Current Events > Why are there so few straight male psychics/spiritualists?

(+) Yeah! (+)

You rarely ever see them. I know there aren't any in my town. Only ones I know of are either female or gay. Do most straight men just not have enough spiritual energy to tap into that sort of thing?

Like, even on those ghost hunter shows where they bring in a psychic to try and sense things. You NEVER see a straight guy doing that. You've either got a girl or a homo doing it.

What is the causation of this?
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IDK, but it's all bullshit any way.
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Because stereotypes exist and people find effeminate psychics more believable.

Tagging for the inevitable moderations ITT.
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Dash_Harber posted...

Because stereotypes exist and people find effeminate psychics more believable.

a lot of stereotypes exist for a reason though (not all of them, don't crucify me). like the idea that asian kids are real smart. :v I mean, we think that because a lot of asian kids really are smart. So what makes effeminate psychics inherently more believable? Is it because they are just naturally more talented at it?
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OpheliaAdenade posted...

Is it because they are just naturally more talented at it?

you can't be more naturally talented at something that doesn't exist.
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Paper_Okami posted...

OpheliaAdenade posted...

Is it because they are just naturally more talented at it?

you can't be more naturally talented at something that doesn't exist.

for something that doesn't exist there sure are a lot of them. :u some of them have even helped solve cold case files.
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Maybe more straight men try to be "practical" in their career choices instead of doing what they want to do. Otherwise, women will look down on them and not date them.
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Because magic has been seen as tied to femininity in most of Europe since the time of the Germanic tribes. This bias continued to exist even after Christianity came along, all the way up to the present day.
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BB mofo posted...

Because magic has been seen as tied to femininity in most of Europe since the time of the Germanic tribes. This bias continued to exist even after Christianity came along, all the way up to the present day.

But why is it that way? Why is magic tied to femininity? :v And how can I tap into this potential?
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OpheliaAdenade posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because stereotypes exist and people find effeminate psychics more believable.

a lot of stereotypes exist for a reason though (not all of them, don't crucify me). like the idea that asian kids are real smart. :v I mean, we think that because a lot of asian kids really are smart. So what makes effeminate psychics inherently more believable? Is it because they are just naturally more talented at it?

No, I disagree. They are bullshit. No matter what the stereotype is, it's self serving and completely ignores all evidence that proves it wrong. If I say to you, "all redheads love coffee" and you see a redhead who drinks coffee, you go, "yep, that stereotype is totally true". However, if you see a redhead drinking tea you don't go, "oh, maybe that stereotype is not right". In fact, you probably don't even think about the stereotype.

Then you have the issue of people actively trying to act like a stereotype they have been saddled with, as self fulfilling prophecy.

As for why people would consider effeminate psychics more believable, I don't know. I assume that there is a history of female fortune tellers that have been continually pushed through media and sideshows. The entire business is based off of appearances. Since absolutely nothing tangible or verifiable is produced, the entire thing is based off of what the customer believes.

Even then, it's not like male psychics don't exist. John Edwards was pretty famous for awhile. IIRC, there were several 'mediums' who were men.

Dash_Harber posted...

OpheliaAdenade posted...

Dash_Harber posted...

Because stereotypes exist and people find effeminate psychics more believable.

a lot of stereotypes exist for a reason though (not all of them, don't crucify me). like the idea that asian kids are real smart. :v I mean, we think that because a lot of asian kids really are smart. So what makes effeminate psychics inherently more believable? Is it because they are just naturally more talented at it?

No, I disagree. They are bullshit. No matter what the stereotype is, it's self serving and completely ignores all evidence that proves it wrong. If I say to you, "all redheads love coffee" and you see a redhead who drinks coffee, you go, "yep, that stereotype is totally true". However, if you see a redhead drinking tea you don't go, "oh, maybe that stereotype is not right". In fact, you probably don't even think about the stereotype.

Then you have the issue of people actively trying to act like a stereotype they have been saddled with, as self fulfilling prophecy.

As for why people would consider effeminate psychics more believable, I don't know. I assume that there is a history of female fortune tellers that have been continually pushed through media and sideshows. The entire business is based off of appearances. Since absolutely nothing tangible or verifiable is produced, the entire thing is based off of what the customer believes.

Even then, it's not like male psychics don't exist. John Edwards was pretty famous for awhile. IIRC, there were several 'mediums' who were men.

that is all well and good, but I would really rather hear from someone who isn't a skeptic. I want to know why effeminate people are more likely to have spiritual/psychic powers than other peoples. :v If anyone who is actually familiar with mysticism could give me an answer I would appreciate it.

Does it have anything to do with the moon?
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OpheliaAdenade posted...

that is all well and good, but I would really rather hear from someone who isn't a skeptic. I want to know why effeminate people are more likely to have spiritual/psychic powers than other peoples. :v If anyone who is actually familiar with mysticism could give me an answer I would appreciate it.

Being a skeptic has nothing to do with it. Why do you assume I'm a skeptic?

I actually own a ton of tarot cards. I have a collection of rune stones (one set I made myself, actually). I've read copious amounts of books on Taoist magic, shamanism, Tarot, Demonology, Norse magic, Astrology, and folk magic from around the globe, including the Lesser Key of Solomon and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. I've taken university courses on various religions. What makes me less qualified to talk about it than someone who casually believes in the supernatural?

It's clearly racism. Big Psychic won't let boys into their club.
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OpheliaAdenade posted...

BB mofo posted...

Because magic has been seen as tied to femininity in most of Europe since the time of the Germanic tribes. This bias continued to exist even after Christianity came along, all the way up to the present day.

But why is it that way? Why is magic tied to femininity? :v And how can I tap into this potential?

Maybe it's because magic and sorcery started with Witches, and witches were mainly female. There's the occasional wizard, but it may have to deal with genetics. Men like more manly activities, such as gladitorial combat, while women did something more tame, like magic.
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Dash_Harber posted...

Being a skeptic has nothing to do with it. Why do you assume I'm a skeptic?

I actually own a ton of tarot cards. I have a collection of rune stones (one set I made myself, actually). I've read copious amounts of books on Taoist magic, shamanism, Tarot, Demonology, Norse magic, Astrology, and folk magic from around the globe, including the Lesser Key of Solomon and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. I've taken university courses on various religions. What makes me less qualified to talk about it than someone who casually believes in the supernatural?

:o well, do you have any advice on how to unlock my spiritual powers then? Surely one of those books has advice on how to do that.
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OpheliaAdenade posted...

BB mofo posted...

Because magic has been seen as tied to femininity in most of Europe since the time of the Germanic tribes. This bias continued to exist even after Christianity came along, all the way up to the present day.

But why is it that way? Why is magic tied to femininity? :v And how can I tap into this potential?

It's not so much that only women can perform magic as it is that it was societal taboo for men to perform magic. Magic was seen as "woman's knowledge" and a "woman's thing", like spinning wool, needlepoint, and wearing dresses.

Men who practiced magic were considered outcasts, perverts, and abominations against nature. Look up Nithling and Ergi. Men like these were accused of doing other things their society associated with women. These would include wearing women's clothes, self-castration, having female mannerisms, and allowing themselves to be sodomized by men. Because they acted against nature by not acting like men, they were believed to be evil and out to hurt people.

As for the modern day reason most spiritualists are women, I believe there are two reasons.

First, a lot of spiritualists/psychics come from a Wicca background, new agists, or are firm believers in the Goddess theory. These movements are gender essentialists and believe that magic is inherent to women's bodies due to women being able to produce life. The late Mary Daly and Zsuzsanna Budapest often pushed this.

The second reason is that the modern spiritualist movement was started by two teenage sisters back in the late 19th century who claimed to be mediums. This inspired many women into spiritualism that continues to the present day.

Now that I think of it, I also have a third possibility. Women are often the earliest teachers of children, both male and female. This is especially the case in ancient societies, where usually it is their mother or nurse maid. A boy is separated from these women teachers at a certain age and trained by their fathers and older men to become their societies' idea of what a grown man should be. Little girls stay with women and are brought up by them. In men's minds, I can see them believing that their female peers were imparted with secret knowledge that they themselves never learned because they left their female tutors at puberty.

So yah, I guess a third reason might be that it is tied into men being mystified and ignorant to how women live when they are not around. Kind of like that old 30's Joan Crawford movie "The Women", except all the actresses are talking about how to make flying potions with menstrual blood instead of how they think so and so's husband is having an affair.
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BB mofo posted...

snip

That was a very interesting post. :o This sort of stuff has always interested me. I think it is likely a combination of those three reasons you suggest. Funny that you'd mention "The Women" though, since I watched that movie just last week! I've been on a Joan Crawford kick lately.

now... was that just a coincidence... or was it magic? :u I guess we'll never know.
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Lol at giving serious responses to an Ophelia adenade topic
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Kaname_Madoka posted...

Lol at giving serious responses to an Ophelia adenade topic

Imagine actually being a serious Ophelia Adenade stalker :u
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A Dan Akroyd type saying things like "Sir, what you have there is what we refer to as a focused, non-terminal repeating phantasm, or a Class Five full roaming vapor. Real nasty one, too!" isn't really great for ratings.

throughout history, in many cultures, women were seen as more in touch with the spirit world