I don't have time for thinking thoughts right now, or an ITIBHBITIRIY Exerpt
So here's the thing. I just spent the last couple of days writing up six thousand or so words on why I love hockey. I'm a gyno-american, so a lot of those words were from a girl's perspective. And I mean an actual GIRL - I was thirteen or so when I started watching - as well as the fact that I identify as female and chose the word "girl" to express that identification.
Many of the words i wrote involved the feelings I get in my pants about hockey and hockey players. Because, yes, I find hockey player types physically attractive, and some hockey players specifically attractive. Yes, I have often commented on the fashion choices of players. Yes, I get overly emotionally invested in the games and the calls and the players. (Though I don't think that's because I'm a girl, I think it's because I'm emotionally invested in my teams.) Yes, sometimes when watching sports, I will make a comment not directly related to the minute detail of exactly what has transpired on the ice / field / court / track / etc.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE THIS OKAY.
Not the fact that these people are doing this, THAT PART IS FINE. Enjoy what you want however you want for whatever reason you want. No one likes pink and sparkles and hair and make-up and being girly like I do. I'm HUGE into girl stuff. I'm huge into nascar and football and hockey, too. And you know what?
THAT IS OKAY.
Because I LOVE THESE THINGS.
The end. That's all that's required for me to be a Real Fan. I like it. I'm a fan of makeup because I LIKE WEARING MAKE-UP. Not because I need to be prettier. I'm a fan of pink because I think pink is pretty NOT BECAUSE I HAVE TO BECAUSE I HAVE A VAGINA. I'm a fan of hockey because I LIKE HOCKEY.
If, however, the only reason I like hockey is because Claude Giroux is adorbz? THAT IS ALSO OKAY. BUT IT IS NOT BECAUSE I AM A GIRL. IT IS BECAUSE CLAUDE GIROUX IS FUCKING ADORABLE.
It is also ok if people who like the sport FOR OTHER REASONS don't want to be my friend. I'm not friends with people who only watch RHONJ just because I love television. Not because they are doing it wrong, but because we clearly do not have the common points of interest that make a friendship.
And it is ok because that is what I like, not because I am a girl. That's where these jackholes get it WRONG WRONG SO WRONG. If you want to market to a ~non-traditional market? I AM ALL FOR IT. Because if the NHL makes money, then I get to experience it more. But fuck, market to a non-traditional market by ASKING THAT MARKET what they might want.
There are women hockey players. SOME OF THEM ARE VERY GOOD and probably know what is going on while also knowing things about having internal reproductive organs. PERHAPS THEY COULD HELP EXPAND THE MARKET.
Additionally, not all boys watch sports. I fact, the majority of male people in my life DO NOT watch sports. Aside from The Mr, I am THE BIGGEST sports nut I know. (And I think I outdo The Mr, too.) Not because or in spite of the fact that I am a woman, but because I LIKE SPORTS.
I'm just tired of people telling other people how to love what (who) they love or that they can only love a thing in a specific way. If you can watch, you can watch.
Many of the words i wrote involved the feelings I get in my pants about hockey and hockey players. Because, yes, I find hockey player types physically attractive, and some hockey players specifically attractive. Yes, I have often commented on the fashion choices of players. Yes, I get overly emotionally invested in the games and the calls and the players. (Though I don't think that's because I'm a girl, I think it's because I'm emotionally invested in my teams.) Yes, sometimes when watching sports, I will make a comment not directly related to the minute detail of exactly what has transpired on the ice / field / court / track / etc.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE THIS OKAY.
Not the fact that these people are doing this, THAT PART IS FINE. Enjoy what you want however you want for whatever reason you want. No one likes pink and sparkles and hair and make-up and being girly like I do. I'm HUGE into girl stuff. I'm huge into nascar and football and hockey, too. And you know what?
THAT IS OKAY.
Because I LOVE THESE THINGS.
The end. That's all that's required for me to be a Real Fan. I like it. I'm a fan of makeup because I LIKE WEARING MAKE-UP. Not because I need to be prettier. I'm a fan of pink because I think pink is pretty NOT BECAUSE I HAVE TO BECAUSE I HAVE A VAGINA. I'm a fan of hockey because I LIKE HOCKEY.
If, however, the only reason I like hockey is because Claude Giroux is adorbz? THAT IS ALSO OKAY. BUT IT IS NOT BECAUSE I AM A GIRL. IT IS BECAUSE CLAUDE GIROUX IS FUCKING ADORABLE.
It is also ok if people who like the sport FOR OTHER REASONS don't want to be my friend. I'm not friends with people who only watch RHONJ just because I love television. Not because they are doing it wrong, but because we clearly do not have the common points of interest that make a friendship.
And it is ok because that is what I like, not because I am a girl. That's where these jackholes get it WRONG WRONG SO WRONG. If you want to market to a ~non-traditional market? I AM ALL FOR IT. Because if the NHL makes money, then I get to experience it more. But fuck, market to a non-traditional market by ASKING THAT MARKET what they might want.
There are women hockey players. SOME OF THEM ARE VERY GOOD and probably know what is going on while also knowing things about having internal reproductive organs. PERHAPS THEY COULD HELP EXPAND THE MARKET.
Additionally, not all boys watch sports. I fact, the majority of male people in my life DO NOT watch sports. Aside from The Mr, I am THE BIGGEST sports nut I know. (And I think I outdo The Mr, too.) Not because or in spite of the fact that I am a woman, but because I LIKE SPORTS.
I'm just tired of people telling other people how to love what (who) they love or that they can only love a thing in a specific way. If you can watch, you can watch.