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[–] 19 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I think there is likely a more even gender distribution of history nerds who are truly interested in history when it comes to topics outside of politics and military. A lot of men tend to use it for ego stroking and fantasizing about being the great men of history, while there is no similar avenue for women in that regard.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago

    Exactly this. You'll notice that some men like this only know history from a certain racial or geographical background so it's not so much a general interest in history as it is feeling great vicariously through a historical figure.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago

    oh! That is such a great point! To be fair, a lot of the male history nerds I know use it for practical purposes like writing TTRPGs, which were predominantly played by guys for a long time, but I feel like even that is evening out gender-wise lately as they grow in popularity.

    That being said, I have definitely seen examples of the fantasizing and ego-stroking on the internet.

    in fact, now that you mention it, I do know a fair few of women with a very deep interest in philosophy, and you can't exactly get deep into philosophy without historical context, ergo, female history nerds. Women are also a lot more interested in history when they are represented, and I don't think I need to soapbox to you about the lack of feminine representation in history texts.

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