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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   3751 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 8, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I think there’s a lot more leeway in women able to indulge in childish fantasy than there is for men. A man, obsessed to the same degree with male-coded versions of escapism (basically nerd and geek fandoms) are quickly shamed into hiding it from peers lest he be tainted with loser stink. If things were equal I suspect there are just as many men who would want to spend the same amounts of time, energy and money on their favorite escapist fandoms. There’s cons, obviously, but I’ve never known an adult male who talks openly in work or social environments about how he’s going to a con and has spent hours making an Ironman suit that cost him $100 (which is probably lowball compared to what is really spent on that stuff). Women get to openly indulge and most people wouldn’t think twice about a woman who has a shire to Mickey they way they’d double-take a light saber collection or a shrine to Spock.

Men seem to be much more culturally constrained in what they’re allowed to like and to what degree they’re allowed to do it.

The purchase of star wars and marvel closed the gender gap for Disney in this regard. Men obsess over getting a black lightsaber crystal and a cocktail at Mos Eisley.

I hate these IPs with a passion at this point. Having to grit my teeth and nod as my friends circle jerk about how great the hastily retconned "lore" is for SW makes me want to put a shotgun in my mouth.

I don't know, maybe (definitely) I hang out with mostly nerds, but from where I'm looking men seem less ashamed/self-conscious than ever to flaunt their geeky hobbies. Retro gaming setups, arcade machines, gaming computers and consoles, VR setups, etc... are proudly displayed in living rooms in a way that they wouldn't have been before, when you would only see a Super Nintendo or Playstation plugged in to the secondary basement TV only the kids use.

I grew up with videogames being a thing for boys and teenager boys that we were supposed to grow out of, and it seems men of my generation while growing up put their foot down and decided that no, videogames are not inherently more childish than watching TV shows and we have no reason to be ashamed of them.

And its not just gaming; I look at the younger generations, young men in their early 20s, and I don't think for instance being into anime is the 'red flag' for women that it was for my generation.

Man here.

A properly done Ironman suit would cost 2K easily, more if you're hardcore purist who wants fit, accuracy, and lighty up thingies that really drive the women wild. Poorly done unpainted knockoffs a few hundred bucks.

I've a Graflex 3-cell flash tube I bought in 2001 for about 150 bucks that, along with the bubble strip from an early 70s Exactra calculator I also acquired, now looks like this. though that link is not my photo. Total sunk cost about 250 bucks, worth about twice that or considerably more now were I to strike while the iron is hot. (It's not as hot as it used to be.) Which I won't.

I am far in the low ranks of true geekdom, but I am definitely in those ranks somewhere. You shall know me by my Follano stormtrooper armor, though that's a whole nother conversation.

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