There seems to be more females out there searching for the paranormal. I have some theories as to why and tackle why it seems the field is dominated by male leaders and how females are changing the landscape of the paranormal field.

Over the last few years, I have been very lucky to be able to host public paranormal investigations. One of the main things I have noticed during this time, is that around 80% of the people who attend these investigations are female. I have completely made this figure up, but it doesn’t change the fact that week in week out, the majority of the participants are female. Some tours have been completely female. I have never hosted an all male investigation. I am sure they have happened in the past, I just haven’t hosted one. When I look at the stats of the profiles of the people who follow my Facebook page, 67% are females. This I am not making up, this is fact! So why is it that females are so strongly drawn to the paranormal?

I have seen many conversations with people asking the question if females are more sensitive to the paranormal and perhaps that there are more psychic mediums than men. There are a lot of different theories from people as to why this may be. For me personally, I have my own take on this. I believe it may have something to do with the pineal gland. This is not ‘proven’, it is really just my thoughts on a possible explanation.

What is the pineal gland?

The pineal gland is a pea shaped mass of tissue which sits behind the third ventricle of the brain. It is also considered in spiritual circles to be ‘the third eye’. It’s function is to produce Melatonin. This has an effect on our reproductive hormones – as does the adjacent pituitary gland. If these are not functioning properly, it can cause all sorts of havoc for a woman. I was first made aware of the pituitary and pineal glands when I was trying to have a baby. I wasn’t ovulating, and their function was explained to me. I was referred to have an MRI to see if I had a tumour on the pituitary gland that was preventing me from ovulating. Somewhere along this process, I became pregnant naturally, but the function of these glands stuck with me. Through subsequent problems with my hormones and my thyroid, there is always a relation to one of these glands when my hormones are out of whack. Put simply, these glands have a lot to do with part of what makes us females - female.

From a spiritual perspective, it is the pineal gland that is believed to be the ‘third eye’. It is thought that why your physical eyes allow you to see the physical world and your third eye supposedly sees the ‘true world’. With this it supposedly allows people to see spirits, auras and is the basis of psychic ability including telepathy, clairvoyance etc. There is also a lot about this gland that is unknown. Some speculate that the gland is capable of producing DMT (dimethyltryptamine) which is also known as the 'spirit hormone'. This is a natural substance which describes experiences that are similar to near death experiences. As plants contain DMT, some cultures use this as a part of spiritually awakening ceremonies and aid in expanding a person’s consciousness. It has not been proven this gland produces DMT, it is speculation.

I believe that it is these connections with both the pineal and pituitary gland that mean females are perhaps more susceptive to the paranormal. It doesn’t mean that men cannot be psychic or sensitive or interested in the paranormal because quite obviously they can be, this is perhaps a reason as to why there are a lot more females out there searching for the paranormal. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are more nurturing and have more motherly instincts. Or maybe the men are just a bit lazy and busy at home watching the footy instead? (joke)

Why if there are more females in the field is it dominated by male figures?

This is a question I have asked myself on many occasions. I wouldn’t exactly say I am a feminist but as a female, I do very much feel at times I am living in a man’s world. Throughout my professional career I worked in a lot of fashion offices. Female clothing fashion offices. The majority of the employees working at these places were female. Except for management. They were predominantly male. I now work in the IT industry. The majority of my fellow technicians are male as STEM is more dominated by males - but this is changing too. I live in a house with my husband and my two boys. So yes I very much feel I am in a man’s world a lot of the time.

At paranormal conventions and on paranormal tv shows, the speakers and hosts are mainly males. Things are slowly changing, but we can’t forget Kris Williams from the TV show Ghost Hunters. She still talks today about the producers being more focused on getting a shot of her butt in tight jeans rather than the work she was doing. She felt she was used as 'eye candy' and not a serious investigator. There are slowly strong female figures being used in tv shows and as speakers at conventions, but there is still a long way to go. In previous paranormal groups I was a part of, while I was a leader, people would automatically ignore what I had to say or direct questions and enquiries to my male collegues. I will never forget, one phone call came direct to my mobile phone which they knew was my number and they asked to speak to a male collegue about something I could have more than adequately answered. My male collegues in this field do deserve credit too, because they work hard and do some great work! Many of them inspire and support me, it just in some ways I feel they are more easily recognised for the work they do just because that is what the world has done for so long. I had so much more to offer the field. I had theories, thoughts and musings to share. That is why I decided to do my own blog. I wanted to put my thoughts out there, my adventures, my research, my photos. While there have been different people who have helped and supported me along the way, it was my hard work that kept the blog running. I wrote every single article, came up with every single topic. For a long time, because I wrote about my paranormal group, people assumed there had to be other people involved. My male collegues had to have something to do with it right? I tried for a very long time to make it clear, it was just me. It took a couple of years for people to realise that I did it all. LLIFS was and is Sarah. I may have written about all the people I investigated with and stories of what was happening and even included their opinions and quotes to offer another view, but the author and the content, was all by me..... a female paranormal researcher. My past taught me that people werent listening so I decided to make them. I am seeing and hearing a lot of similar stories from other female content creators and researchers in the paranormal field. They became fed up having to take a back seat and not being heard, and decided to take matters into their own hands. All you need is an idea. You can do whatever you want to do. So that is what they are doing. You can do it to. Male or female, don't let anyone make you feel undervalued, underappreciated and not worthy. You have a lot to offer.

A lot has changed in the field over the last 5 years I have been in it. There was a time when a lot of the paranormal groups out there were led by men and the only female was the token psychic. That has changed. Now there are lots of females out there creating amazing content, leading groups, presenting on shows and at conventions, running tours and there are even some all female groups kicking ass. What I guess does frustrate me is that as much as we try to move forward and look at the research some of the amazing female researchers are out there presenting, there are then some who just want to be YouTube or Instagram famous which is obvious from the image they are trying to present. Be known for the amazing work you are out there doing. Be true to yourself. A good following doesn't happen overnight. It takes a long time and a lot of bloody hard work.

There are some amazing females out there in our field, and it is time that they were recognised. So to all my paranormal sisters, I follow you, I read your thoughts and I value your opinion. Don’t change, don’t conform, be yourself. Your day will come, just keep your head down and do what you love and most importantly, share your amazing research and thoughts with the world. Your story deserves to be told and the possibilities are endless.

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