Why are most DJ's male?

[yourdj]

There are a few more female club DJ's these days, but ...

I bet if you walk in to any function hall in any given city in the UK 9 out of ten Mobile DJ's are male. just look at this forum (with the exception of a few of course). I personally do not know any serious female mobiles DJ's locally although there are a few I think?

Equipment is not that heavy anymore and women are very observant so would pick up on dance-floor mood changes etc.

Discuss :)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Ego.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Not sure why Toby and apologies because I am sure you don't mean it how it comes across but I kind of read that as a bit sexist. The main reason being this sentence - "Equipment is not that heavy anymore..."

I know 2 very good female DJ's. One actually does some big nights in London but they are both top notch at what they do.

As for observant - I'm always observant, it's part of the job isn't it!

[supersound]

Q Sandy Sounds Mrs Corabar And Krazy Kaz oh and Lisa Lashes of course.

It is an ego thing,Same as boys n speakers amps ect go well together(look at car audio).

Our speakers are an extension to our genitalia.


WHY DID I BUY RCF 310s?

Paul

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Sorry chaps but I totally disagree!
I don't have an ego, never have and never will.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sorry chaps but I totally disagree!
I don't have an ego, never have and never will.

I'm generalising - men have got much bigger egos than women.

That's only one reason of course.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I bet its more than 9 out of 10. In fact I find most mobile jocks tend to be white males between 20 and 40 and of similiar backgrounds.

As soon as you go off into certain genres and more "specialist" then that changes.

We all have ego's, I certainly do however I've learnt in the last couple of years to tone that down abit and use it to my advantage.

[Ecstatic Events]

Well there are definitely no fat, ugly female DJ's that eat kebabs on the way home from gigs, that I am almost sure of! (unlike the males)

It's all about the glamour, most female DJ's I know of also have extensive modelling portfolios to boot... and with the exception of a few have no real DJing skills to offer.

I have previously booked (twice) a well known female DJ when she was part of the UK Garage scene (when I was a promoter) She wasnt a FANTASTIC DJ, but she definitely pulled the crowds in ;)

Say no more.

[Corabar Steve]

I think it's because they have to put up with chauvinistic attitudes & very few of them can be bothered with that & all it entails. ( the women that is obviously)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Well there are definitely no fat, ugly female DJ's that eat kebabs on the way home from gigs, that I am almost sure of! (unlike the males)

It's all about the glamour, most female DJ's I know of also have extensive modelling portfolios to boot... and with the exception of a few have no real DJing skills to offer.

I have previously booked (twice) a well known female DJ when she was part of the UK Garage scene (when I was a promoter) She wasnt a FANTASTIC DJ, but she definitely pulled the crowds in ;)

Say no more.
...and in that post, we have the main reasons!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Well there are definitely no fat, ugly female DJ's that eat kebabs on the way home from gigs, that I am almost sure of! (unlike the males)

It's all about the glamour, most female DJ's I know of also have extensive modelling portfolios to boot... and with the exception of a few have no real DJing skills to offer.

I have previously booked (twice) a well known female DJ when she was part of the UK Garage scene (when I was a promoter) She wasnt a FANTASTIC DJ, but she definitely pulled the crowds in ;)

Say no more.

And today's most sexist post goes to...;)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

DD - You may say that we all have egos but like I said, I don't. I or we should have massive heads judging on the positive feedback we all get from the work we do but I never let it get to me and see it as me doing my job. I didn't even have an ego when I was in the band I was in and had people wanting to give me praise all the time (amongst other things).

Egotistical people and people that love themselves (same thing?) are on one of my pet hates.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I think that stereotypical view of DJ's is a thing of the past Mike. Even the "bigger" chaps that I know have all started dieting recently too. Image is becoming more and more important these days.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I don't think having an ego, and being egotistical are the same thing, Gary.

In order to get up in front of people, sound confident, etc, you do have to have a bit of an ego. (ie ego = confidence)

It's only a problem when the ego gets too big! :lol:

[DeckstarDeluxe]

DD - You may say that we all have egos but like I said, I don't. I or we should have massive heads judging on the positive feedback we all get from the work we do but I never let it get to me and see it as me doing my job. I didn't even have an ego when I was in the band I was in and had people wanting to give me praise all the time (amongst other things).

Egotistical people and people that love themselves (same thing?) are on one of my pet hates.

If you don't have an ego how can you go into a room full of strangers week in week out and get them all dancing? How do you sell yourself to clients and give them the impression your the right guy for the job? Having an ego doesn't mean you love yourself and making sure everyone in the room knows it.

[Corabar Steve]

It's only a problem when the ego gets too big!
Then it becomes a super-ego & comes into conflict with your id :sj:

[Ecstatic Events]

And today's most sexist post goes to...;)

I don't mean to come across as sexist. Really I DONT. I know of some fantastic female DJs that dont have the extensive modelling portfolios and the diamond encrusted headphones, they are more successful DJs than most on this forum.

I see no reason why there aren't more female DJs (mobile)

I think the real sexist here is OUR CUSTOMERS attitude towards female mobile DJs, not mine.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I get up and go out every weekend and do what I do because I am confident in what I do....simple as that. It doesn't mean I have an ego at all. I sell myself by being confident and transferring that confidence to the customer and it works.

As for the 'image' thing - Blimey! Whole different ball game that is. Are you saying that if someone is on the slightly 'porkier' side, they may not get bookings because of the way they look? Is the customer going to go for someone that is 'rake' like?

[Ecstatic Events]

I think that stereotypical view of DJ's is a thing of the past Mike. Even the "bigger" chaps that I know have all started dieting recently too. Image is becoming more and more important these days.

Most DJ's I know are fatty boom booms mate! :D :D :D :D

Me included :D

[DeckstarDeluxe]

If you look around the other Wedding suppliers such as singers or photographers then the male/female ratio becomes far more even. Its not too disimiliar to our industry as its very techincal and creative.

[Ecstatic Events]

If you look around the other Wedding suppliers such as singers or photographers then the male/female ratio becomes far more even. Its not too disimiliar to our industry as its very techincal and creative.

Thats the most sense you've written. There should be more female DJ's

As for your ramblings about egos - I completely disagree.

[Corabar Steve]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego

[DeckstarDeluxe]

As for the 'image' thing - Blimey! Whole different ball game that is. Are you saying that if someone is on the slightly 'porkier' side, they may not get bookings because of the way they look? Is the customer going to go for someone that is 'rake' like?

People are vain and the amount of times I've been told "oh good we got a trendy good looking DJ instead of some old guy" only shows that. I don't make the rules I just play by them.

Image is a wide ranging area and the DJ is a small part of it.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I think the whole thing AGAIN gets looked into far too much.
We were asked why are most DJ's male and we've gone into egos and now dieting etc etc!!!

There was something the other day about someone (Toby was it?) wanting a 'Trendy' DJ....what was that all about?? How do you work out (or more importantly...how can someone else work out), if you are 'trendy' or not?

There can't be much going for me really can there? I may aswell give up now because I wouldn't say I'm trendy, I'm overweight and I shave my head!!!

Or is it an age thing again? At 43....Am I past it?

DD - You certainly have an ego don't you! Don't forget to take your mirror with you tonight! ;) :D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Or is it an age thing again? At 43....Am I past it?



Yep. 42 is the oldest people should DJ at. :sj:

[STEVE HANLEY]

Mary to me is worth her weight in gold. She's also a lot easier on the eye than me.:D :D

You can see her confidence growing with every gig she does and her sets are getting a lot tighter with every passing gig:cool: :cool:

A lot of my clients have said "Wow we weren't expecting a female dj and she's bloody good"

That's good enough for me;)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Well, I'll tell you what Darren.....If you had heard what I have heard over the past few days, you'd be hanging up the cans too along with the majority on here and letting anyone under 30 take up the ropes..... No joke.

[Corabar Steve]

Yep. 42 is the oldest people should try to be young & trendy. :sj:
You retiring in October then Daz? :sj:

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

You retiring in October then Daz? :sj:

Yep.

[Shaun]

Yep.

Send all 'surplus to requirement' equipment up to me. :ph34r:

[Dynamic Entertainment]

People are vain and the amount of times I've been told "oh good we got a trendy good looking DJ instead of some old guy" only shows that. I don't make the rules I just play by them.

Image is a wide ranging area and the DJ is a small part of it.

Come on Neil, you should know better than to make crap up and post it on a public forum :D

[DeckstarDeluxe]

It did catch me off guard though and truth be told if I was such a looker I would have them queneing up at the front door, nothing could be further from the truth.

Those comments however have come from brides. Like I said before I don't make the rules I just play by them. If your a DJ of a similar age to the bride I think thats very much a plus.

[Mark Wild]

People are vain and the amount of times I've been told "oh good we got a trendy good looking DJ"


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahha !

[yourdj]

I am sure you don't mean it how it comes across but I kind of read that as a bit sexist. The main reason being this sentence - "Equipment is not that heavy anymore..."
As for observant - I'm always observant, it's part of the job isn't it!



It is an ego thing,Same as boys n speakers amps ect go well together(look at car audio).


I'm generalising - men have got much bigger egos than women.

I do admire the likes of Angela etc. as they clearly love it and do well out of it. I would love to get a good female DJ on my site as there is a market for it. Its not sexist as I would love too see more women on the scene and cannot understand why there are not more :confused:

The geeky technology bit of it is an obvious one as electronics and sound engineering is not exactly that interesting when compared to flower arranging for example (of which the industry is mainly made up of women :) ). I would like to get my girlfriend DJing but she is not very interested.

Maybe because flowere are not very heavy :p Only joking.

Well back in the day I would imagine it was quite a struggle without a roadie.
With massive speakers, loads of heavy record boxes etc. etc. If I was a girl I would find it a bit of a struggle. my 10kg RCF's are enough for me ;)

Now you can come with two actives, a laptop and some led lights.

It may be an ego thing, but I have yet to meet a girl who does not like attention. It the perfect thing being centre stage for anyone with an ego or seeking attention. I suppose i fall in both of those categories. :p

Observation is key in my eyes too judging the crowd. You do not see many blind DJ's do you :confused: . Maybe that could be another thread ;) Technology has made it easier too get out of the CD case and look more at what's going on.

It amazes me what reactions I miss if I video a gig. Allot of the time you can hear or lip read what they are saying too :)



Image is a wide ranging area and the DJ is a small part of it.

I will agree with that. :)
I bet allot of clients have bought a DJ from a great website, not met them and ended up with a right plonker.

[BeerFunk]

I can't really answer that, but there seem to be a lot of female KJs in my area, by comparison.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I think that certain lines here and there in this thread are pretty close to the line but that's just my opinion. I think that some of the females are being a bit underestimated.

The DJ that I used to use quite a lot had her own equipment which included Mackie SRM450 V1's and a coffin case that housed 2 x Pioneer CDJ's and a DJM 600 Mixer. Not once did she ask me to help her with anything and on one occasion when I did actually offer to help her, she told me that it was fine and she always did it on her own. To be fair to her, she had a lazy idiot of a boyfriend who didn't work at all and was registered as unfit to work for whatever reason. She still lives over the road from me and I'd see her loading up her people carrier on her own with lazy donut looking out of the window.

....and by the way....she is quite a petite girl but a very good DJ.

[Megamix]

because women have better things to do!??

[Excalibur]

I have never seen so many normally sensible forum members talk so much rubbish before in my life.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Thanks - You're welcome! ;)

[Excalibur]

Thanks - You're welcome! ;)

I'm out working at the moment, so only skimmed the thread, but when I get in I'll post my thoughts. They're not complimentary about us fellas, I can tell you.

[chrisj]

Only just seen this thread but I must add that Chrissie Jackson was a dj in Norwich clubs in the 80's and has been a radio dj since the 80's in Norwich.
When she was booked to do a 30 minute guest spot at my residency in the mid 80's and she was ok as she was playing lots of very latest chart but...the regulars didn't like it so much as they were never into the latest but more classic disco. I don't listen to the radio station very often so don't know much about Chrissie these days except she does 80's disco nights with another radio dj that she is usually on air with.

[sandysounds]

I'm a female mobile DJ.... and yes ...the equipment is still heavy (ask my knees which are positively on the way out having suffered from lifting bass bins that are heavier than me).

Another problem that I've had as a female is loading up in a hotel car park on my own at 2.00pm in the morning....trust me its scary and enough to put any faint hearted female off.

I don't have a roadie. I tried one once and found her more of a hindrance... she didn't address the guests in the manner I'd expect, she was constantly in my way and I spent the following day trying to take gaff tape off all my extensions that she wrapped round when packing away.

The other phenomenon no one has thought of is how many of you have children? Who looks after them while you are out all weekend? I was training my daughter up and she was just starting to get her own gigs and going out on her own....when she started her family.... so her DJ career has now been shelved.

[BeerFunk]

The other phenomenon no one has thought of is how many of you have children? Who looks after them while you are out all weekend? I was training my daughter up and she was just starting to get her own gigs and going out on her own....when she started her family.... so her DJ career has now been shelved.That's another good point.

Theoretically the husband could be at home looking after the kids, but if it was me, I wouldn't be happy about my wife being out on her own at that time. If that's sexist/discriminatory, so be it :)

[Megamix]

Theoretically the husband could be at home looking after the kids, but if it was me, I wouldn't be happy about my wife being out on her own at that time. If that's sexist/discriminatory, so be it :)

But some female singers and performers may have to do that - all or some of the time.

[BeerFunk]

But some female singers and performers may have to do that - all or some of the time.Not have to, it's their choice of profession, with the pros and cons taken into account.

[supersound]

Sandy is passionate about the industry(as I an sure Angela is,but I havent met her yet)she has gone further than most of us by setting up an organization.
The point about vulnerability at late times whilst loading is a valid one.

As to children,women do have a body clock(the result of which helps me on a Saturday night)and a man cant stop that,Its a natural cycle of life.

In my opinion female Djs are worth their weight in gold.Mostly females book a disco and feel more comfortable with the same sex working for them.


Paul

[Shakermaker Promotions]

"Mostly females book a disco and feel more comfortable with the same sex working for them"

Sorry mate but is that based on your experience or in general?

At one of my current residencies, the C&B Manager (who was also female by the way), wouldn't have my female DJ in the venue for whatever reason. When I asked her why at the time (she's now left), she said (rightly or wrongly), that it was down to expectation and that customers expected a male DJ?

Now, that's what this thread is all about isn't it. I am not saying it's right at all but that was a female saying it and not me. My DJ could do an excellent job and I never had any complaints about her. The good thing was that she was great at doing the kids parties and that's where you are correct Paul because in my experience, I got the impression that customers felt more comfortable with a female working with children.

I haven't passed on any work to her for the past 18 months because what annoyed me was the fact that she never listened. I lost count of the number of times I gave advice on improving the look of her rig. She had decent equipment too but cables and front cover etc and also the lights were a bit of a state and just needed a little bit of a touch up here and there and it would've been fine. I knew how I wanted it to look when she was working under my banner but she never listened so in the end I stopped passing on work which is a shame.

[Mark Wild]

In my opinion female Djs are worth their weight in gold.Mostly females book a disco and feel more comfortable with the same sex working for them.


Paul

That must be based on opinion because it's certainly way of the truth ;)

[supersound]

Mark,Females feel comfortable talking to the same sex.Ladies go out in groups and plan things with other females.
This has been my observation.


Paul

[Kernow]

That must be based on opinion because it's certainly way of the truth ;)

I'm tempted to say "no f 'in way" :eek: .... but I think the omission of one has diametrically turned the meaning of what you intended to say ? ;)

[Mark Wild]

Mark,Females feel comfortable talking to the same sex.Ladies go out in groups and plan things with other females.
This has been my observation.


Paul

This doesn't mean they'd be more comfortable with a female DJ for their event mate.

[sandysounds]

Everyone is right to a certain degree. I do come across the clients who won't book a female. I also get the clients who think its novel having a female (we're in short supply out here in NI... I only know of one other in the whole of the country).

My wedding enquiries seem to be 80% booked by the bride and only 10% by the groom and 10% by the mother of the bride. I do prefer a female enquirer as it seems easier to build up a rapport because I start talking about dresses and makeup etc.I do end up getting quite friendly with my brides...something which is harder for male DJs. By the time I turn up in the eveing I'm greeted with hugs and kisses and treated like a long lost friend.

I do meet with scepticism and sexism. I've had the comments at the end of the night like "I didn't expect a great night like that from a girl" or when i'm setting up "where's the DJ?"

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sandy, out of interest, I have read and heard that the parties you do are mostly interactive affairs (or I could have got the wrong impression!), do most clients book you because of this or other reasons?

[sandysounds]

Sandy, out of interest, I have read and heard that the parties you do are mostly interactive affairs (or I could have got the wrong impression!), do most clients book you because of this or other reasons?

Good point. I always ask my clients why they chose me. Only once has it been because they wanted a female. Usually its because of the extras i offer such as the interactive stuff, Ceilidh dancing, games, chidrens stuff at the start of the evening. A couple of times its been because of what i say on my website about keeping the volume down, or following the clients remit, etc. Saying that, I'm not the only DJ in my area that offers all those things though.

My first seven bookings (all weddings) this year have all been from referrals from previous jobs... which is a first because i only moved out here 2 years ago so in effect i had to start building up my reputation from scratch all over again.

[Excalibur]

I do meet with scepticism and sexism. I've had the comments at the end of the night like "I didn't expect a great night like that from a girl" or when i'm setting up "where's the DJ?"


Could be worse Sandy. ;) They often think I'm the DJ's Dad.!!!
( And I have in fact been mistaken for the Father of some of our younger members on here before now, at functions!! ) :( :( :o :o

[Kernow]

"I didn't expect a great night like that from a girl" or when i'm setting up "where's the DJ?"


Could be worse Sandy. ;) They often think I'm the DJ's Dad.!!!

At the risk of repeat fees ? ;) ... Sometimes his Mum !! :p :D :D :D

[EMSL]

This is a very interesting topic, and have been reading everyones comments. I'm a 22 year old female (i know the account says Simon but hes my boss) my partner is a DJ and does mobile discos every weekend, i looked into doing mobile discos specializing in kids partys, but the problem i have is finding a baby sitter for my 2 children. So i totally agree with Sandy its not easy.

I know that we do have a few female djs which come in the shop, obviously we have a lot more female singers than djs but it would be great if we did have more!