What are the two scariest words a guy can ever say to a woman about himself? Ladies – come up with your list (April, you too.) Go ahead…I’ll wait.
Ready? OK – let’s see your answers.
Convicted felon? No.
Serial killer? No.
Child molester? No.
The two scariest words a guy can ever say to a woman?
STAR TREK.
Yes, I watch Star Trek. Last time I checked, that’s not a crime. It doesn’t make me a freak, an outcast, a degenerate or a loser. It makes me a fan of science fiction – THAT’S ALL.
So why is it that no matter how well I get along with a woman on a date, no matter how much time we spend out together, no matter how much we enjoy each other’s company, as soon as I mention that I like Star Trek, all that’s left of her is a woman shaped puff of smoke and a pair of flaming skid marks. And it’s not like I purposely bring it up – more often than not, I go out of my way NOT to talk about it. And why do I try not to mention it?
Because there’s this perception that all science fiction fans are freaks. Every time there’s a clip of convention coverage on the local news or shows like Entertainment Tonight, they always focus on the handful of fans that come in full costume and proceed to make them look like they’re the whole show, that every one who goes to a convention or is interested in Trek in any way MUST dress up in poorly made, bad fitting outfits with chunks of rubber glued to their faces.
Reality is that the ones that do that are the small minority – maybe 1 out of every 10,000. The problem is that the media isn’t interested in the normal people who go to conventions in jeans and a t-shirt. We don’t get ratings – the freaks do.
So, getting back to my issue – how do I fight the stereotype and perception that I have this “closet” side of me just because I’m a Trek fan? As I said, everything was going fine until I brought it up, then the whole relationship fell apart.
And don’t tell me to try to meet women at cons and such because 99.99% of them are already dating whoever they came to the con with. If all these other guys can find women who are open-minded towards sci-fi, why can’t I?
