Consider attendance at several arts activities: classical music concerts, jazz concerts, musical theater, non-musical plays, art museums & galleries, craft & visual arts festivals, parks & historic sites, and reading of literature.
Do they seem masculine or feminine to you?
What about these arts activities: playing a classical music instrument, painting, pottery, sewing, photography, creative writing, singing in a choir or chorale, and buying art?
Are they masculine or feminine?
According to Section 26 of the just released Census Bureau’s 2010 Statistical Abstract of the U.S., in only one of those 16 categories is a greater percentage of men involved than women.
I guess it is no surprise that the arts are patronized more by women than men, but the male gap almost across the board, even for jazz concerts and playing classical instruments, is still an eye-opener.
Only in the purchase of art did men dominate: there, 29.6% of men vs. 27.9% of women of those “who reported owning original art” said they had made a purchase in the 12 months.
The male gap looks significant in almost all categories. It is more than 1.5% in everything except attendance at jazz concerts (.2%), attendance at parks & historic sites (1%), playing a musical instrument (.2%) and creative writing (1.3%). And it’s as wide as 20.9% for sewing (ok, ok) and 16.1% for reading literature.
These numbers are drawn from research by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The male gap is a big problem, but one that lacks a single solution. Trouble is, it’s one I rarely hear discussed. I hope that changes in 2010.