Gamers and Stereotypes

[Angel Tarragon]

Take your stereotype and shove it where the sun don't shine!

 

[vortex]

Originally Posted by die_kluge
...don't drink, don't smoke,
what do you do?

Subtle innuendos follow
There must be something he's hiding
Goody two shoes

 

[ShinHakkaider]

I'm through beating my head against a wall trying to convice people that showering and not looking like twat will get them further in life, while listening to them play off their personality flaws as points of pride.

Ditto. Screw that noise, theres no reason why you can't find a balance. I've been into RPG's since I was 12 and still found time to play sports, go out to clubs and basically be a reasonably well adjusted human being. I stopped attending cons in order to get away from people like the smelly unshowered sterotypes. People who know me, know that I'm NOT that so I could give a hoot if they think that RPG's are geeky or nerdy. I enjoy 'em and that's all that matters.

Also, I'm married with a rambunctious 3 year old boy and tight schedule and I really have never thought to use that as an excuse NOT to shower everyday. I take a shower everyday sometimes twice, and still find the time to take care of my responsibilities.

 

[Andor]

Couple of points.

A) While there is significant overlap between nerdom and gamers, they are actually seperate traits.

B) Sports you don't play are boring. I fence, I enjoy watching fencing. I'll be the first to admit that a fencing match is dead boring if you can't follow exactly what's happening. Most sports bore me to tears, but you might try exploring them, you never know when you'll find out that you enjoy and are good at something you never even thought of. E.G.: Last year at the age of 32 I discovered that I love, and have a knack for motorcycle riding. And I found this out because a couple of my gaming buddies ride and I thought "What the hell, I'll give it a shot." While you can live a life without physical activites you might want to give it a whirl to live with them. If baseball and football don't interest you (and I don't blame you, they don't interest me.) try noncompetative sports like hiking or archery.

C) It sounds like you have ansomia. Does food have a lot of flavor for you, or does it all taste like styrofoam? If the latter, trust everyone else on this thread and shower, you really can't tell if you stink.

D) Just to give you some possibly helpfull insight, here is an interesting essay on the nature of nerdom. I found it enlightening, as I hadn't realized it was a general trend.

 

[Wayside]

I could probably go on a diet, do huge amounts of exercise and try to slim down while switching to more stylish clothes and try to go out and do less geeky things. Then again, if I did, I wouldn't be me anymore.

I don't think that's true. I could start eating horribly, stop exercising, try to bulk up while switching to a more slovenly appearance and do even more geeky things, and I'd still be me. People might treat me differently then, the way they may treat you differently now, but I'd be me either way.

So, I see people acting like idiots, getting drunk out of their mind, treating women like crap, killing themselves and other with drugs and alcohol. If I voice my opinion on any of these things, however, I am treated like an outcast for not accepting the things that everyone else does.

'Acting like idiots' is a relative judgment. You might see some drunk people having a lovely time and think they're acting like idiots. Those same people might see you at the gaming table, again having a lovely time, and think you and your friends are the ones acting like idiots. Of course from your perspective you're right, but from theirs, so are they. I've been on both sides of this, and find both judgments equally ridiculous.

As a continuation from another point about the previous thread. Even If I'm purposefully dressing up, showered an hour before leaving, and am TRYING to fit in with "normal" people, one mention of playing RPGs or D&D is enough for normal people to ignore me and treat me like I'm less than human.

Why is that though? I guess I don't buy it as a straightforward proposition because I certainly have never made a secret of the fact that I mess with RPG's on occasion, and yet nobody's ever looked at me funny because of it.

I was 23/24, still a virgin, I didn't drink at all, listened almost exclusively to classical music (still do), enjoyed playing computer games and D&D, enjoyed Star Wars, and was awkward around women. Yea, that about summed me up.

With the possible exception of being a virgin, I don't think anything listed here is even considered aberrant at this point. Certainly nothing anyone would find odd (but then I suppose that might depend on how long ago your mid-twenties were). Actually, there was an interesting conversation on another (computer gaming) board recently, where the people who considered themselves 'computer geeks,' the rightful possessors of computer geekdom, had actually begun to notice the massive influx of 'normal,' even 'popular' people into gaming, and were beginning to feel displaced. They felt that the 'normal' people were taking over what had always been the province of 'geeks.' So, I really don't think our hobbies in themselves have much of a stigma, if any, these days, when there are NCAA football players running around in WoW and such.

I've given up trying to fit in. I can put on appearances, and I have all the social skills I need to perform in the business world, make friends, get along with coworkers, and what have you. But I'm not embarrassed to tell them that I'm an atheist, hate football, don't drink, don't smoke, and think their music is crap. Yea, it doesn't win me a lot of friends in some circles, but I've learned when to keep my mouth shut thing.

Identity is a very interesting thing to think about in the context of this thread. Culturally, we have a certain amount of rhetoric we bring to the discussion, phrases like "fitting in." This suggests a solidified social space we aren't allowed into if we are "being ourselves," another, in my opinion equally cheesey, rhetorical turn we often use. "Be yourself, "be an individual," "be unique." Amazingly cheesey. What is this core self, which you is the real you? I admit I can't even understand your thoughts here in more than a semantic way because I don't believe I have any such core. I, or I suppose I should say we, are a multiplicity of selves who enjoy moving into new spaces and contexts and who enjoy changing, always into someone else. People who think of themselves as having to 'try to fit in' or 'put on appearances' (or any other such culturally inscribed ridiculousness) seem very alien to me.

 

[freebfrost]

Is THIS your idea of certain inuendos??!!!

Close, but it actually qualifies more as a "subtle innuendo".



Must be something inside...

 

[reanjr]

My 20's RAWKED. No whining here.

I'm having a good time of mine.

 

[Teflon Billy]

IMO something they should teach in health class in High School is that your 20s suck. Ok, maybe if you're a rock star or one of the Kennedy's things are pretty cool, but I think for most other men, at least, that decade ain't no picnic.

My 20's were phenomenal. Highschool sucked for me

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Well, I agree with your statement about passtimes but I don't understand how someone could be so superficial as to feel that the real them is contained in some blubber or scraps of fabric. I know people from various walks of life, some of whom you would think were incredibly superficial but I cannot think of one single one of them who thinks that who a person is depends on how fat they are or what clothes they wear. Who you are is about what you do and what you love. It is not about clothes and weight. I lost 40 lbs and when I look in the mirror I'm still me.

Well, I don't believe that being overweight is "me" per se. What I was saying is that spending most of my time exercising and trying to remain slim, I wouldn't be me anymore. I'd lose time that I currently enjoy spending on other things. I have 3 D&D games a week, I'd likely have to drop at least one of them to spend one day a week and the gym or something in order to slim down. And the thought of that does not appeal to me.

Also, I'd like to point out that I'm not EXTREMELY overweight. I know at least 3 or 4 of my friends that are more overweight than I am.

As for the showering thing. It's not that I don't like having a shower, it has to do with my priorities. For instance. I went to bed right after I made the first post, about 10 hours ago. I set my alarm for 9:30 pm, figuring that I'd be awake long before then. I woke up to my alarm, still felt tired and hit snooze. I finally woke up around 10:15 pm. I work at 11:30 pm today. I work the midnight shift doing tech support until 8 am. I will likely only see my 3 coworkers all day before I come home again. I don't like them because they haven't really treated me well in the past. So, I've spent 30 minutes reading through replies and posting this. It's now 10:50. When I take a shower, since I enjoy it so much, it takes no less than 30 minutes, normally 45 minutes. I need to leave in 10 minutes. So, in order to not be late, it appears no shower until I get home.

But the only people who I'll see today at all are likely those 3 people and anyone I pass on the street from my car to my work. And being awake at work seems more important to me than what those 3 people think of me. Because I get rather...cranky if I don't sleep well. And that's not a good thing when you talk to customers for 8 hours straight and they can be frustrating.

On that note, 5 minutes before I have to leave, still have to get dressed and go. I'll read and reply from work when I get there.

 

[Ds Da Man]

My 20's were phenomenal. Highschool sucked for me

Gotta say the same thing too! Getting outta high school, and joining the military was great!

Dude, stop being so angsty, and quit worrying about what people say or think too much (unless you reek, then getta shower and change your clothes, all of them!) I'm not Mr. Universe, but definately not bad. Most people won't be asses as long as you portray a positive attitude. I mean in everything in your life. Happiness is a state of mind. You missing out on women, try doing some walking or bicycling for 20 min a day. You may find that the little bit o' activity will actually spawn some change in your attitude.