The love between a Man and a woman and a fruit

[Joshua]

It's true for me that almost all of the passionate fruit tree and plant growers I have met have been male. I'm sure I'm not the first to make this link. I have a theory it is the similarity between a ripe swollen fruit and a woman in her prime with all her swellings that's draws so many men to this passion. The African varieties have a particularly well developed posterior which personally I find to be an amazing advertizment and attractant.similarly a ripe mango with the biggest cheak crease is the most attractive to me. A healthy woman also smells fantastic and make you want to kiss..just like many fruit.. and I mean without any of the foul perfumes that a lot of women (and men) use. Also what's the best aphrodisiac? ? I reckon it's a beautiful ripe sweet fruit!!

[huertasurbanas]

I agree

[Mike T]

There are plenty of female lychee,rambutan and banana farmers around hee so it can't be true.Woman might go in for vegie growing more and getting those zucchini,carrots and potatoes on the table..
Tree planting is probably territorial behavior that men are more likely to engage in.

[Carl.D]

It might be also that women produce life, while we have to be content with the results from our trees.
The circle of life in reflection.

[DimplesLee]

There are plenty of female lychee,rambutan and banana farmers around hee so it can't be true.Woman might go in for vegie growing more and getting those zucchini,carrots and potatoes on the table..
Tree planting is probably territorial behavior that men are more likely to engage in.

It is also a bit harder for us girls to go buy trees in 25, 50 gal pot sizes (you can get full grown 5-year old dwarf coconuts in nurseries in the PH, imagine that!) Much less haul it home and dig up a spot to place it in. Balancing a chainsaw or pole pruner up a ladder - another task we need to grovel/throw a hissy fit/clean out the Victoria's Secret boutique for.

But women farmers are pretty common though most of them are not that vocal about any plant collecting addiction they have on the side. I think people expect us to be chasing rare orchids and other flowers, not larger than us trees.

[Joshua]

haha yes some different perspectives there. true the work side of things is easier for most males.then why aren'tmore ffemales vocal about it?.  re the aphrodisiac comment..I wonder amount primates weather there is a relatively high rate of copulation within proximity to trees with ripe fruit. I bet there is a paper on that somewhere.

[Joshua]

I like the idea about reproductive capabilities carl

[Mike T]

The love between a man and his fruit tree is a wonderful thing. What similarity can ripe fruit ready for plucking have with his spouse?

[Tropicdude]

I do not want to sound sexist,  so its a broad generalization.  I think it has more to do with the way most men's minds work, we are generally planners,  we like to create things that go to fruition over time.    This is why you generally see guys rebuilding that old car over years, or making models, or train sets in the basement.  I know there are women that also do these things but to a much lesser degree.  men just seem to set goals that sometimes give rewards over long period of time.

So whether its tinkering in the garage with some project or planting seeds and taking care of those trees for years until we see the first fruit.  there is a satisfaction in that. sometimes the journey is also a  reward .

[Treees]

Smell and taste evolved to attract humans to nutritious fruit and fertile other humans for the same reason - reproduction.  I do not see difference between men and women in this.  But I definitely see similarity between how humans are attracted to food and to other humans.  The fact that certain fruit and vegetable remind us to male and female organs is also in part due to evolution (and in part due to imagination, which in turn was evolved for the same reasons).

[micah]

Interesting thoughts!

Best aphrodisiac? An orchard with ripe fruits hanging making shade for nesting/resting...made by the person male or female.
 Maybe it's that nesting instinct males have?some females too.  Unconscious instinct Showing mate...look my nest it can feed us and our kids!
Like birds...male builds his nest (orchards).
Nowdays we are this international nest building going on. Ohh I've got some self reflecting/analysing to do.

[JoeP450]

Very well said TropicDude ...sometimes the journey is the reward.

-joep450

[Hollywood]

I will throw my theory into the ring as well. I think the gender imbalance we see on this forum is the same discrepancy that we see in gamers and STEM professions in general. There is a science to fruit tree farming and geekiness to all the data collection...but I'm confident we will see the gender ratio even out in years to come.

Also, the most outspoken on these forums tend to be the more domineering personality types and that posturing is more socially acceptable for men.

[Joshua]

a complex variety of reasons  then not Nessisarily to do with one thing or the other. The reasoning from tropic dude seems sound but not quite as fun as my theory.haha

[fruitnewbie]

I am female and work as an RN. I research and grow our fruit and nurture our bee hives (both rather obsessively), my other half grows orchids and was once a judge. He just got kicked off the couch for being stinky (he just got off of work) and went outside to drink beer with our chickens (no, they don't have a problem but are very spoiled). He is a journeyman carpenter. I do not believe in the stereotype.

[fruitlovers]

I will throw my theory into the ring as well. I think the gender imbalance we see on this forum is the same discrepancy that we see in gamers and STEM professions in general. There is a science to fruit tree farming and geekiness to all the data collection...but I'm confident we will see the gender ratio even out in years to come.

Also, the most outspoken on these forums tend to be the more domineering personality types and that posturing is more socially acceptable for men.

I think you're right about the men being more outspoken on this forum. If you look at the member stats for the forum at http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?action=stats  you can see the ratio of men to women on this forum is 3.8 to 1. That would mean that over one quarter or 26% of the members are female. This question came up a couple years ago and i think the percentage of females was lower then at 20%. But i doubt that even 10% of the postings are from the ladies. I don't know the ratio of female vs. male postings, am just guessing on that one.

[DimplesLee]

Ditto on the geekiness - I've been reading up on threads for trees that came with the homestead and the boys really go all out discussions.

From various male and female friends who are also into gardening, girls generally have a lot of things going on - a menagerie of pets, ornamentals, vege, herbs and so on while the guys have a certain laser focus when it comes to what they collect/grow.

I'm not saying guys limit themselves to just a certain set of plants/trees they are just more into it. For me, as long as the animals and garden are doing okay it's good. Could be just my personality - I go for the minimum effort to keep everything on even keel. But I do have a tendency to go for bigger/biggest pot sizes, or graft and air layer as much as possible so I don't have to wait as much to get to fruiting stage. Could also be the instant gratification thing kicking in.

[Doglips]

I think tropicdude, Mike T, and Dimples are on the track.

When it comes to horticulture in general I'm sure that you will find a very high percentage of women go for the looks pretty, smells nice stuff.
I know women can definitely be into veg gardening, so why not fruit trees?
I belong to a local plant exchange, majority are women.

I've pondered this question on a few occasions. 

Then again, I am just another guy that showed up for this dude-fest thread.

[fruitlovers]

I think tropicdude, Mike T, and Dimples are on the track.

When it comes to horticulture in general I'm sure that you will find a very high percentage of women go for the looks pretty, smells nice stuff.
I know women can definitely be into veg gardening, so why not fruit trees?
I belong to a local plant exchange, majority are women.

I've pondered this question on a few occasions. 

Then again, I am just another guy that showed up for this dude-fest thread.

I think some women are definitely into fruit tree gardening. If you look at number of women in CRFG chapters, and even are on the board of CRFG chapters, this can also be quantified.

[ericalynne]

It has always puzzled me why there are so many men in the tropical fruit groups, at least at the events I have attended around south Florida. Historically and culturally, I think women have done the most cultivating of all types.
Erica

[Cookie Monster]

Men are often closet survivalists and find comfort in being self-sufficient. Objects like tools, guns, and expensive flashlights give a man the feeling of being prepared. Food bearing trees would fall within this group. Not only can the tree provide food for a family, but its bounty can be sold. Moreover, it can be propagated and its offspring sold. In this sense, fruit trees are similar to tools, which are very traditionally the man's toy of choice.

I also think there is more of a tendency for "collectors" in general to be male. I nary remember going into a baseball card store or a collectible coin shop to find a lady behind the counter -- they are always owned by men. My experience has been that only a portion of male hobby fruit growers truly enjoy their fruit for the purpose of eating it. Most seem to be more interested in collecting rather than the end, which is to consume copious amounts of delicious fresh fruit.

In my case, the roles are reversed. My wife is the more aggressive fruit tree collector in our home. I started off planting fruit trees to make her happy and eventually got hooked myself. These days, I consume an inordinate amount of fruit and view it as the ultimate "guilt-free" candy, but that was not always the case. It took many years of my wife forcing the stuff down my throat before I caught on.

[Doglips]

I also think there is more of a tendency for "collectors" in general to be male. I nary remember going into a baseball card store or a collectible coin shop to find a lady behind the counter -- they are always owned by men.

Gotta disagree on this.  Because you don't see women at a baseball card store, don't mean women don't collect.  Ever been to a jewelry store?  Your just shopping in the wrong kind of store to see women.

[DimplesLee]

I also think there is more of a tendency for "collectors" in general to be male. I nary remember going into a baseball card store or a collectible coin shop to find a lady behind the counter -- they are always owned by men.

Gotta disagree on this.  Because you don't see women at a baseball card store, don't mean women don't collect.  Ever been to a jewelry store?  Your just shopping in the wrong kind of store to see women.

where is our like button

[From the sea]

I also think there is more of a tendency for "collectors" in general to be male. I nary remember going into a baseball card store or a collectible coin shop to find a lady behind the counter -- they are always owned by men.

Gotta disagree on this.  Because you don't see women at a baseball card store, don't mean women don't collect.  Ever been to a jewelry store?  Your just shopping in the wrong kind of store to see women.

Truth

[Cookie Monster]

HAHA There is a subtle difference though. Though both sexes accumulate things, women do so for the end purpose of using them, while the men collect just for the sake of having. One is a focus on the end, and the other is a focus on the means.

A baseball card, for example, has no intrinsic value. It's a piece of cardboard with some ink on it that probably costs a fraction of a penny to produce. It cannot be eaten, it cannot provide shelter (for anything other than small rodents and insects), and it makes a poor substitute for clothing. A collection of shoes, on the other hand, is for the express purpose of wearing.

So, yes, women will amass collections of fruit trees, but most often they are doing so to actually eat the fruit day in and day out. However, a good percentage of hobbyist fruit growing men that I've interacted with have nothing more than a passing interest in the fruit and are more interested in the novelty of owning a new and rare plant.