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Stigma being a Stargate Fan (or fan of any Scifi really)

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    #16
    Originally posted by Dean Grr View Post
    The "stigma" I'm talking about is how, at least for me, scifi has been associated with shyness, being anti-social, living in a basement, etc. It can just as easily be associated with intelligence, creativity, high tech, internet startup success, etc.
    Personally, I think it has a lot to do with where you live and what kind of people you surround yourself with. I've never felt that sort of stigma even though I'm a big Stargate (SG-1) fan. I'm not much into Star Trek etc but there are other sci-fi shows I like. Some of my friends like them too, others don't. Most of my friends are intelligent, creative and some like gadgets others don't. None of them live in a basement though. Everyone here has internet and in this day and age you can hardly live without it, so people will be more stunned if you don't have it. Shyness is certainly not something that's associated with me, although I can be a bit anti-social but that's more because I can see fairly quickly if I click with someone or not; if not then I'm not going to bother unless I have to.

    There are lots of shows I enjoy and some of my friends enjoy the same ones, so we can discuss them without problems. But overall I don't just start talking about sci-fi or quoting from the show (it'd be a bit weird to suddenly start talking in English after all). If someone asks me what kind of things I'm into and what shows I like I'll happily share them and have never been ridiculed or something like that.

    My brother used to be very into Star Wars and introduced me to it as well when I was little kid. He had the movies, the cards, posters, a cardboard Darth Vader and C-3PO and little/large model spaceships. Sometimes we'd tease him for being a geek but he's very social, always had plenty of friends and is now a successful lawyer (his girlfriend didn't want the cardboard figures in their house though).

    So in short, I think it totally depends on how you act (people might think you're odd if you constantly quote lines or reenact scenes from TV shows - be that sci-fi or otherwise), where you live (people in the US seem to be more judgmental rather than a 'live and let live'-attitude for example) and what kind of people are in your life.


    EDIT:

    Just realized I forgot to mention age might be a factor too. These days sci-fi is more likely to be cool than stupid in younger generations. Just look at the Batman, Spiderman, Avenger etc movies that are made nowadays, while kids (and adults especially) used to be taunted about reading "comic books".
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      #17
      I think the "stigma" your talking about is when people think your "weird" I never got it with Stargate but when I told my HS buddies I was excited about Dragon Age Origins there were like "really" since they were into Call of Duty(I do play also but I personally love RPG's more) but they are still my friends and they don't attack me verbally or physically, but I do understand that its not true for everyone for some they get publicly humiliated and attacked because of their interests (which doesn't have to be Sci-fi specifically but anything that is not "mainstream") Just get use to the geek and nerd labels if your around jerks.
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        #18
        I can only speak from my experiences in the UK, but I find there's much less of a stigma attached to liking Stargate than there is Star Trek. I think amongst most social groups or workplaces you'll find someone who likes the show, maybe not a fan, but enjoys it at least. With Star Trek though, that has the nerd-alarmbells ringing straight away. I'm not sure you could admit to liking Star Trek to many people without having the piss ripped out of you

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          #19
          Originally posted by Dean Grr View Post
          The "stigma" I'm talking about is how, at least for me, scifi has been associated with shyness, being anti-social, living in a basement, etc. It can just as easily be associated with intelligence, creativity, high tech, internet startup success, etc.
          I guess I'm lucky in that most people I know make the second association rather than the first one. And really, the people who associate science fiction with that first group of qualities tend not to be the sort of people whose opinions I care much about anyway.

          Even if I did, I'd quickly prove their assumptions wrong. I've loved scifi since I was a little kid, and I'm neither shy nor anti-social, at all! Nor do I live in a basement...

          (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
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            #20
            Thanks everyone for posting, you have given me a lot of food for thought.

            You've reminded me that many people identify positively with Scifi: especially today, when working in high tech can mean Billion $ companies and some hot publicity, such as for Facebook, Google, Apple, etc. High tech is the new black!

            Unfortunately, I fit closer to the stigma I mentioned: at this point I could use some better social confidence. I'm closer to Radek Zelenka, than than say, Col. Sheppard from SGA. Also, I don't have a high income, so I can't say that I love Scifi and be associated with economic success. And I guess that's the focus of my thread, that it's what we associate with Scifi that creates a public impression. Many of you have said that you identify in a positive way, through work, friends, etc with Scifi, and I find that commendable, and a great way to live. - Dean

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              #21
              Originally posted by Dean Grr View Post
              I guess it's almost universal (only the Sith deal in absolutes ), that people want to be liked, accepted, socialize with ease. Socializing has not been my strong suit, and perhaps I've made the mistake that because I'm on a forum, and can jump into a thread, that posters would be a) tolerant and b) understand where I'm coming from. Perhaps Syfy and SGU are what I want to talk about, but no one's interested.
              Well, actually, there's something more about and around me. I'm not a lone wolf by birth. Bad experiences made me to what I'm now. The most time I don't recognize how I seem to appear to others (online and also RL). Some ask why I'm acting like I do, the most not.

              It's funny you use the word alien, because to some extent, scifi and especially Stargate, represent the desire for connection (i.e. via the Stargate) with "alien" peoples or worlds. I think that's where the stigma I talked about affects me, that the need for connection, and the fact I try to do so through the fascinating, multi-universe that scifi is, is not a connection I can make with those directly around me, and isolates and saddens me sometimes. Don't worry, I feel this way about the environment and eco problems in North America, too.
              Well, living as an artist in any times is always like you are an alien. Because you have other priorities, you see life in another way, touch it in another way, live it in another way. For others this is strange and weird behaviour and the most can't handle with it. When time goes by you begin to pretend you are not that alien that you are by birth . It's difficult to explain.

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                #22
                Originally posted by KEK View Post
                I can only speak from my experiences in the UK, but I find there's much less of a stigma attached to liking Stargate than there is Star Trek. I think amongst most social groups or workplaces you'll find someone who likes the show, maybe not a fan, but enjoys it at least. With Star Trek though, that has the nerd-alarmbells ringing straight away. I'm not sure you could admit to liking Star Trek to many people without having the piss ripped out of you
                I should note that I'm female, middle-aged, and live in the US. I've loved scifi since I was about 2 or 3 because that's when my dad started me watching the original Star Trek (which was still in production at the time). I was never bothered by the idea that people might think I was weird for liking Trek, maybe because people already thought I was a nerd for being intelligent or for being a tomboy or for any number of things. And in my teens I got involved in theatre; nearly everyone in theatre is a bit geeky around the edges anyway. The theatre folks were the same people I played D&D with and a lot of them shared my love of scifi. So do several of the people in the theatrical production I'm currently involved with, for that matter!

                I've managed to find lots of other female scifi fans, scifi writers (yes, I write in the genre too) and whatnot, so the "stigma" is never an issue for me and I actually have to be reminded that it exists.

                (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
                Sum, ergo scribo...

                My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
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                now also appearing on DeviantArt
                Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

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                  #23
                  i know many other sci-fi fans of both genders. my roommate and i both are trekies and are girls. i openly admit to being a sci-fi nerd, but if people don't like it than forget them .
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                    #24
                    I think the reason Stargate isn't seen as that nerdy in the UK is because it's in syndication on mainstream channels almost all the time. Right now for example, SGU is in syndication on Sky One, while SG-1 and SGA are both in syndication on Sky Two back to back, while Trek seems to be mainly filling up slots on the cheapo Freeview channels.

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                      #25
                      I think Stargate avoids being seen as nerdy, because there are relatable down-to-Earth characters. It also helps that stories are driven by drama and action rather than BS science talk that people today don't care to try to understand.

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                        #26
                        Great thread Dean. It does give a lot of food for thought. Gave me some things to think about as well. Thanks!

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                          #27
                          I really have no one in RL to talk Stargate or Sci Fi with.
                          It's why I come here.
                          I did have a long discussion with the clerk at Barnes and Noble when I bought Dr Who box set. we got to talking about that and then on to Stargate.
                          It was really great to talk to someone who had the same interest
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                            #28
                            There will always be a gap between those that like science fiction and those who don't, and those that like show A and those that don't.

                            Case in point: A few years ago I was discussing SG1 with a friend who had recently started watching it and wanted to know some of the back story. Another friend came over and asked us what we were discussing. I began to tell her and she cut me off with "Oh, that's science fiction. I hate science fiction." End of conversation.

                            The problem is that once you hit the "I hate..." statement there is nowhere for the discussion to go. Once a person has decided that they hate a subject, character, show, genre or whatever, there is very little you can do except agree to disagree and start talking about something else.
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                              #29
                              Originally posted by SeaBee View Post
                              Case in point: A few years ago I was discussing SG1 with a friend who had recently started watching it and wanted to know some of the back story. Another friend came over and asked us what we were discussing. I began to tell her and she cut me off with "Oh, that's science fiction. I hate science fiction." End of conversation.
                              At that point, the other person should have left so you could continue your conversation about Stargate. You shouldn't be expected to stop talking about it just because a third person interrupts and then says they hate scifi.

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                                #30
                                Originally posted by hedwig View Post
                                at that point, the other person should have left so you could continue your conversation about stargate. You shouldn't be expected to stop talking about it just because a third person interrupts and then says they hate scifi.
                                this!

                                (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
                                Sum, ergo scribo...

                                My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
                                sigpic
                                now also appearing on DeviantArt
                                Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

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