10/11/05 is National Coming Out Day....

[Versatronic]

Retrosexuals

It's OK foraloysius, we'll keep this at a PG level. And what are you doing out of bed at this hour?

There's the whole Metrosexual and Ubersexual thing which is well documented. Retrosexual is a word that I made up that would describe, well, a lot of the people here. But I came up with the word a couple of years ago. I had my first party in the new digs and my friend Melissa brought along two of her dearest friends, Barry and Tom from Baltimore. They were in complete awe in the bachelor pad surroundings. These two guys looked like they came straight out of the '50s. One of my best friend's wife said "Great get-up guys. Perfect for this party". And they just looked confused. This is the way these guys always dressed. This was my first encounter with this type of situation. Two guys living together, trying to set up and recreate a idealistic '50s era living arrangement. Obviously, they had a fondness for the era and pined for simplicity and values of that era. They detested the way our country had moved away from the optimism and quality of the era and became what it is today. And look at the threads here. What do you miss most? Department stores, etc. etc. People want to go back to an era of optimism, of quality products, of wholesomeness, of stylishness, of innovation.

This whole website is permeated with that thinking and filled with Retrosexuals. But that's where the whole intriguing part of this comes into play and this is where we get into dangerous territory. And this is what really puzzles me. There's an inherit dichotomy in pining for the good things of the past and wanting to recreate it or preserve it and intellectually considering yourselves "progressive" and wanting everything to change, including the things unique to America that actually were the stimulus for all these good things to happen. I can't rationalize that to myself and I'm still trying to understand that mindset. It inherently doesn't make sense to me and puzzles me.

But, dear friends, even though I joke around a lot, I'm serious right now, and I'm asking you for a favor. Let's not discuss it here. Please. Just consider it something to think about privately. And I know that I'll be hosting some of you in the bachelor pad in the future and maybe we can discuss and I'll be able to understand this better. Or, if you think you have thought this through and do understand and can explain it, then you can email me and perhaps I'll be enlightened.

 

[bostonwash]

the younger people

Oh yes:

"May I remind you of the younger people lurking on this site?"

In our age of Britney 'Spheres' and Will & Grace, we wouldn't want to offend any 17 y.o. with humor from a 30 or 40+ y.o.s backround. Heavens. The courts are so busy indicting the bush crime sydicate for ALL their unAmerican behavior in the white house, I don't think we need to worry about off-color jokes here.

But it is worth noting that there are those of us here who at least put up the illusion of pointless prudence. I'm not one of those people.

 

[bostonwash]

This is a washing machine appliance group

I don't want to seem like We shouldn't respect the structure of this group though. We are here mainly for the enjoyment of appliances. And I will do my best to try and stick mainly to that topic~

 

[dalangdon]

I, for one, would have no interest in returning to the 1950's, as much as I like the design of that era. No interest in the racism, homophobia, sexism and the bland conformity of that time (although we still have plenty of bland conformity to go around today)

But I will say this for that era: A lot of progressive thought emerged from that stifling morass that began (roughly) with McCarthyism and ended (again, roughly) with JFK's assassination. The pioneers of that era (Rosa Parks, MLK, Charles Eames, Harvey Earl, etc, etc, etc) helped mold the positive changes that we see today, where people are more free to be themselves. Some may call it libertine, or "decayed morals", but I think it's just a more realistic approach to living. You can pound all you want, but some pegs just don't fit into some holes (and I don't mean that in a sexual sense ;-)

A lot of the things we miss from that era (quality products, design innovation, good service, common courtesy) still exist, but the business interests that run this country have no interest in promoting it. The emphasis is much more on consumerism strictly for the sake of consumerism. Simple-minded, sound-byte driven politics of division are employed to keep us distracted from the real issues of the time. In the big picture, who sleeps with who is not important - who is ruining the environment and looting the nation's wealth is.

I agree that this is not exactly the forum for this kind of discussion, but it's something I think about a lot. Through the years, people have compared my "decor" to being "Just like Grandma's house", and I have had people ask me if it is just an escape from modern life. To me, it's not - it's an appreciation of a certain optimism that was itself a rejection of the dreariness and deprivation of the Great Depression and the War Years. A "synergy", if you will, of American ingenuity and manufacturing might, with the innovation of designers from around the world. A hope that things might be better for humanity, not just for the individual. The design of that era reflects those values, and represents some of the best of human intellect and aspiration, which is why it holds up well even today.

So I live very much in the present, but like having timeless pieces around to inspire and comfort me.

 

[whirlcool]

And Now We Have...

(quality products, design innovation, good service, common courtesy) still exist, but the business interests that run this country have no interest in promoting it.....

No, nowadays the focus is on how to get the maximum return to the stockholder at the lowest possible cost. (Faster, Better, Cheaper rules the boardrooms.) With this type of thinking, there is no room for the human equation, hence layoffs and poor morale.

And now we are getting the latest set of college grads who have been trained in the thinking of the more ruthless you get the better off you will be.

 

[petek]

Frank, take me home I'm getting a headache LOL

In most respects I find discussions like this thread to be quite enlightening and advantageous to the group as a whole. I don't believe that by censoring or stiffling discussion on the premise that "youngsters" are lurking is a good idea. That doesn't mean either that blatantly graphic innuendo and word play about intimate sex acts or genitalia needs to be peppered throughout the conversation whereas harmless off-color jocularity, gay or straight or whatever is and has always been a part of mainstream conversations and discussions.
Lastly, if any youngster below the age of consent is lurking here their parents should know what they're looking at and make the decision for them if it should be out of bounds. I know, easier said than done, but you can't police the worlds children and I suspect most are pressing the "I'm 18" button on many an adult website anyways. I know I would have..LOL

 

[rickr]

Lots of wisdom at *Grandmas House*

Dan, I so agree with you! I have felt the same way for years!I do hope that everyone takes the time to read your post and think about what it really is saying.

BTW: LOVE your fun website!

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Beyond sexual orientation stereotypes....

which are one thing, I find just male/female stereotypes interesting, sometimes infuriating, regardless of sexual interests.

I'm as straight as they come but so many of the traditional "guys" interests have no appeal to me.

I went to one hockey game in my life, and one football game with my dad. I remember during it I was thinking how cold it was and that I would rather be playing with my Smash Up Derby set. My dad was never pushy about getting me into sports either, and I am glad of that. I remember some of my friends distinctly were not into Little League, but went because of their dad. I have no interest in "cocktails" with the "guys at work". Golf is fun maybe once in five years. I don't like a "good cigar". I love photography and filmmaking. I love arranging things, buying fine things, fine dining, furnishings, clothing (although I am TOO casual sometimes). On the other side of the ledger, I love hot cars, nice legs on women, good action movies, aircraft, air shows, lifting weights and working the body bag, cycling on vintage bikes, ANYTHING with an engine or motor on it, and many typical "male" hobbies.

In high school, I was the "hot rod" guy, but I wasn't a service station lifer either. Didn't quite fit that mold. Didn't quite fit any mold.

My first marriage my ewife always had this insinuation to my suggestions that I had no idea how to decorate. When we divorced people always remarked how nice I dressed and furnished my then-townhouse. Yeah, guess I got taste in 90 days.

Here's a stereotype for you. A few months ago my wife and I returned a pan to one of those high end gourmet stores in the mall (hate the "mall"). The sales woman, one of those late 30s/early 40s "power women" types starts talking to my wife. I showed her the pan and the fact that the non stick surface was peeling away. She curtly told me that this was because it was cooked on too high a heat, then went back to talking to my wife. The inference was obvious--my wife does the cooking and I must have RUINED the pan when I decided to do something stupid like cook burgers for the guys during the game. I had to interrupt her to tell her that my WIFE does not buy the cookware and that I do most of the cooking. She looked at me like I was invading some holy turf. Similar to the you gotta be kidding look I get from guys when they ask me if I saw the "game" and I tell them that I don't even know what "season" it is.

Fun events:

--When my wife and I realized that we hated the current "floral" offerings of all new dishware and decided to standardize on New Fiesta

--Going to Palm Springs and oogling at the high end vintage stores

--Driving my 440 Super Bee, Ebaying Franciscan Starburst, enjoying my Eldon Slot Cars and flying RC planes with my son all on the same weekend.

--Coming here and enjoying all the different attitudes, opinions and interests, knowing that we are all bound by fine tastes, open minds, and hearty interests in the good things in life.

 

[Versatronic]

So eloquent

Wow, great reading. Thanks guys.

 

[mayken4now]

You aint gonna live forever

Oops, Was 10-11-2005 National coming out day? I missed it again! Shucks--....! Guess I will have to hide another year. WAIT WAIT WAIT, I am almost 44 yo, hum...................................

Steve

 

[Designgeek]

Retrosexual! Good neologism there. My interpretation of which would be: traditionally monogamous, homebody rather than out at clubs & bars, romantic rather than driven by sex only, tends toward vanilla rather than kinky, but might have a few basically harmless kinks, talks about sex using "warm & fuzzy" language rather than harsh vulgar language, etc.

Gay Agenda: Equal rights under law. Gee, that was simple, wasn't it?