No, but when I was going to school (through the 90s, it was much more taboo than it is now. There are times when I think things over compensated though and I wish I was still the odd one out when it came to liking Trek amongst my peers.
Were you guys ever shamed for liking trek or any other nerdy hobbies?
- Thread starter dcm
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Sure, back when I was in school it went on all the time. And back them I made the mistake of letting that get to me. Now I'm older and wiser. I proudly admit to being a Trekkie and adherent to other facets of nerd culture and don't give a shit what no one thinks of me.
Being a Trekkie or a nerd is only a problem if you let it be a problem. Likewise others can only shame you if you let their opinions cause you to feel shame. Own your identity. Don't hide yourself, your likes or interests. Fuck other people, their negativity and what they think.
I have spoken.
Being a Trekkie or a nerd is only a problem if you let it be a problem. Likewise others can only shame you if you let their opinions cause you to feel shame. Own your identity. Don't hide yourself, your likes or interests. Fuck other people, their negativity and what they think.
I have spoken.
When I was a kid I was mocked all the time for liking Doctor Who and Warhammer.
These days, it seems like everything that used to be perceived as 'nerdy' has become cool. Certainly there's less of a stigma attached to the above.
I didn't get into Star Trek until my mid-twenties properly, but there was definitely a negative perception of it back then.
Up above, @The Wormhole described my thoughts on the matter perfectly.
These days, it seems like everything that used to be perceived as 'nerdy' has become cool. Certainly there's less of a stigma attached to the above.
I didn't get into Star Trek until my mid-twenties properly, but there was definitely a negative perception of it back then.
Up above, @The Wormhole described my thoughts on the matter perfectly.
I started with 3e, skipped 4e, skipped 5e and then I discovered 2e (and 1e); I can't believe I missed out on old school goodness.
I have never played D&D in my life but I used to love looking through my older brother's Monster Manuals and so on. I think it was things like that which really keyed me into the idea of there being whole worlds that could be explored within fiction. Warhammer is really the same thing for me. I spend far more time reading the related fiction than I do painting miniatures or playing the games.
Same deal here...basically; my cousin - whose family was in a slightly higher income bracket/stratum - used to either let me peruse his books or let me tag along with him to the bookstore. All those Star Wars and various TSR novels were fertilizer for that budding field that was my imagination. Now that I'm older, I finally have the greenbacks to indulge in my geeky hobbies (I still wish I had explored a great many franchises earlier on, but there's no use crying over spilt milk).
About four years ago, I DM'd a 1e campaign with the goal to progress through as many 1e modules as possible. By the end, we ran through 28 old school modules! A once in lifetime achievement. About three years ago, a couple of younger players joined the group and introduced us fossils to 5e which I now like better than 3e. Skipped 4e, too.
Not really, but I wasn't "out" as a sci-fi fan in my early teens, either. If geeky guys had it tough in the late 80s, geeky girls had it worse. In high school, I did a book report and presentation about Clarke's 20001: A Space Odyssey, and one of the athletic, cool guys in my class asked if I'd read the two sequels that had been published by then. It was pretty much the first time he'd acknowledged my existence, so I counted that as a victory. That gave me the confidence to own my sci-fi fandom a bit more.
Thankfully my dad was a sci-fi fan, and my parents always supported both me and my sister in whatever we liked. Making fun of your kids with malice is emotional abuse, and even well-intentioned jokes can land wrong.
Absolutely! I used to get called Kirk or Spock at school. Even now my mate Bowie at my old job if I mention watching Star Trek will put up four fingers with his thumb over his palm and go "ANGLUCK!" like some mockery of Trek or Klingons or some shit, which I fucking love. But I make fun of it too now as a bit of fun
Some, yes. But as a girl I was shy, intellectual, and socially awkward, so I got teased a lot anyway. I even managed to get teased for being a baseball fan, ffs! And I met the girl who would eventually become my best friend (we're still friends 50 years later!) because she shared my love of Trek, so that was no small compensation.
My dad was also a fan, though more on the it's-a-pretty-good-tv-show level, so it wasn't a problem at home.
My dad was also a fan, though more on the it's-a-pretty-good-tv-show level, so it wasn't a problem at home.
The older systems are 'true' D&D. There is a lethality and unbounded-ness to them that is lacking in 5E, which I have come to think of as 'the superhero' edition. 5E is not a terrible game, but it is nerfed and has its issues. In AD&D and 2E, sometimes your best bet was to run away or negotiate your escape in order to survive and fight another day. In the artwork, the players often looked terrified or were about to suffer a horrible fate, almost like a Far Side cartoon- that was the culture of it. Very few characters survived to become high level, and TPK's were rampant when players were foolish. In 5E, the artwork shows fearless superhero PC's leaping in where angels would fear to tread, and the system is built the same way- character creation becomes a hashwork of min-maxing and ability or feat stacking.
I never wore my fandom on my sleeve. Nobody was the wiser. This made getting through school far easier than those that wore their fandom on their sleeve.
Childhood is about learning to fit in with the community norms and keeping stuff outside the norms hidden. Think of the old secret societies. They wanted to deviate from the norm, so they kept it behind close doors. And no one was the wiser.
Childhood is about learning to fit in with the community norms and keeping stuff outside the norms hidden. Think of the old secret societies. They wanted to deviate from the norm, so they kept it behind close doors. And no one was the wiser.
Never had any issues. My GF's Dad is a Trekkie, and when she told him I'm a big fan apparently the first thing he asked is if I'm gonna make her wear a Star Trek uniform in bed.
He's a genius and it's on the things-to-do list
He's a genius and it's on the things-to-do list
I'm glad it worked out for you, but that's not something I was capable of as a child or teen. And on balance, I'm glad. As I mentioned, I met my best friend because of our shared love of Trek. I met my husband of 27 years, as well as many other friends, for the same reason. Obviously none of that would have happened if I hadn't worn my fandom on my sleeve. In my more mature years (age-wise anyway!), I've gotten quite shameless about the whole thing -- most of my coworkers know I'm spending this weekend at a Star Trek convention. I'm not doing anything wrong, so why keep it hidden?
Yup. I remember going into middle school wearing my Star Trek VI shirt with the Enterprise flying over Chancellor Gorkon's face and getting made fun of mercilessly. Same when the Scholastic bookfair rolled in and I bought the Star Trek VI novelization and one of my "friends" wrote "100% CRAP" on the inside.
Funnily enough, these same "friends" are the ones hitting me up now wondering if Strange New Worlds is good because they liked Anson Mount in Hell on Wheels
Funnily enough, these same "friends" are the ones hitting me up now wondering if Strange New Worlds is good because they liked Anson Mount in Hell on Wheels
Oddly enough no. I've no idea if anyone at my Jr, High or High School even knew what my interests were. I was content to watch and read SF , including comics and discuss them with my best friend who lived on the other side of state. I was the non athletic kid who people assumed was smart. (I wasn't, just well read)I Graduated HS in 1977, which was the start of a "Golden Age" of SF oriented media. So many great films coming. And by working in a bookstore I was drowning in a sea of SF Lit. By college I was part of of group of friends who were into Science Fiction in all forms. Some I met at the bookstore. There'd sometimes be ten or more of us in a packed movie house watching the latest release. Then off to a late dinner to discuss it.
I only got a little ribbing for drawing posters for the advent of Star Trek Online in Middle School and putting them up, around 2008. Ironically I wouldn't touch the game until 2021 ish.
For anything else...? Not really. But I'm a closed off individual anyway for most of it. I did get the 'He's not a nerd, he's a geek' (which is apparently better?) thing once in high school, but that's it.
For anything else...? Not really. But I'm a closed off individual anyway for most of it. I did get the 'He's not a nerd, he's a geek' (which is apparently better?) thing once in high school, but that's it.
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