The Better Half---Women In "The Hobby"

[topher]

Having suffered for more than 5 years of my collecting, group charity case breaking and blogging, my wife has now begun to embrace the dark side of the hobby as a contributing voice to my blog. There is a general stereotype that trading cards are reserved only for males, but there is a strong female contingent in the hobby--which, if you ask me, is great. While my wife has yet to purchase her very own cards or start any sort of collection, she is now part of the hobby and is helping me discover the female point of view--The Better Half.

She's now two articles in and not only are they insightful, they're pretty darned funny. I invite you all to check out her handy work.

I'd like to learn more about the female perspective on the hobby, specifically from you women here at SCF. How do females within the hobby view trading cards and collecting? How do females view the hobby from the outside looking in? How do females differ from men in respects to collecting---if at all? Are there any significant differences in perspectives between the two genders?

Please read my wife's articles and then SOUND OFF! :)

[dayzdtomato]

As a female in the hobby, I suppose that makes me qualified to respond to this one. :-)

Like many, I got into collecting as a kid in the late 80s. I had packs upon packs of early Hoops and Skybox cards. Then I more or less got out of the hobby until the mid-00s when I caught the bug again. I had just had my kids and was in need of a hobby to do since we were home quite a bit more. Plus I had recently stumbled upon binders of my old cards which rekindled some old love.

By the time I was back into the hobby, there were sites like this that brought the hobby to a whole new level. No more was I just busting wax hoping for something decent. I was able to focus on more specific collecting which, in my case, is team collecting. I went through a few bumps in the road with my husband over how much I was spending on the hobby when I got back into it. I'm sure it's a strange household indeed where the wife is saying to the husband "but this is actually a great price on a lot of LaMarcus Aldridge cards..." We came to an agreement though over what was reasonable. Plus I told him that as long as he feigns interest in some of my bigger mail days, I'm good.

I can't recall ever experiencing anyone on this site treating me any different because I'm a female. Course, probably most people can't tell just looking at my user detail. I do get a few PMs addressed to "dude" or "man" but I understand it and it doesn't phase me much. Everyone I've come across in the hobby has been great and no one at least outwardly acts like it's unusual that I'm a female in the hobby.

Conversely, I don't talk much about my card hobby outside of my immediate family. I recognize that it's unusual for someone like me, a 30 something professional career woman and mother, to collect basketball cards. Therefore, it's easier to never bring it up than try to explain it. I don't really know what the response would be if I talked about it in the same way I do my other hobbies. It would probably be no big deal but it is something I'm weird about.

I guess that's it. Questions?

[topher]

This is actually the type of response I was expecting/hoping to get. In this regard, males and females in the hobby really aren't that much different. The reason I bring the topic up at all is that a few female collectors who attended this year's National made mention of what they regarded an unexpectedly large female representation. While the twenty-teens are a much different time than the 80s, I would say it's much more "normal" for anyone, regardless of sex, to run through a Target checkout line with a blaster of cards in this day and age than it was 30 years ago. Back then, I would have categorized card collecting as a "boy thing." These days, I don't put much thought into who is collecting. I guess I just find it interesting that some (not all) females are so surprised at how many other females are active in the trading card community.

[dayzdtomato]

Glad I could provide some good feedback. :-)

I also wonder if there's other ladies out there who would enjoy the hobby but because it seems like a guy or a kid thing, don't pursue it. It would certainly be a shame if that were the case. Neither of my kids have shown much interest in the hobby, with the exception of my son getting into the Panini World Cup stickers this year, but I do hope that I at least am able to show them that it's okay to pursue the things you love despite what others may say or think.

[topher]

Glad I could provide some good feedback. :-)

I also wonder if there's other ladies out there who would enjoy the hobby but because it seems like a guy or a kid thing, don't pursue it. It would certainly be a shame if that were the case. Neither of my kids have shown much interest in the hobby, with the exception of my son getting into the Panini World Cup stickers this year, but I do hope that I at least am able to show them that it's okay to pursue the things you love despite what others may say or think.

It could very well be a generational and/or cultural thing, too. Just the other day, I noticed teenage girls in the card aisle at Target and I thought "oh, cool!" but then overheard them muttering that their boyfriends' cards were expensive.

A very good portion of my breaks are filled by women and I never gave it a second thought until one of them seemed so surprised by it.

Thanks again for your feedback! I look forward to hearing more :)