The definiton of a guilty pleasure is "something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Often, the "guilt" involved is simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt." (Thanks wikipedia).
I think in the case of nerd and geekdom, guilty pleasure works slightly different. In the general population, most people don't want to admit to liking obscure things. In the nerdy world, the more obscure and weird the interest is, the higher status of nerd you are, at least according to the uber nerds who feel that some nerd interests are worth more than others. I don't actually think this way, but I have noticed it in some communities.
Any example of this would be something main stream and accepted by the general audience. Batman is one of those things. You can like Batman and not be considered a nerd because Batman is so main stream with all its movie installments and cartoon series. You can be a Batman fan without even picking up a comic or trade. Batman is a house hold name.
But there are countless comic book heroes that are not.
So in our own reverse university, things that are obscure = cool. Liking main stream things, depending on what they are = not so cool.
I have a lot of guilty pleasures, and I don't mind sharing them with you at all. Maybe we can have a few laughs together. Maybe you'll feel comfortable enough to share yours. Remember though, it has to be something you wouldn't outright admit for the most part. There are a ton of things I love that I know aren't cool, but I am unashamedly into them, like unicorns. Damn I love unicorns. But some of this stuff, I wouldn't readily admit to my friends (except my bestie of course, she knows everything). Either way, let's get on with the show!
Little kid cartoons. I'm not talking Pokemon or Batman: The Brave and the Bold (though I love me some B:TBATB) which are generally directed to 8 and over. I'm talking about the cartoons meant for 5 year olds. It started in university when I was pulling all nighters. I couldn't find anything to watch except for this 24/7 children's programing channel. It had stuff on it like Dudley The Dragon, The Toy Castle, Ants in Your Pants, Bob the Builder and so forth. I would watch this starting at midnight and go all the way until 3 AM. I started watching it during the day. I sometimes still watch them, but the programming has changed. I'm not too big on Dara, Diego and the Backyardians which seem to be the big hits right now but every once and awhile, I turn it on and watch some of them.
Horrible catchy pop songs. When it comes to music, I don't really stick to one genre. If I hear something and I like it, I like it. Even if I don't like the artist, I don't care. I'm not really a fan of Katy Perry or Kesha but I do catch myself liking some of their songs. Not really into Lady Gaga but there's about 3-4 of her songs that I really like. I hate admitting that I sort of like that California Girls song. But there it is. Some pop stuff I enjoy.
Sleeping with stuffed animals. I know that collecting plushes really isn't a big deal with this community and I'm sure between all of us, we could open up a stuffed animal zoo, but at the age of 25 I still sleep with them. Not as many as I'd like because my bed isn't that big. When I was younger I would throw on all the stuffed animals I had, and in the morning they would have all fallen off. I have an insane amount of stuffed animals, and my mom and I keep adding onto my collection. I always sleep with my very first stuffed toy, a Cabbage Patch horse named "Rex" (My mom named him) that I got for my first Christmas. There's a picture of me somewhere with me getting him. Every night I tuck him between my arms before I fall asleep. I used to take him with me for over night stays elsewhere, but now that I'm older, and more scared to lose him now than anything, he stays at home. Even when I had boyfriends stay over, I'd have him with me. I admitted to one boyfriend before we shared a bed that I still did this and he rolled his eyes a bit. I don't really tell to many people about it IRL so that's what makes it a guilty pleasure. I also have a couple other horse plushes on the bed with me, and a giraffe.
That's really about it. It's actually a harder topic than I thought once I started writing. There's a ton of things I know are pretty lame, but I'm not ashamed of them. I'm not really ashamed of these either, but they can cause for some embarassing (and have in the past).
The Joltess... who is going to go to bed now, with Rex.
Weirdest Conversation EVER!
