Metal Mouth Message Board

Is it just me or is the majority of archwired community female?

The message boards I usually frequent have mostly guys...this board feels a bit wierd

I'd guess that the percentage of female participants is above 50 but...... I've seen a fair share of guys around here too.

I hope this isn't opening a can of worms, but I'm too curious not to ask.....what do you mean about the board feeling weird?

TumbleDryLow wrote: I hope this isn't opening a can of worms, but I'm too curious not to ask.....what do you mean about the board feeling weird?

OK, I should not have said wierd, I should have said "different".

Normally, the boards I go to are either very businesslike, or have a kind of joke-ish tone, where guys rip on everything. Archwired has kind of a sympathetic tone..where members lend a sympathetic ear to the newbies..feels different, I dont know, maybe its in my head.

Also, lots of scared & apprehensive people here, including yours truly ...that changes the tone

If you tink about it, the vast majority of adults that I have noticed with braces anyway, are women.

Its probably because women are more likely to get braces as an adult, look for a community online for adults with braces, and participate in said community.

fosterp wrote:Its probably because women are more likely to get braces as an adult, look for a community online for adults with braces, and participate in said community.

Hmmm, do women delay more than men in getting orthodontic treatment(to avoid high school issues etc); or do fewer men get ortho treatment?

I think it is because this is, essentially, a support forum and society influences women to be much more expressive with their feelings/worries/etc than men. If women are worried about something, they will express it and seek out advice; men are much more likely to just keep it inside and 'tough it out'. These are generalities, of course, but might explain the gender imbalance on these boards.

wearetheborg wrote:

fosterp wrote:Its probably because women are more likely to get braces as an adult, look for a community online for adults with braces, and participate in said community.

Hmmm, do women delay more than men in getting orthodontic treatment(to avoid high school issues etc); or do fewer men get ortho treatment?

I wouldn't say it has anything to do with delay in treatment as the reasons for not getting treated as a child has a multitude of factors not related to gender. But at older ages, I would say women more than men are more self conscious of their appearance and more likely to do expensive and time consuming things to improve it. Look at time/money spent at hair/nail salons, buying expensive clothes, jewelry, etc. Women are much more invested in their appearance. A woman is that much more likely to get plastic surgery. Likewise, the same principle can be applied to wearing braces.

And then as said above, the nature of a support forum increases the gender gap even further.

I am a guy here and I have braces. I just need to be held.

I am a male 47 and still wearing braces. I keep being told 2 more weeks, 2 more weeks, it is starting to get old.

I'm a 34yo male and love archwired. I learned so much about my treatment even before ever getting braces. Its a great place to get questions answered and advice. I guess there are more females but I'm glad there here because they are sympathetic and listen.

In America, women are pressured to have good looks. Not so much for men.


I am a male however. 20 yrs old.

Male here, 30 yrs old...

but yes I have noticed it tends to be skewed toward more female members here

women are cheerleaders..."hang in there...you can do it!" Notice that a post may have 500 views but just 10 responses (9 are likely women). I would bet that there are many many men in the population of those 500 views but they just don't respond. Regardless of whether one responds to a post, the ability to feel common with others is comforting and we all need that. I appreciate everone on this site!