X-Message-Number: 16059
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 18:16:17 +0900 (JST)
From: "Matthew S. Malek" <>
Subject: Gender Bias in Cryonics?

First of all, a very happy [belated] 34th birthday to John Grigg!

Next, though, I have a question inspired by a comment made in Rudi
Hoffman's email:

> (Sometimes, Steven Lacher, but not often even their wives/girlfriends
> sign up...but not very often!:))

Now I've been on this list for about nine months... but after my initial
post in October, I left for Japan and didn't check mail on the account
that receives CryoNet until the end of 2000.  Since then, I've fixed my
forwarding to get CryoNet no matter which country I am in (I'm back in
Japan again right now)... but all I've been doing is lurking.

So I may have missed a discussion along these lines somewhere... but I
have to ask:

The comment by Rudi made me wonder if people interested in cryonics are
predominantly male.  As a physicist, I am accustomed to working in an
environment which is 90% male... but I don't like that aspect of it and
hope it will change.  As one who is interested in cryonics, however, I
have noticed no such bias _but_ have also only had an extremely limited
sample size to deal with.

On a personal basis, I only know three people (including myself!) who are
interested in being suspended.  The other two are female.  This is small
statistics, but it is an even 50/50 split.  Looking at the larger cryonics
community, is it true that we are mostly male?  If so, why?  I don't see
anything in the mainstream culture to bias women against cyronics (or at
least more so than men... mainstream society just thinks we're all wacko,
whether male or female).  Is there anything _we_ are doing to dissuade
women?  What are the actual numbers for the male:female ratio?

Anyway, perhaps this has all been mentioned before...  But I haven't heard
anything alluding to it before now, so I find myself quite curious...

=>Joy, Health, and Long Life!!
=>Matthew

---------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
   Matthew S. Malek	   |    "Judging by his outlandish attire, he's 
   	   |     some sort of free-thinking anarchist!"
---------------------------+-------------------------------------------------

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