Just the other day I visited a local toy/collectable shop on my weekly "rounds". As the name implies, I am not new to this store nor it's owner as I am there every week (sometimes more often) scouting for items I want. This time I found something I wanted, and asked the store owner if he could pull it out so I could see it. His response was "... really?". Now, I let that slide as I understood that the item was very expensive ($150) so perhaps this comment was in response to someone being serious at purchasing such an expensive item, but when I responded "yes" he said "what are YOU going to do with it?".
Now, I'll admit that this isn't the first time I've been met with skepticism, shock or even passive-aggression when making a purchase from a comic/collectable store - however there seems to be a trend that I only elicit this kind of behavior when purchasing "toys" (using the categorical term here). When I go to Toys R Us and ask about certain figures, I'm always met with "How old is your son?" or if I shop at collectable stores when I'm out of the country I hear a lot of "trying to surprise your boyfriend?". Despite the variable assumptions, when I tell people "this is for me" i am ubiquitously met with first horror, then snide remarks. I can understand where main-stream individuals think my behaviour is uncalled for - I'm not engaging in the proscribed behaviors of my gender and am thus a threat to their lifestyles and the predictability therein. What really upsets me is that this behavior is being adopted by the sub-culture that is itself being marginalized, and what's more frustrating is a culture that usually dwells on themes of heroism, identity and social commentary!!!!!
I'm writing this journal because I want to hear from my watchers what they think about the issue; what do YOU think is the gender divide in the nerdom, and why?
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