Note: if anyone's going to judge me for cutting myself open metaphorically and showing you my "guilty pleasures", please turn around and be on your way. This is already painful enough for me :).
Everyone
has their guilty pleasures. Whether it’s twerking to All-Star or ranking the U2
members in order from who you’d bang first to last in Robinson’s case, we all
have our "Things [We] Are Strangely Proud of Liking Even Though They Clearly Prove [We're] Kind of a Hot Sloppy Joe Mess” (54). So, in
response to Robinson’s call to "[let] that freak flag fly”, here’s my current
list of guilty pleasures (77):
- Yelling at football games: I partly blame my dad for this along with my own
overblown loyalty to the New Orleans Saints (WHO DAT!) being tied to my over-competitive
spirit. Basically, I’m the only girl I know who’s invested in my team’s
football game and not just the football players (although, mmm, there are some
fine players out there for sure - calling you out, Jimmy Garoppolo). And, when
I’m watching the game, I’m invested in every first down, successful hail mary,
two-point conversions, and TOUCHDOWN!... Yeah, football truly is such a passionate
sport, and I love every second that players aren’t bashing into each other and
developing future cases of CTE - haha, it’s depressing.
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| Man, I reeeally enjoyed watching the 49ers in the Super Bowl... |
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Playing (lame) video games: so, not only do I love and appreciate video games, but I don't even play any cool mainstream games (besides Minecraft, although my guy friends would say only 12 year-old Fortnite players enjoy Minecraft anymore). My favorite games of all time include: Portal 2, Stardew Valley (I have devoted days to this game), any DS version of Professor Layton, and the N64 Paper Mario. (Note: I have always wanted to play online multiplayer shooters - the cool mainstream games, like Call of Duty - but my dad didn't want me exposed to crude, perverted teenage boys as a kid.)
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Watching video game-related clips on YouTube: I went through my biggest YouTube kick during 8th/9th grade year. However, the majority of the channels I followed were gamers, like Seananners, Vanoss, and BasicallyIDoWrk (wow, this honesty hurts). I loved watching these guys get up to shenanigans while playing the games I never could, like TTT, Prop Hunt, H1V1, etc. In fact, some of the YouTubers I followed were in the same friend group, so I could watch the same content from 5 different perspectives over the course of 2 hours. Nowadays, I just watch my boyfriend's YouTube content instead (...which is also all about gaming, #nerdlife).
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Anime: oh yeah. This one’s the hardest to admit, honestly. I can’t name a
single girl that’s watched anime besides my sisters and I (except Phoebe, but I
don’t really count Dragon Ball since it was so mainstream, but that’s another
discussion :P) (34). From adorable love triangles like Fruits Basket to
action-packed/dry-humor filled thrillers like Mob Psycho: 100, I’ve watched
more animes than TV shows at this point. However, I don't mention it to anyone because it's not respected by popular culture. Yet, as my older sister put it,
”It’s kinda nerdy to watch anime, but why the fuck do I care?”
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| What I try NOT to be like as an anime fan. |
So, did anyone notice anything about my guilty pleasures?
It's pretty obvious to me: the only reason why I call these "guilty pleasures" is because I love activities more heavily enjoyed by guys, and I feel guilty because I can't talk to other girls about this. Quite frankly, I don't share a lot of interests with the stereotypical image of a girl I have in my head, like a passion for Sex in the City, Grey's Anatomy, and The Notebook. Furthermore, I don't dress "girly", like makeup, or post filtered selfies on Snapchat/Instagram. In general, I don't feel relatable to other girls at all, which is one of the biggest reasons I was so nervous the first day of this class. Even now I think I'll get stoned or something because I find doing my nails and watching the Oscars are wastes of time (again, these are only things my image of a girl would enjoy - I know other girls must feel this way about their nails, but they're so hard to find).
However, through being in this class, it's clear that what I share the most with my other classmates (#exceptNick) is my experience being a woman. With the subtle mistreatment or double standards we face, I know I'm still understood as a fellow female, even if my interests aren't as widely shared by other girls (yet). And, as Phoebe Robinson declared, "Let's own up to all the things we love and move the fuck on dot org" (77).
I love the idea of making a post listing all of your "guilty pleasures". I can relate to your first example, except I'd swap football for basketball. I'm a die-hard fan of Kentucky basketball and I scream my lungs out while watching every game. It's so important to embrace your passions and not let the opinions of others affect you. We should all strive to accept and be proud of all of the things that make us happy, regardless of what mainstream culture says.
ReplyDeleteI very much appreciate you putting your so-called guilty pleasures out into the world for us to enjoy and relate to, and I think this is the first (and maybe the most fun) step toward not feeling ashamed of things that make us genuinely happy. I only watched a few episodes of "Attack on Titan" in middle school (didn't everyone?) and I prefer UFC over football, so I can't fully relate to all of your guilty pleasures, but I am a self-identified YouTube fiend! Personally, it is so much more fun to watch someone play a video game than to actually play it myself. I am all for publicizing our not-so-guilty pleasures and (hopefully) finding lots more people who relate to the things we each enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHolly, I love that you were comfortable enough to share with us, your honest guilty pleasures! I totally relate with you on all your guilty pleasures. I grew up with a brother, so I was always watching sports games, playing video games with him and doing the most "non-feminine" activities. I also love watching video game related YouTube videos, two of my favorites right now are JoshDub and YourPalRoss. I also enjoy my fair share of Anime, although I haven't watched it in a while. The thing I love about your guilty pleasures is, yes they aren't what society thinks as feminine, but you enjoy them and you're a women, so in my book they're feminine activities. It shouldn't matter what the "guilty pleasure" is, as long as it makes you happy, that's what matters!
ReplyDeleteLike a lot of your classmates, I really enjoyed your post this week. I love the turn it takes about half-way through, from a (fun and funny) list to an analysis of that list. It is just fascinating to think about that turn and the idea that you feel guilty about these hobbies because they aren’t “girly.” You gotta know that for so many women, their pleasures are labeled as “guilty” precisely because they are “girly.” "Trashy" romance novels, soap operas, Nicholas Sparks book, chick flicks, spending money on fashion/make-up: all of these things have been treated as something women should feel guilty about.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, you can't win!
Holly,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your guilty pleasures! It was very interesting to read them and learn more about the person you are. I can definitely relate on the yelling during sports games. My boyfriend and I watch hockey together and I ALWAYS get very invested in the games. I also think that it is interesting that your guilty pleasures are mostly masculine. I personally believe that guilty pleasures shouldn't have to be feminine or masculine, as long as it makes you happy then that is all that matters
I really enjoy your use of the strikethrough button. It gives us a unique perspective on your writing process, which is something we have been trying to analyze in our female comedians. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHolly honey, being a girl and liking what you do, dressing how you want be being who you are should not discourage you from feeling like you can relate. Some people have different interests and styles, but that does not mean you're not a woman. Much like Daisy I think you both struggle with the gender based norms that women are placed in. Being a woman is not a way of dressing or acting. I live in oversized mens sweatshirts and Tshirts. I love playing my Kirby DS game and am overly enthusiastic about hockey because its a bit violent. Which goes nicely with my love of knitting and cats. All I am trying to say is, you are a woman. I relate to you and we are different. We are all different, but that should not make you see yourself as any less.
ReplyDelete