Lady Laura: Hi Michael,

This tends to be a question I ask all our special guests. The world of magic is dominated by men. There are few female magicians (who are magicians in their own right, not assistants), but those that are known, are very good.

Take this board for example, there are over 800 registered users, and of those, two are female (including myself!)

Why, in your opinion, are there not more female magicians?

Monte: That's an interesting one! I'd like very much to hear an opinion on your question. Not only because I got a little daughter and she may show an interest in magic one day, but also because girls are communicative, charming, creative, intuitive... So yeah, why are there not more of females in the field?

Btw, here's one more link: http://www.magicienne.com/Her_Magic/her_magic.html  It’s to a site of a female magician that seems to me like an excellent magic artist.

Michael Vincent: To the best of my knowledge, there have been at least two famous female magicians in the history of magic. Mary Kinson was one and I believe there was a female magician in laRoy Talma and Bosco.

As for the shortage of females in the art today. You could say conditioning has something to do with it. We expect a magician to a man. If you go back into the folk lore of magic if a female exhibited any form of power she might have been labeled a witch.

I personally would love to see more talented women coming through. Particularly where sleight of hand is concerned. This issue is no more different than saying why aren't they more black magicians or magicians from ethnic backgrounds.

I personally feel it is a matter of interest and desire. If a person is interested, they will take action and learn magic. The more successful women their are in magic, the more it will inspire others.

Dale Shrimpton: As far as women in magic goes, there were many more than just the two mentioned above. Talma, was Servias Leroys wife, and become an integral part of his act.
Thurston’s daughter Jane, worked hard for many years,
today we have Melinda, Princess Tenko, Jade....
I will post more names soon, as there are quite a few.
In the mean time I have found this which may make interesting reading...
Dale

http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/PUBWomenInMagic.htm

Lady Laura: Don't get me wrong, I am not saying there are NO female magicians, we have been through this in another thread. But there is definitely an inequality between the amount of males and females in magic.

The article you pointed out Dale has a lot of interesting points, and I enjoyed reading it, especially the comments from Alison (Daryls wife). I have been working on an article for months on this subject for a couple of things, and I have finally found some of the information I have been searching for!

Quoting Michael Vincent, “If you go back into the folk lore of magic if a female exhibited any form of power she might have been labeled a witch.”

This is a very interesting point, and one I had over looked before. Funnily enough, earlier in the evening when I posted the question, I had been to my magic society (all men apart from one of the members daughters who comes under protest!), I was sitting outside with a couple of the members before our lecture started and we got onto the subject of women in magic.

One of the points Peter bought up was that if men do magic it's wizardry, which, in terms of modern slang, is a good way description (He is a wizard with computers [meaning he is good with them]) When females do magic they are performing witchcraft, which is not such a good thing, witches are synonymous with hags and toads and eye of newt. (that’s given me a new idea for an effect!)

Anyway I just thought this raised an important point as two people, when asked the same question, on the same day, came up with pretty much the same answer. Right, I think I am going to attempt to finish my article now!

Sean: Is there anything you look back on in your career now and regret doing it? Or regret NOT doing something for that matter?

Michael Vincent: No regrets Sean.

I am very grateful and blessed for every experience that has come my way and for the lessons I have learnt.

Sean: Now Michael you are a very well known magician and have met lots of famous magicians. Has there even been a magician you've met and were just in awe and didn't really know how to react to them? Does even the great Michael Vincent get star struck?

Michael Vincent: Interesting Question.

My days of being in awe of anyone are long gone. I must say though that I was definitely in awe of Slydini. I still experience a big thrill and emotion when meeting some I have admired. Like meeting Rene Lavand for the first time and my friend Darwin Ortiz.

I will be honest; there have been two celebrities that blew me away the first time I met them and that Muhammad Ali and the late Princess of Wales.

They blew me away not because I was in awe of them but because they made me feel very special as a person; they gave me their time and attention. This is something I am trying to emulate with each and every person I meet.

Sean: Do you think coming from the UK has helped your career prosper? Do you believe if you had been living in a country of lesser economic magnitude and less accessibility to magic etc, that you wouldn't be as good a magician as you are?

Michael Vincent: Good question.

I "feel". I might have been a even better magician if I didn't have as much access to magic. My nature is to savor the what I have so I feel I would have thought little harder with what ever information was available.

When I started in magic, I devoured books from my local library. Close-up Card Magic, The Royal Road, Deckstrity were books I got from the library so I had access to good information with very little means on my part.

The people in life who truly success aren't the most educated or from wealthy backgrounds.

Desire, Passion, and a certain stick-ability are the components of successful people. These are components that we all posses but very few people access it.

My success can be summed up very simply: The 3D's, The 3C's and The 3L's

Desire, Dedication and Discipline

Confidence, Charm and a very illusive quality Charisma (Charisma is a quality all magicians should cultivate).

Live with passion.
Love unconditionally.
leave a legacy.

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