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| {{Short description|Colloquialism in consumer electronics}} | |||
| The '''Woman Acceptance Factor (WAF)''' – sometimes referred to as ''Woman Approval Factor'', ''Wife Acceptance Factor'' and more recently as ''Spouse Acceptance Factor'' (SAF) to accommodate gay and lesbian couples<ref name="BG">, The Boston Globe June 28, 2004 </ref> – is the playful estimation of the acceptance or refusal of a new acquisition or project by the ]. It relies on the ] that men are driven by a certain ] when it comes to acquisitions like ] or ]s, disregarding the stereotypically ''female'' aspects of ], ] and practical/financial considerations, let alone ease-of-use. The first known WAF reference was in a 1989 article about wives rebellion against "oversized loudspeakers."<ref name="BG"></ref> | |||
| '''Wife acceptance factor''', '''wife approval factor''', or '''wife appeal factor'''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reynolds |first=Sallie |date=Spring 1988 |title=Dames in Toyland, Part 1: The City of the Plain |journal=The Absolute Sound |volume=13 |issue=52 |page=64 |quote=Wife Appeal Factor}}</ref> ('''WAF''') is an assessment of ] elements that either increase or diminish the likelihood a wife will approve the purchase of expensive ] products such as ] loudspeakers and ] systems. WAF is a ] play on electronics ] such as "]" and "]" and derives from the ] that men are predisposed to appreciate ]ry and performance criteria whereas women must be wooed by visual and ] factors.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Du Pre |first=Vanessa Vyvyanne |date=1994 |title=Women Against the High-End: Audiophilia is a Dead End |journal=] |volume=18 |issue=93 |page=30}}</ref> | |||
| The ''Woman Acceptance Factor'' is ] to the possible amount of conflict resulting from the different points of view. The lower the ''WAF'', the more convincing needs to be done, or the more conflicts arises from the acquisition or project. | |||
| The term is considered a ] term by some people,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carnoy |first=David |date=2006-10-28 |title=Commentary: Top products with high 'wife-acceptance factor' |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/commentary-top-products-with-high-wife-acceptance-factor/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Geoffrey |date=2015-06-14 |title=Death to the 'WAF' (Wife Acceptance Factor) |url=https://www.soundandvision.com/content/death-%E2%80%9Cwaf%E2%80%9D-wife-acceptance-factor |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=Sound & Vision |language=en}}</ref> for example women in the high fidelity hobbyist community, who have stated the sexism in the community is reflected by use of the phrase WAF.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brodbeck-Kenney |first=Kirsten |date=2014-12-06 |title=No Girls Allowed: Why I Hate 'Wife Acceptance Factor' |url=https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/12/06/no-girls-allowed-why-i-hate-wife-acceptance-factor/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=Part-Time Audiophile |language=en-US}}</ref> Some people have used the non-gender-specific term '''significant other acceptance parameters''' ('''SOAP''').<ref>{{cite web |last=Carnoy |first=David |date=September 16, 2003 |title=Taking the sting out of the whip |url=http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-5076897-1.html?tag=rb_content;rb_mtx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192531/http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-5076897-1.html |archive-date=2012-10-10 |publisher=CNet.com}}</ref> | |||
| Potential for conflict lies in: | |||
| ==History== | |||
| * Questionable practical use / necessity | |||
| * High initial acquisition cost and/or high running cost | |||
| * Amount of time husband spends with the new purchase (in general the new equipment might create some further ''cause of separation'', in space, time or simply ''distract'' the husband's attention) | |||
| * Aesthetic deficiencies like large, ugly chassis or trunks of surface mounted cables | |||
| * Necessary construction work like chiselling slits into walls | |||
| * Constant noise from fans, hard drives etc. | |||
| * Space considerations | |||
| * Total number of remote controls under female control | |||
| * Challenges imposed by beta-software, user-interface etc. | |||
| === Radio === | |||
| An example of a low ''WAF'' item might be a video projector with a makeshift ceiling mount and a huge trunk of black cables, which needs to warm up for 3 minutes before it can be used to watch the TV news, all operated using 3 different remote controls. | |||
| At the start of the ] in the early 1920s, most radio broadcasters and listeners were men with technical skills. Covers of '']'' depicted humorous situations of women deploring their men's obsession with the new science. According to research by Michael Brown and Corley Dennison in 1998, women disliked homemade ]s' clutter; electrical parts were left exposed after assembly, multiple ] leaked corrosive ], and a ] of wires connected everything.<ref name="browndennison1998">{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Michael |last2=Dennison |first2=Corley |date=April 1998 |title=Integrating Radio Into the Home, 1923–1929 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23414552 |journal=Studies in Popular Culture |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=1–17 |issn=0888-5753 |jstor=23414552 }}</ref> The acid issue was widespread because all radios, except ]s, used batteries until the mid to late 1920s.<ref name="ramirez1993">{{Cite book |last=Ramirez |first=Ron |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Philco-Radio-1928-1942-Ramirez-1993.pdf |title=Philco Radio 1928-1942 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |year=1993 |isbn=0-88740-547-9 |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |pages=6-7,12 |access-date=2024-12-13}}</ref> Replacement acid was sold as "battery oil" to avoid women's reluctance to have the substance in homes.<ref name="browndennison1998" /> | |||
| A way of fitting radio into a home's existing decor was disguising receivers as furniture, a topic discussed in the press as early as 1923. As self-contained, preassembled ]s using ] became available, manufacturers recognized the importance of what a 1924 ''Radio Broadcast'' article's headline described as "Making Radio Attractive to Women". ''Radio News'' in 1926 held a contest to design the ideal radio receiver exterior; the winning women's entry suggested that it be useful as furniture.{{r|browndennison1998}} | |||
| High ''WAF'' items are generally aesthetically designed, easy to use devices like the ], or computer furniture which hides cables and connectors.<ref> News.com October 28, 2006</ref> | |||
| As women increasingly influenced radio purchases, and the devices moved from the man's den to the living room, a 1927 article in ''Radio Broadcast'' stated that a "receiver, to be fully appreciated by the female half of the domestic republic, must be encased in housings which are esthetically as well as technically satisfactory". Elaborate radio cabinets often composed most of the price difference between models that used similar electronic components. Components could be replaced while retaining the cabinet as permanent furniture; they had doors that completely hid the radio when not in use.{{r|browndennison1998}} ] offered cabinets with painted flowers as an option for its first radios in 1928.{{r|ramirez1993}} Circa 1930 elaborate cabinets became less common as newer, smaller ]s became commodities, rendering the issue of gender moot.{{r|browndennison1998}} | |||
| Recently, the ''Woman Acceptance Factor'' has also been applied to non-technical ] male activities like attending sporting events or "hanging out with the guys." | |||
| === Term "Wife Acceptance Factor" === | |||
| Larry Greenhill first used the term "Wife Acceptance Factor" in September 1983, writing for '']'' magazine, and credited fellow reviewer and music professor Lewis Lipnick with the coining of the term.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Greenhill |first=Larry |date=September 1983 |title=Quad ESL-63 loudspeaker, part 3 |url=https://www.stereophile.com/content/quad-esl-63-loudspeaker-larry-greenhill-part-3 |journal=Stereophile |volume=6 |quote=Thanks again to Glenn Hart, who did not coin this term—it was Lewis Lipnick—but from whom I heard it for the first time! |number=4 |accessdate=August 10, 2009}}</ref> The majority of ''Stereophile'' subscribers in the late 1980s were men.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thorau |first1=Christian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1M50DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Wife-Acceptance+Factor%22&pg=PA409 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Music Listening in the 19th and 20th Centuries |last2=Ziemer |first2=Hansjakob |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-046698-5 |page=409 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Wife Acceptance Factor}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 08:14, 14 December 2024
Colloquialism in consumer electronicsWife acceptance factor, wife approval factor, or wife appeal factor (WAF) is an assessment of design elements that either increase or diminish the likelihood a wife will approve the purchase of expensive consumer electronics products such as high fidelity loudspeakers and home theater systems. WAF is a tongue-in-cheek play on electronics jargon such as "form factor" and "power factor" and derives from the stereotype that men are predisposed to appreciate gadgetry and performance criteria whereas women must be wooed by visual and aesthetic factors.
The term is considered a sexist term by some people, for example women in the high fidelity hobbyist community, who have stated the sexism in the community is reflected by use of the phrase WAF. Some people have used the non-gender-specific term significant other acceptance parameters (SOAP).
History
Radio
At the start of the golden age of radio in the early 1920s, most radio broadcasters and listeners were men with technical skills. Covers of Radio News depicted humorous situations of women deploring their men's obsession with the new science. According to research by Michael Brown and Corley Dennison in 1998, women disliked homemade radio receivers' clutter; electrical parts were left exposed after assembly, multiple wet-cell batteries leaked corrosive battery acid, and a cable spaghetti of wires connected everything. The acid issue was widespread because all radios, except crystal sets, used batteries until the mid to late 1920s. Replacement acid was sold as "battery oil" to avoid women's reluctance to have the substance in homes.
A way of fitting radio into a home's existing decor was disguising receivers as furniture, a topic discussed in the press as early as 1923. As self-contained, preassembled batteryless radios using AC power became available, manufacturers recognized the importance of what a 1924 Radio Broadcast article's headline described as "Making Radio Attractive to Women". Radio News in 1926 held a contest to design the ideal radio receiver exterior; the winning women's entry suggested that it be useful as furniture.
As women increasingly influenced radio purchases, and the devices moved from the man's den to the living room, a 1927 article in Radio Broadcast stated that a "receiver, to be fully appreciated by the female half of the domestic republic, must be encased in housings which are esthetically as well as technically satisfactory". Elaborate radio cabinets often composed most of the price difference between models that used similar electronic components. Components could be replaced while retaining the cabinet as permanent furniture; they had doors that completely hid the radio when not in use. Philco offered cabinets with painted flowers as an option for its first radios in 1928. Circa 1930 elaborate cabinets became less common as newer, smaller table radios became commodities, rendering the issue of gender moot.
Term "Wife Acceptance Factor"
Larry Greenhill first used the term "Wife Acceptance Factor" in September 1983, writing for Stereophile magazine, and credited fellow reviewer and music professor Lewis Lipnick with the coining of the term. The majority of Stereophile subscribers in the late 1980s were men.
References
- Reynolds, Sallie (Spring 1988). "Dames in Toyland, Part 1: The City of the Plain". The Absolute Sound. 13 (52): 64.
Wife Appeal Factor
- Du Pre, Vanessa Vyvyanne (1994). "Women Against the High-End: Audiophilia is a Dead End". The Absolute Sound. 18 (93): 30.
- Carnoy, David (2006-10-28). "Commentary: Top products with high 'wife-acceptance factor'". CNET. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- Morrison, Geoffrey (2015-06-14). "Death to the 'WAF' (Wife Acceptance Factor)". Sound & Vision. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- Brodbeck-Kenney, Kirsten (2014-12-06). "No Girls Allowed: Why I Hate 'Wife Acceptance Factor'". Part-Time Audiophile. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- Carnoy, David (September 16, 2003). "Taking the sting out of the whip". CNet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10.
- ^ Brown, Michael; Dennison, Corley (April 1998). "Integrating Radio Into the Home, 1923–1929". Studies in Popular Culture. 20 (3): 1–17. ISSN 0888-5753. JSTOR 23414552.
- ^ Ramirez, Ron (1993). Philco Radio 1928-1942 (PDF). Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. pp. 6–7, 12. ISBN 0-88740-547-9. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- Greenhill, Larry (September 1983). "Quad ESL-63 loudspeaker, part 3". Stereophile. 6 (4). Retrieved August 10, 2009.
Thanks again to Glenn Hart, who did not coin this term—it was Lewis Lipnick—but from whom I heard it for the first time!
- Thorau, Christian; Ziemer, Hansjakob (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Music Listening in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Oxford University Press. p. 409. ISBN 978-0-19-046698-5.