The Gender Hobby Gap and How it Affects Women’s Well-being
Hobbies are important for well-being, as spending time on an activity you enjoy can improve your mental health, and reduce stress and overwhelm. When we take part in a hobby we enjoy, dopamine is released, which means we feel pleasure. Evidence has shown that even for those with clinical depression, setting aside some time for activities which bring pleasure and joy can improve symptoms. Hobbies like gardening and art can be extremely beneficial for mental well-being.
Research has shown that there is a gendered gap in men and women’s ability to pursue hobbies, and there is a disparity in the hobbies that each gender pursues. When women get married to men, they tend to lose time that they could be using to pursue hobbies, as they take on more unpaid labour. When men marry women, they gain time, giving them the opportunity to pursue hobbies.
According to the Office for National Statistics, women carry out an average of 60% more unpaid work than men. Women put in more than double the hours when it comes to cooking, childcare, cleaning, and housework. This can amount to hours per day. For many women, this unpaid work is on top of a full-time job, leaving them with little time to pursue hobbies.
Women statistically struggle with their mental health, and this extra mental load and lack of time for themselves may be a factor. Statistics have shown that women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety than men, and are more likely to be affected by depression.
Interests that men take on as hobbies are often sports, commonly golf, cycling or marathon running. These hobbies require a significant time commitment, and mean men have to leave home for long periods of time, a luxury women are often denied. Hours spent on the golf course, or out running, mean that women have to pick up the slack when it comes to domestic and childcare responsibilities. As a result, women’s hobbies are confined to those that fit around their partner or children’s schedules, or are contained to the home. Oftentimes these hobbies are child-friendly, to account for the need for domestic and childcare duties.
Many creators have noticed this disparity, and have questioned whether women have hobbies as a result. Podcaster Jack Denmo went viral for questioning how many girls actually have hobbies. He said: “Women back in the day just learned how to do things that are important, such as knit, cook, bake, run a household. These are all feminine nurturing qualities that men love.”
Many TikTok users have pointed out that these ‘nurturing qualities’ were historically often gendered unpaid labour that women were forced to take on, not hobbies that women were willingly taking up. While of course many women do enjoy baking and knitting, presenting these as hobbies that men love highlights the expectation that women’s hobbies be domestic and productive, bringing value to the household.
Furthermore, there is a problem in the way that stereotypically feminine hobbies have been viewed. Many women do have hobbies, but these ‘female’ hobbies have been consistently devalued, and viewed as frivolous and meaningless. Interests in artists like Taylor Swift, and romantic films are often dismissed as basic, and not ‘real’ hobbies. Young girls are called ‘crazy’ for being obsessed with music artists like Harry Styles or Justin Beiber, and are dismissed as ‘basic’ and having no hobbies, while boys who are similarly obsessed with football are praised for their interests. Even young women
Hobbies are crucially important to bring pleasure and joy, and give people a sense of purpose outside of their work. They can have insurmountable positive effects on mental well-being. The extra unpaid labour that is relegated to women often robs them of the ability to pursue the hobbies they really desire.
References:
https://fashionjournal.com.au/life/gender-hobby-gap/
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/male-female-hobbies-tiktok-gender-b2503047.html
