Do You Hide Your Hobby?

[megaman917]

I don't hide it. I only talk about it if someone brings anime up or if in a conversation, a point comes up where I could reference a scene from an anime to it, like, "yo, that reminds me of this anime called ____ where they did _____ also" or something along those lines. Or the other way around, I bring up a scene from an anime to talk about, etc.

x2

I'm more or less with the "don't ask don't tell" crowd, however I don't try to hide it. Unless I'm my friends from my anime club, it generally doesn't come up in conversations. My mom knows about my hobby, I told my dad once, and if anyone walks into my room they will not be able to avoid seeing my DVD collection.

[Super Shanko]

As for me, my family knows and its nothing, my one sister just gets annoyed when its time to go to the bookstore, i dont try to hide it or and have even had nice little conversation with cashiers when i go to buy my anime, which were men older than me.

[Sukunai]

Pas is in denial, and Scott Green's comment sounded more intelligent as far as I see it.

If you have to come up with reasons to hide something, or shunt attention away from something, or downplay the worth of something, then you've done more harm to that hobby than the persons that just don't know the hobby.

Does anime define me? No.
Astronomy defines me a shitload more than anything else. I just don't have any cool posters of Hubble images (likely need to fix that).

I'm a woodworker a lot more than most of anything else in my life. Pity I no longer have a workshop at my disposal. If I was rich, I'd be covered in sawdust 8 hours out of most days. The other hours of the day, I'd likely be making models in a corner of the shop resting from the 8 hours woodworking.

I'd sure as shit have some awesome anime babes on the walls in the workshop of course. Nothing hentai though, I doubt the wife would sanction that. Now if I was single, damn right, I'd have some of the sexiest anime possible up there

People like to talk a lot about what they believe in, but few have the actual balls to back up what they believe in. They take the easy way out, the path of least confrontation.

I like my hobbies, damn right I do. I'm plenty happy to talk about my hobbies, damn right I do. Got a problem with my hobbies? better make sure you express that lack of interest intelligently. I don't require everyone to like my hobbies, but I will definitely tell you what you can do with misconceptions.

The only reason I know as many people that share my interests, is because I share my interests willingly.

[Pas]

Pas is in denial

How so? I do recall being one of the people to not hide anime as a hobby, I was merely giving my insight into the matter. What exactly is it that I am denying?

Let's apply your reasoning into a different context here for a second. Just for example's sake, you watch hentai. Do you let all those around you know that you watch hentai? Does it come up in general conversation with your family?

No?

Does this mean that you are the problem? Is the fact that you are unwilling to let people know about your viewing interests make you damage the hobby more?

Back to my original point, some things are just not appropriate or comfortable topics of discussion. This by no means makes it wrong, and the person who hides it is also in no real position to be blamed or labeled.

Also, I'm not trying to start a flamefest in here, so don't take any offense because it is purely unintentional. I am seriously wanting to discuss this topic.

[8bit_samurai]

Back to my original point, some things are just not appropriate or comfortable topics of discussion. This by no means makes it wrong, and the person who hides it is also in no real position to be blamed or labeled.

I agree with Pas here. I think it all depends on how much interested you are in a hobby and how comfortable you are with other people viewing you with it. The more interests you show in it and the more support you have with people around you who has the similar interests the more you'd care less of what other people think. Otherwise being the only person who shows interests in something may label you as different. And if the interest is uncomfortably different to the majority, then more than likely you're gonna hide that interest until maybe you find someone with the same interest. That, of course, depends on how you feel about how other people think about you. Or something like that anyways.

[wurpess]

Back to my original point, some things are just not appropriate or comfortable topics of discussion. This by no means makes it wrong, and the person who hides it is also in no real position to be blamed or labeled.

I agree with Pas here. I think it all depends on how much interested you are in a hobby and how comfortable you are with other people viewing you with it. The more interests you show in it and the more support you have with people around you who has the similar interests the more you'd care less of what other people think. Otherwise being the only person who shows interests in something may label you as different. And if the interest is uncomfortably different to the majority, then more than likely you're gonna hide that interest until maybe you find someone with the same interest. That, of course, depends on how you feel about how other people think about you. Or something like that anyways.

I don't know if being different is really the issue. I think most of us here have dealt with being different to some degree or another, and being lableled as that weirdo nerd is nothing new. I think it's more how much of a hostile environment are you in, how much hassle you're willing to deal with for this, and/or how much you respect the [difference in] opinions of those around you. While some might be scared of labels and being made fun of, it seems like most people are just trying to avoid hostile and otherwise unwanted, unnecessary situations. I'm lucky enough to come from a pretty open-minded part of the country and have found a bf who shares the same hobbies as me and whose family also understands. Not everyone is that lucky. And so, yes, the pussies who are afraid of labels are just retarded and need to lighten up, those that need to hide it for "survival reasons", I think that is totally understandable.

[Sukunai]

Let's apply your reasoning into a different context here for a second. Just for example's sake, you watch hentai. Do you let all those around you know that you watch hentai? Does it come up in general conversation with your family?

Actually, this might surprise you, but, my family is quite aware I am not hung up in any way shape of form in matters of sex.

My wife and myself, we both practrice a belief that the human body is merely the human body. Call it a form of nudism I guess contained within the confines of my residence. My son is perfectly aware of what a naked female looks like for instance. If the day is %^&&#$@# hot, neither of us wears a damn thing in the house during the day.

I don't screw in front of my son, but then I never felt like watching old people screw when I was a kid either I'm just being nice to the lad eh (I ain't really all that great looking).

Hentai, my son knows I have porn, and that includes hentai. I'm fairly sure he knows I "relax" looking at it. He's been told flat out he can bring his girl friend over and screw the daylights out of her, just as long as he does it safely. But being that I doubt he could ever bring himself to be having sex and his parents totally aware he was getting some, I suspect he'll never indulge the privilege.
He's been told that "relaxing" isn't "wrong" and the only requirment, is he clean up after.

I've sat and gotten off right in front of the wife while she fiddled with it too.

You see guys, the truth is, I do NOT suffer from your hang ups, your worries your concerns. Not one iota. Get used to it, not all of us give a shit about negative stereotyping. Well that is to say, if you think saying wanking to naked images of Sailormoon makes me weird, well I think inhaling cyanide laced dead vegatation marks a person as being totally screwed in the head too.
And people that think consuming 24 or more beers each weekend just for the sake of it are also lacking a great many brain cells (that likely were killed off at any rate already).

"Back to my original point, some things are just not appropriate or comfortable topics of discussion."

There it is again. What makes it "not appropriate"?
What exactly makes it not appropriate?

[Sukunai]

For those that can't handle my frank honesty, put me on ignore, because I won't be considering your difficulties in dealing with it worth my caring eh.

[wurpess]

For those that can't handle my frank honesty, put me on ignore, because I won't be considering your difficulties in dealing with it worth my caring eh.

Yeah, I know, all those people who come from places where they could risk having their family turn their back on them, putting themselves in a hostile work/school environment, possibly getting verbally and physically abused walking down the street, and generally burning bridges they might need in the future, all because they're into anime, and they still decide to hide/downplay it. Horrible. What kinda of stupid excuses for people are they?

[Kevmaster]

Why hiding it? O.o It's not like it's something bad...If I'd take drugs or be an alocoholic..or if I'd watch horse porn, then I'd probably hide it, but it's not like being an anime-fan is a crime.