On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 10:29:39 +0000, Victoria Clare wrote:

To address the gender balance, I suggest you also post details of events at
the local pub ;-).

Gender balance is another BIG issue that I didn't mention in my
earlier contributions to this thread. I believe it's unhealthy
for a gardening group to become predominately one sex or the
other unless it's deliberately intended to be a single-sex
affair. When either men or women predominate, there's a tendency
for the group to become more sociable in a way that lessens the
focus on gardening. The women start doing female-competition
thingies, the men start doing golf thingies or something of the
sort. Neither is beneficial.

Also, the two sexes tend to have different styles, very broadly
speaking, and once the balance tips too far in one direction or
the other, the other side finds the situation repellent and stays
away. The situation becomes self-perpetuating and nearly
impossible to correct.

Yes, this may make me sound like some kind of horrible sexual
chauvinist, but I think it's a serious issue that one's group
ignores at their peril.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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