this thread is kind of interesting because I don't know any female readers (personally, that is), and I don't include myself as I am a Tarot newbie. All of the ones I know are male, and some of them have boyfriends who read as well. Not to mention my husband, who also reads. Based on my own experience I would have to say that the statements "most Tarot readers are female", "men sometimes have to swallow pride and get past the fact that tarot is read mostly by women" and "every tarot reader you see anywhere is female" are based on stereotypes that originate from cheesy soap operas and horror movies. This is, of course, my own opinion.

Keslynn	20 Jan 2003
Maybe it's just this particular town, but the psychic fair I went to had a huge majority of women. In fact, I don't recall any men reading cards. I've met (in person) exactly one man who reads cards. The fact that I've met this few men could also be a problem of who I'm talking to. I'll have to investigate further, and maybe get out more! Thanks for the interesting question. It's making me think. (darn it!) :) Kes

lupo138	20 Jan 2003
to be honest I think it is about 70% women to 30% men in Austria. But men seem to be more persistent ;)

Major Tom	20 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae No most readers are not women. That may be the perception, but not the truth. Such statements are ‘hasty generalizations’ devoid of research and facts. Sorry...I feel much better now. Said much better than I could say. I am a man. I read tarot. My perception is that the gender of tarot readers is roughly in line with the gender of the general population.

wavebreaker	20 Jan 2003
I've been to a psychic fair twice and the number of men and women offering their services there was more or less the same. So I tend to agree with Major Tom that, at least over here, the percentage of men and women among psychics is roughly in line with that of the general population.

cuddles	20 Jan 2003
i don't have any idea. but...i don't think we can base the answers on how many go to a fair. or on how many prominent men (or women) we can name. or how many spend time on this forum. it can certainly be used to give an indication of interest in seeing and being seen and exchanging ideas. i would love to see some research and facts, just out of curiosity. personally i just love learning and talking about it and don't really care if i do it with men or women. as a newb, i do have a question. when we use the word reader are we talking about people who read for themselves and make tarot a part of their lives? or people who read for others for money? especially if we are talking about people who choose to make tarot a part of their lives we can't assume they are all drawn to share their experiences with others and therefore stand up to be counted.

Alex	20 Jan 2003
I still think we outnumber the boys in this forum, and by large. Someone could make a pool on it. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae No most readers are not women. That may be the perception, but not the truth.

Insomnia Turtle	20 Jan 2003
Cuddles - You post an interesting question, but you might want to tie it in with the topic of this forum (this is about gender, right?). Also you might want to clarify your question a bit more. Are not many readers who read for others for money people who have made Tarot a part of their lives and probably read for themselves as well? I mean, it would probably be hard to make a living off of Tarot cards if you were not even able to read for yourself, right? Of course, these are only the thoughts of a fellow newbie.

Kyrielle	20 Jan 2003
When I last went to a metaphysical fair, the number of male and female readers was about half and half. However, I noticed that at this particular event the men were less likely to read the tarot -- although several did -- and more likely to read runes or something else. How about this: Does anyone have a personal preference whether the person reading for them is male or female? The same gender as oneself or the opposite? Does one's gender affect one's relationship with the forces behind the cards? Or is everything equal? -- Kyrielle

rota	20 Jan 2003
I would like to think that the male-to-female Tarot reader proportion was about equal. But, I've been around here (northwest Oregon) awhile observing the culture, and I'd have to guess the balance tips in favor of women, at about 70 to 30. Maybe the male readers really are out there reading, invisibly, or maybe the female readers are just more visible due to the diaphanously floaty scarves. (As others have observed, the 'Perception' is that Tarot readers are generally female. It does make for better cinema, probably, to cast a gothily attractive woman as the mystic oracle.)

scheherazade	20 Jan 2003
Oh... I see that I've struck a controversial subject here! No offense meant to any... I suppose that I thought most readers were female because, well, in the area that I live in, not many men seem to have much potential for even becoming interested in tarot, much less potential for learning it. Tarot has such a stereotypical stigma in my circle of friends. I'm so glad that the genders are rather even, after all. I enjoy having male and female opinions to share with mine - same when it comes to my writing talents.

ihcoyc	20 Jan 2003
I don't have a gender; I have a sex, and it is male. Then again, I've never read professionally, only for friends and myself. Growing up in the early 1970s, tarot was very much "in the air" and I suspect that among people of my age, men were as likely as women to be exposed to it. Things may have become different since those days.

Osher	20 Jan 2003
My sex is male (just want to get that clear !) Actually, I find that most tarot readers are women. On my course, it was 2 men and (if I recall) 4 women, plus our female teacher. Of the readers in the area, most are women. Of people who have shops though, most are men (Isis in St. Albans, Mysteries in Covent Garden are run by men, Oracle in Watford is run by a woman). It may be then that men have more commerical aspect to their hobby, so that although most practicioners are women, the majority of the commerce runners are men? BTW I know that people are reluctant to say sex, and so say gender, but if you want to know if someone was male or female, then you should say sex. Gender is wider and refers to your sexual classifcation, the most common being male/female and hetro/homo/bi-sexual (you could use it in other ways too). Now, if by Reader's Gender you meant that, well, then we are into a whole new ball game, but on that note, I will gracefully leave this post!

sagitarian	20 Jan 2003
To answer a question stated previously, if I am having a reading done on me, it doesn't matter who it is due to I chose that person for a reason. If you look at history and facts about the genders, then it is common knowledge (really) that women are more emotional (in general) then men. They are more "intuitive" to their feelings and thoughts. They radiate mystery due to their inner personal connection to these feelings (not that men can't or aren't mysterious as well, in fact, I find them to be VERY mysterious and that is sexy to me). Because women are very emotional creatures, and (for the most part) the nurturing partner to a man (hypothetical here), it seems to me that women are more opt or open minded to pick up a deck and reveal it's "mysteries". Most "manly men" think of the tarot as "wishy washy, star gazing, female fluffy stuff" (many, not all!) Or at least…grins…that is the stereotype that we have been raised in for many generations now. We all know that stereotypes (although, they do serve their purpose) are not right, and certainly is not fact. Suffice to say that women (I think) are more "open" about being interested and reading tarot then men are. But I feel that this world is balanced and most likely has just as many male readers (regardless of what type) as there are female readers. There is also a study that my husband looked into once that made an interesting correlation that I personally never thought about until a few years ago. The moon is on a 28 day cycle, and this approximately matches up with a woman's menstrual period which many find very odd and also suggested that this adds to the mysteries of women. I just thought that interesting and really it has nothing to do with all of this, I just thought I'd share it.

tarotbear	20 Jan 2003
***stepping up to microphone*** "My name is tarotbear. I am a gay male.....and I....read...tarot cards!" ***steps down and hands microphone to next recovering tarotholic***

Osher	20 Jan 2003
Of course this raises the old nature/nuture argument. Accepting that women in general are more in tune with inner feelings, one must ask: is this because women are raised to be good mothers and wives and men workers; or is it something in the gene's? Or is it a mixture of the two? In my experience the most hard-nosed, career is all, work all hours, emotionless, workers are career women. On the other hand, caring women are the most caring you will find. I do know that men have more pressure placed on them, even today, to provide enough to cover costs for children (especially as most mothers do give up work for periods of time). I know this as nearly all my male friends are married fathers. Does this pressure for work drive out the emotive parts in some men, and so lead to them having less energy for then more esoteric arts, such as tarot?

Alex	20 Jan 2003
I never knew the difference between "gender" and "sex". Even though there's some overlap, I tend to consider a male someone who has XY chromosomes, and a female, someone who has XX chromossomes. Being a male or female does not imply that you like to lay in bed with the opposite sex. I call it "sexual orientation" rather than "sex" or "gender". Happiness, I always thought of you as a woman. The reason: in my mother tongue, "Felicidade" is female. In Portuguese, every single substantive has a gender. Not a sex. A gender. Alex. Quote: Originally posted by Happiness Gender is wider and refers to your sexual classifcation, the most common being male/female and hetro/homo/bi-sexual (you could use it in other ways too). Now, if by Reader's Gender you meant that, well, then we are into a whole new ball game, but on that note, I will gracefully leave this post!

cuddles	20 Jan 2003
oh, my goodness....tarotbear....have you just opened up the question of whether or not most men who read tarot are, in fact.....gay? *gasp* in general i have a problem with dividing people into groups. somehow i find it tends to lead to discord where there should be harmony. it may be interesting to throw around the question of how many tarot readers are male or female or whatever other group you decide to talk about. and as long as it remains a fun discussion. but in the end, it doesn't really matter, does it?

Umbrae	20 Jan 2003
Just for the record. I belong to this group...over here. Some of you are over there. Some, are over there. Only one thing matters. We are all...here. Classify, stereotype, hasty generalization...it is part of a trap to divide. You think that I want to sleep with you because I stand in this group? Those divisions are going on in another room. This is for Tarot. And we stand together. Oh you want to start counting? That’s math, or arithmetic. Remember before you make your next hasty generalization. Normal is like median. It depends on where you are standing when you take the measurement. Am I in the wrong room? I thought this was Tarot… Listen…it’s the ice cream man! Wait for me! Wait for me!

Alex	20 Jan 2003
I'd gotten right. Quote: Originally posted by ihcoyc I don't have a gender; I have a sex, and it is male.

heartsdesire	21 Jan 2003
Hmmm..... this is an interesting thread - I must say. I am a female and a mom does that make me more predisposed to reading tarot? Nope - don't think so. My son - who is a very "sensitive" child is very interested in Taort - my daughter - who is much more focused and somewhat driven is not. I think it only depends on the person's individuality - nothing more, nothing less. I have had one reading in my life- done by a woman, although I would love to have one done by a man. I think there would be a different, and enlightening perspective there. As far as why some of us are drawn to Tarot - and others are not - that I have no answer for. BUT - here's some food for thought. My next-door-neighbor - is a female, and a mom as well. Not only that, but we like to tell people we are twins seperated at conception - she is 18 hours!! older than me. we both have two children - 1st a daughter, then a son. we are the same height, have the same hair color, both wear glasses. Most people mistake us for sisters. We can finish each other's sentences and know what the other is thinking without asking. When the phone rings i can just tell when it's her. She is not the least bit interested in Tarot - and won't even let me read her cards for her. So - I don't know why I'm drawn to Taort and she's not, but it is interesting......................... Julie

Laurel	21 Jan 2003
** takes the microphone ** I think it takes more than intuition and a womb to make a good tarot reader, and I've met an equal number of excellent male and female readers. Same with doctors, dentists, psychiatrists and prostitutes. Oops, did I say that last part? ** runs off for the ice cream truck before anyone tries to find out if I'm joking. ** ~LAS

The Readers' Gender thread was originally posted on 19 Jan 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.