That's the question raised by National Post columnist Vanessa Farquharson. While male writers and bloggers focus on a Pandora's box of looming catastrophe, a storyline that likely leads to a sense of fatalism, female writers and bloggers focus more on practical adaptation and mitigation strategies that citizens can start doing today:
"...It's interesting to note that, for whatever reason, most of the voices behind this apocalyptic panic are male. But a growing collective of female bloggers are now writing about peak oil, more often in the context of how many strawberries we should dehydrate in order to be prepared for a crisis, and whether or not stocking up on brown rice is considered hoarding...
...Astyk [a female blogger] believes that if we keep focusing on predictions, models and hypotheses about peak oil, we're missing the point.
"Simply learning that we're in the midst of something very difficult is not the end of it," she says. "Learning about peak oil doesn't stop with 'We're doomed.' We're not doomed -- we're just facing very difficult times, and the way we face them will determine whether they're just hard or disastrous for us. There's an enormous amount of mitigation we can do, both on the community level and at the political level."
After expressing these sentiments on her blog, Astyk's readers responded in droves. One of them, Deanna Duke, ended up writing her own post about the topic on Crunchy Chicken, a green blog with a mostly female readership.
"Why does it seem like there's a strong gender difference in how people react to the coming energy crisis?" she asked. "I've heard many complaints [from readers] about the whole prediction that peak oil equals social and economic Armageddon ... But of the women writing about peak oil, the predictions are more metered and the conversation mostly revolves around preparation.
"I find it similar in concept to that whole 'nesting' period right before a woman gives birth," she adds. "It's like, instinctually, women know some trauma is coming and need to prepare by making the home comfortable and clean and storing up food and supplies. Nothing panicky, just getting things done."
What do readers think? Are men more likely to focus on catastrophe while women more likely to emphasize practical things that citizens can do to cope with the problem?
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Gender differences are always so touchy for those of us who want to be good feminists.
But I speculate that this has something to do with what seems to be a common trend for women to be the ones who organize pot-lucks, birthday parties, family events etc. Women, for whatever reason, seem to have their feet planted firmly on the ground.
While men, well Vin Diesel movies and Arnold Schwarzanegger movies are marketed for us. We like to wax heroic, and nothing brings out heroism like catastrophe.
I submit this is mere speculation, I have no data to cite.
Men hear about coming hard times and start Mad Max fantasizing. Seriously. Deep down, most of us men want to be The Road Warrior.
Mr.Varley has the antidote to that idea: http://www.varley.net/Pages/Manhattan.htm
This was an end-of-the-world story of a different sort, but the principle is the same.
@Patrick
Dude, you are totally right. I've already started planning my community of the future. I am the king of my little Spartan enclave, and we war often and with gusto!
Verily onto peak oil, I say. He who know not to ride the great beasts shall learn soon enough, but not before he tasteth the flavor of mine blade!
Huzzah and on to Camelot!
Matt,
Is there any statistical data that actually confirms a gender differentiation, or is this just one of those studies of anecdotal material that really just confirms the writer's gender preconceptions?
Also, it is important to note that the two reactions aren't mutually exclusive. When I start hearing about peak oil and think about its potential repercussions, I get incredibly anxious and worried. Then I fall asleep, and upon waking up, I'm motivated to do something practical about it. So what gender does that make me?
Gender differences are going to be meaningless when we enter a full blown economic depression, as power cuts start to happen, when there are line-ups at the gas pumps for a ration of fuel, when grocery shelves are more often empty than full, when the urban and suburban lifestyle begins to hinge on where to find food. Are women better at gardening and tending hens? Who cares! We just need to completely reorganize our way of life, and we are going to need to relearn how to grow our own food locally.
As Anthropologists we need to be on top of this, watching the transformation. Where are the estimated 40-60 million new farmers going to come from, who will be needed to feed the people of North America? When will airline services finally get beyond the reach of ordinary people? How will people react to the loss of the automobile? What social movements will spring up to deal with the uncertainty and the rage that is bound to come?