I find myself disliking most traditional "guy" interests. For example:
- I don't know much about tools and I own only the very most basic ones (hammer, screwdrivers, drill, ratchet/socket set)
- I would never want to go hunting. I don't see the thrill of killing an animal for sport. I just don't get it. I've went fishing like twice and disliked even that.
- I don't drink much alcohol. Once in a while, I'll have a beer or a glass of wine.
- I don't own a gun or really have much desire to own one. I've fired a gun once in my life, and that was just during testing so I could get a conceal carry license when I was a prosecutor.
- Muscle cars and/or exotic cars do nothing for me. I'm fine driving my old Jeep.
I don't know how old you are, but I think broadening out of interests is part of aging.
Also, I think that gendered interests were much more culturally enforced for the older Boomers and previous generations, whereas from GenXers forward the culture seems more open to people pursuing whatever the hell pings their interest. This is also somewhat a product of shifting to a less rural population, and a global economy opening up things like foodie culture, etc (e.g., as recently as the early 80s, small and mid town America had only a few brands to choose from in terms of most products, and ethnic cooking was unknown in a lot of the country...exacerbated by the fact that a lot of the ingredients weren't available.)
Granted, traditional stereotypes might still be much for strongly enforced at lower income or lower education populations. My experience is with higher education, though not necessarily higher income people. I don't see many gendered patterns in our group; rather, I think similar interests and work tend to self select for certain types of hobbies. Many of our 'tribe' are biologists or tangentially related, so outdoor activities tend to be a common interest.
About one-third of the men, and maybe half the women, are heavily into cooking/baking. We don't have too many outright foodies, though. Most are adventurous eaters.
No one that I am aware is 'into' sports cars or hot rods or Nascar. I mean, they will admire hot cars in passing, and they enjoy driving them on occasion, but I don't know of anyone who has purchased one. One person inherited one and drove it for a while, then ditched it because it wasn't practical (his other car was a 70s era van). I'm sure a few people harbor a desire to buy a hot car if they have the money (even I get weak for '60s Mustangs, though I could give two shits about cars in general), but most are too busy with more practical vehicles. A few men in our group DO have gear-head tendencies about fully loaded pickup trucks, and will (IMO) overspend on those. To their credit, many of them DO use the trucks for the aforementioned outdoor activities and hobbies, or as part of field work.
About two thirds of the overall group (slightly more men) are into watching some sports (mostly football) but most won't spend entire days watching sports on tv, except as background noise while they do work-related stuff on weekends. Attending games is a very occasional recreational thing, not a regular pastime. I can't think of any who PLAY or coach sports, although a few are into something called Tough Mudding(?), a few are into road-racing bikes, and a few do marathons/triatholons. This might just be a function of age and level of life busy-ness, but sports don't seem to be a common free time hobby. A few in our circle are vehemently anti sports (they dislike the culture related to U.S. sports, esp for kids, and wish Americans would focus more on intellectual pursuits).
Very few were ever much into the drinking/bar scene except when they were 'on the prowl' as undergrads. (However, keep in mind much of this group likes being out in the woods/deserts/mountains ALONE or in very small groups, and dislikes crowds and noise.) Most of our group do drink regularly and more of the men tend to be 'into' good scotch, whiskey, and craft beer. About a third have dabbled in home-brewing or count it a regular hobby, but a handful of the women also do.
Re: tools/do it yourself ism...Extremely variable; some are extremely handy, some want no part of it, and some would hypothetically LIKE to develop more skills but are currently too busy. A few individuals of both genders are hard core about homesteading/living off grid. One of our male friends inherited an entire fully stocked workshop from his father and is very into home repair/construction. One of our female friends has her own welding workshop, which I don't think her boyfriend uses, and she makes field equipment for herself and others. Slightly more men than women seem to be into work-shopping in general, but it isn't a terribly common interest.
Working out/health consciousness is highly variable, including hitting the weight room. More of the women make an effort to eat well...the men tend to dismiss this until they get older and have health or weight issues (probably similar to the general population). A few are vegetarian, mostly for ethical reasons. Fad diets aren't that common, though a few are doing the paleo thing.
Most of the younger men and women are far more focused on being fit for field work than looking hot, so if they don't have access to actual outdoor fitness options, some will hit the gym. A few of them regularly run for exercise, and that seems equally split across genders, as does gym attendance. I don't know of any 'gym' rats, though. Most of the older people have 'let themselves go' somewhat as they've aged or transitioned more to desk work, with some notable exceptions (DH is a badass) who make it a point of pride to stay fit. Those exceptions definitely hit the gym, with the goal to maintain strength and muscle as they age. Many of our group (both genders) have dabbled in yoga. There are only a handful of fullblown health/fitness nuts, a couple of each gender.
Interest in money/finance: Most of the younger people don't know/don't care/are just scraping by making ends meet. With the older people, the women usually manage the money OR the couples do it jointly. Men don't typically manage the personal finances for a couple, though the few stock dabblers that I know of in our group are all men. Of the divorced men or bachelors, my impression is most of them are kind of clueless about it. There is a tendency for the women to worry about it more and talk more about learning how to handle personal finances better. So either the men don't care as much, or they talk about it less.
Re: hunting and guns...Most men in my circle grew up rural, hunting, and so are familiar with guns. However, a lot of the women hunt as well. Keep in mind that your assumption about killing for 'sport' isn't exactly representative here...while most hunters of my circle enjoy the challenge of the hunt and the skills they learn from it, the goal is to take home FOOD, not a trophy. But again, these are mostly people who work in biology and have no desire to kill animals just for the hell of it. Fishing is a passionate hobby for a few, and an occasional activity for most of the rest.
A few of the men and a bare handful of the women are into hand guns or range shooting, but most own and use functional hunting weapons. About half the group favors stricter gun laws, despite the fact that most of them own guns. Slightly more of the women favor stricter gun laws than the men. Interestingly, military service/law enforcement experience does not seem to correlate with more right-leaning/gun-rights in our group.
Most of both genders are big into reading (nonfiction seems to have a slight male-bias, and literary fiction a slight female bias, with equal representation for genre fiction). Social events often involve board games...with no gender split (slightly more women actively dislike board games in our group, but it isn't notable). Topics of discussion range wildly over philosophy, economics, politics, and sociology, books, tv, movies, music, playing of traditional instruments, cooking/food, travel, and lots and lots shop-talk and bitching about work problems in common.
Finally, re: clothes and suits (or fancy dresses)...HA! Our tribe is notorious for practical, casual, unstylish dressing, to the point that the handful of people in our circle who actually feel comfortable in dressier clothes and understand how to shop for them are in high demand for guidance or are viewed as 'specially skilled' by the others. More of the younger women spend more time on their clothes and appearance, but functionality is generally held in much higher esteem than looking sharp. Most of both genders have strong opinions about outdoor gear and clothes, but feel intimidated in the dressier areas of department stores.
The only topic of conversation that I can think of (besides the rare hair/makeup/beauty product talk among the girls) that remains quite gendered? Interior decorating LOL! That's definitely a 'girly' thing, though the men will weigh in on housing styles, structure.
