To take an example away from magic - all this idiocy about what women can and cannot do should have stopped after Elizabeth 1 took a rundown broken country and turned it into a rich superpower.

Chrystal's post gives a wonderful example from everyday life - if you want to do it - get in and do it - don't give a thought to negative comments - and luckily there ARE plenty of intelligent men secure enough in themselves to give you positive encouragement. Just read anything Bill Palmer writes.

I suspect insecure boorish men are actually in the minority in Western countries but they stand out more.

that's an understatement...look at the title of the thread!
Only Bill posted because he knew what I what I was talking
about by the title and I said it was OK to reply. but you
are right...i think one or two women besides myself have
posted in the bad mood thread...

Evolve629, my mom was doing the Great Mother Conferences with Robert Bly until he decided men had a great deal of inner work to do together before they could become decent retreat and gender-process participants in the company of women.

Hi Edith,
I'm not sure I understand exactly what you were saying. To me the more women in magic the better. I agree Edith there are advantages to being a female magician. I think it is easier for us to get work, because we are a novelty. We certainly get a lot of attention at magic meetings etc. But still I can't see how fewer women in magic is better.


Well competition is a good thing.... But why would we have more competition if there were more women in magic? I mean we compete against other magicians not just other female magicians right?... or not? I mean the crazy thing with that is that I think I see what you are saying... subconsciously sometimes we do tend to see other female magicians as our "competition". However we are not.

It seems we are almost put into a separate category... like let's hire a close-up guy, a mentalist guy, a stage guy, .....and a female magician. Which means they sometimes only want to hire one female. In my opinion that sometimes pits us against each other, more subconsciously than anything else, because we know...there is only one slot. But that is not the reality of it as magicians we compete against other magicians not just female magicians, in my opinion.

But I do see women in magic moving away from that kind of thought and becoming a more cohesive group. I see this very much at the Magic Divas site and here at The Café. Well and this forum is an absolute testament to that of course.



Hmmmm...I'm not sure how it is to men's advantage that there are only a few women in magic. I think it will be to every one's benefit when there are lots of women in magic. Because we bring so much to magic. Give us more Tina Lenerts, Dell'O Dells, Suzy Wandas, Jades, and Lunas. The more the better in my opinion.

Peace Beth

I just returned from the escape artist convention in California. Of course, I was one of a handful of women there actually in the capacity of being an escape artist...heck, it might not have even been a full handful! I was the only woman to enter the competitions they had at the convention...didn't win any, though, but I did get my padlocks picked open rather quickly (think that surprised some of the men there). I won the talent contest and as a result, had a spot on the Saturday evening show. The consensus was that my routine was so different from all the others that it was a breath of fresh air. I had one person at the convention call my act "enchanting." Do I consider myself a novelty? Not really, but I do consider myself unique.

Margarette

Hey Margarette,
I saw that Ontario just had an escape convention. Criss Angel did a lecture and they did a 500 dollar prize for the fastest escape. It sounded pretty cool. Do you ever attend that one?
Peace Beth

Beth, yes, that is the convention I attended.

Margarette

There is a wonderful sisterhood kinship between women if we will only allow it. This magic community is a wonderful starting point. As magicians we are in a unique field. In reading the various posts and discussing gender issues I started thinking.

I guess the idea of me being a magician was simply "me being a magician". I never thought of myself as a "woman magician". I was raised in a matrilineal society, so I never realized men were "dominant". There were simply no gender barriers in the home in which I was raised. I was in college before I realized that most of the world does not think like this.

Because of this way of thinking, I always learned the things that were needed: I can tune a car, change a flat, build a prop, sew a dress, replace shock absorbers, bake a cake, crack a bolt that is frozen and more. These skills were borne out of necessity.

When you are a full-time magician and the shocks go out on the Mazda minivan and you have to haul your props in a trailer to the show, you either pay $500 to a mechanic or buy them for $36 and put them on yourself. I also can back a trailer and hitch the trailer almost perfectly without running the tongue into my car, but I digress...

Oh, and you can easily pick up men with magic. Scotch and Soda captivated the hearts of many a man. I was single for years, but the last man I charmed with scotch and soda...well, I married him

Being a female magician definitely has it's perks! There are not really that many teenage magicians, especially female. I personally have had a hard time in competitions because I am female, sometimes the only female.
I really have never used magic to meet guys, usually they say do a trick or something but then they don't talk to me anymore. I think that female magicians can sometimes be intimidating to guys or other magicians.

Sure, I'm relatively new here. But, glad to see a forum for women in magic.

Hard for me to attend to this (as well as some of the other forums) as a lot of this doesn't seem to meet my mindset in what I am searching for.

I suppose I do a lot of "non-traditional" female role adaptations for magic presentations - but, we are getting newer role models that are not bound by gender stereotypes that hopefully will encourage future generations of female performers - and not just in our field of magic.

I look at comediennes such as Ellen DeGeneres and Paula Poundstone as figures who have managed to blur the defined stereotypes we have dealt with for far too many years. This has nothing to do with personal lifestyle orientation, but, in how we approach our image onstage and what we do. We don't have to depend upon the properly coiffed hair or perfect makeup or "just-the-right-dress" to make an image work for us. We don't have to have the perfect "Barbie" body or shape to adhere to. We don't have to be a specific age in order to make our entertainment venue efforts work - we merely have to get out there and do. And, as it has been pointed out, the more we get out there and do, the more we can open the road for other women and youth to enter this field and, fingers crossed here, keep it advancing.

I do "role based" character magic. Perhaps a pitch dealer in the old west, perhaps a carnie barker from the swing era, perhaps a film noir detective from the 40's, perhaps a pirate, and, quite possibly my most traditional approach, perhaps a gypsy story-teller...or, even a comic birthday party clown (of sorts). The point is, these are all aspects of who I am...and, part of me as a woman. Therefore, it is important for me to allow those aspects to flow over into that which I do in performance.

I'll be honest - it's been a long time since I worked the boards and performed. Yet, I find myself working to get back to this field and move forward in it again. And, universal forces willing, I'll be back out and rolling by next summer's end.

Anyhoo - this is just to jump in the water here and say that I do like the idea of this forum, as well as tossing out a "howdy" to all of you.

I'll be checking occasionally in - if there is something I have to say, I'll toss those thoughts out to you.

Best -

Kd

I agree...Women should not embrace any stereotypes in this field, but rather we must embrace ourselves and branch out in new directions...

Welcome, Kd...best wishes on your return quest!

OK I am not a woman but I agree with you on taking it to the next level, I have a daughter that is into Magic and I give her all the support needed.
Margarette- You did a nice act at the Convention. Wait until next year thers going to be some really new escapes!!

Thanks, Mike...it could have gone a lot better, but such is life! I can't wait till convention time rolls around again! I'm already saving my pennies...and the occasional dime and quarter.

The only limits we have in what we can do, and this goes for both men and women, are the limits we put on ourselves. From personal experience, I never pictured myself to be working in construction, yet here I am. If I had said I couldn't, then I never would!! I never pictured myself performing in front of a bunch of people, yet I do it as often as I can. Being afraid of heights, I never pictured myself doing any type of suspended straitjacket, and to date, I now have 15 under my belt...two of these are after I fell a few years ago. And NEVER, in my WILDEST DREAMS, did I ever picture myself being an officer(I consider myself a good follower, not a good leader) in any magic club, yet, for 2007, I am the president of IBM Ring 16 in Memphis, TN. Instead of saying "No Way" we need to say "Why not?" Let's look outside the box and color outside the lines! You'd be surprised at what might happen!

Margarette
p.s. two limitations I've put on myself is that I'll never bungee jump and I'll never jump out of a perfectly good airplane!

I actually wish there were More females in magic. We shouldn't worry about competition. Honestly, I think some of the female magicians I know are the most unique and creative in the buisness. Luna Shimada is a great example!
Diversity sticks out in competition, so as long as one is different and original, their gender shouldn't matter. I work as an illusionist, but I perform my manipulation (card & candle and such) within my shows, and I surround every illusion with a story. Every story is different, and that is where much of our uniqueness comes from. We all have a different reason for getting into magic, and whether we see it or not, that reason shines through are routines whether it be close-up or illusion. It gives our magic a genuine personality, and all personalities are different. As long as we all put forth our creativity and originality, we shouldn't worry about competition.
~Jess

I just thought id point this out.. isn't it funny how guys will post in this thread even though it says "for women only." I guess they cant read or something haha

you are right Jess. Actually my main point that I wanted to make is that I just like it the way it is, if there will be more women in magic I will probably like that as well... and little competition can be of advantage but that wasn't the reason why I like the current situation. Other female magicians can also be a very good resource of ideas... yahhhh creative ideas...I like creativity...

AUTUMN,
That is so cute that you met your man with Scotch & Soda,and married him,
I cant help but wonder of all the marriges that have
failed primarily as a result of SCOTCH & soda

E-man, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.

Being a female magician is like being a male cheerleader. You get to have just as much fun but 5 times the eye candy!!!

I think everytime you meet a guy and there is a connection, there is some sort of magic involved. That's why I chose my name, PutASpellOnMe. I have been spell strucken only a couple of times and I swear, it is truly like a spell.

As far as a woman having that much control freaking out a man, it can also have the opposite and totally hook, line, and sink a man!

Like I have said before = Venustraphobia!

Well, I've noticed a lot of guys posting on here so I guess it's safe.....

Regarding 'picking up men with magic': I think it was Chris Rock who said, women have been running from (and being sought after by) men all their lives...a womwn can outdistance almost any man. If you 'catch' her, it's only because she likes you, and slowed down a bit.***Beleive it or not, this philosophy has it's roots in ancient Greek mythology--"Atalanta & the apples"*** On the flip side a woman can run-down almost any man she wants. To quote Mae West "Guys....if we want you, we WILL have you.....just accept it" There are some wacky conspiracy theorists out there who beleive that this is a 'system' desinged to let men THINK theyre in controll whilst women hold the REAL power. (See the movie '40 days & 40 nights')

Point is, if a man finds himself favored by a woman, he feels flattered & fortunate....if that woman turns out to be something 'cool' like a circus-airiealist, or a dancer, cheerleader, fighter-pilot, contortionist, scuba archeaologist, juggler....or magician, he considers himself the luckiest of men.

As for myself....no luck at all. Last time I fianlly worked up the nerve to ask a lady for her number she said "Is it for you??"