Pairing Meta: The Appeal of Snake/Otacon from Another Male Perspective

[technophile]

Pairing Meta: The Appeal of Snake/Otacon from Another Male PerspectiveThe characters are complex and interesting, especially together. And pretty hot. Especially together. For a variety of reasons like the sound of the silence between the echoes of each pristine droplet of falling rain in the Himalayas, each one different and unique in its

Comments

[outofmysystem87]

If you disagree with my theory, you are free to explain why on my thread about it.

Additionally, I never claimed that males and females have different modes of understanding reality. That is precisely a proposition I explicitly reject.

Generally, it is better to deal with something you disagree with by clamly explaining why, as opposed to using ridicule.

[soviet_cowboy]

LOL IF YOU THOUGHT THAT MEN AND WOMEN DID NOT THINK DIFFERENTLY, WHY DID YOU MAKE AN ESSAY FROM A MAN'S POV.

THIS IMPLIES WOMEN DO NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SEE THIS VIEWPOINT ON THEIR OWN.

FROM ONE MAN TO ANOTHER, GTFO.

[thatkindofguy]

I FUCKING LOVE YOU

[technophile]

exactly my point

[outofmysystem87]

I said men and women do not have any hardwired cognitive/psychological differences. They do, however, face different sets of social expectations. As ridiculous as these expectations are, the fact is that how they react to these different sets of expectations will differ, holding psychologies constant.

My theory was based upon the social expectations faced by males.

[soviet_cowboy]

Then you're in 100% the wrong place. We are here to read smut about say Ocelot and Snake, not read the horrifically boring exploits of your nerdy male bisexuality adventures. You missed your personal journal by a drop down menu.

[technophile]

I'm gonna hop in in whatshisname's defense -- I didn't find the essay misogynistic or anything but just -- really limiting/categorizing. Like -- "all male gamers are nerds that feel emasculated, so they like Snake/Otacon. Also, no girls are in the situation that these male nerds are in! It's a uniquely male feeling so girls wouldn't understand!" and it's kinda like, what?

If it had been "this is why -I- like Snake/Otacon" I don't think it'd have been so bad, but to apply that personal feeling with such a broad brush to include all male gamers (and exclude female ones) is what's ticking people off, I think

[technophile]

... ye-ah, okay, that part I have no idea wheretf all that even came from

IT PROBABLY HAD SOME POINT THAT GOT LOST SOMEWHERE IN THE THESAURUS-ESE

[outofmysystem87]

First, thankyou Technophile. I should add, I never, ever said "all male gamers" etc. etc. If you read not only the essay but the comments after it, I explicitly stated the essay was a tentative hypothesis with some explanatory power. I never said it applied to everyone, nor that it was the only explanation.

And I never said female gamers couldn't understand, at all. I simply did not speculate upon them. If I did, I'd probably be getting even more hate mail.

[technophile]

You don't have to actually say "all male gamers" to imply that you're talking about them. If you'd written an essay about "the life cycle of the giant swamp monkey," it'd be assumed that you meant all of them, as a category. Same deal with "the thought process of the fangirl" or "the fanboy gamer" or "radical feminists."

What even brought the idea into your head to try and speak for a group of people (presenting it as a foreign concept that the readers would necessarily not know) as opposed to just being like "hey here's a Snake/Otacon essay about why I like them"?

[outofmysystem87]

I'm sorry but I explicitly state that I am not attempting to imply that all members of the class are fully and exclusively explainable by my theory. If I state that explicitly, don't try looking for implications otherwise.

This isn't fiction. You judge non-fiction by its content. Look at what I say, including the qualifications that I place in the piece.

[outofmysystem87]

I am aware that it is often difficult to completely convey what I want to say without leaving any ambiguities. That's why I am always happy to answer questions and discuss/clarify the points I am making.

What does disappoint me is when people see implications that aren't there, and automatically misconstrue me without giving me an opportunity to explain.

[outofmysystem87]

If someone, when confronted with big words, thinks that the person who makes these words is somehow talking down to them, then that person is oversensitive.

The statement about radical feminism (which is not all feminism) was made in the context of explaining exactly what I mean by "emasculation of the Apollonian." As I said, some scholars think the intellect is considered masculine, I simply disagreed and explained why.

And the article was about a possible reason why some men, irrespective of sexual preference (mine is bi, but the theory applies independently of whether or not Snake and Otacon's relationship is depicted as sexual or nonsexual), find Snake and Otacon's relationship heartwarming.

Honestly, I was just proposing a theory. I had no idea this would create a fandom "wank" (I believe that's the term, correct me if I'm wrong).