Philisophical question on vintage appliance love/lust

[badgerdx]

So I assume the vast majority of users on this site are men (and a goodly percentage are gay... figured that one out, too)... so here's the question...

Many of the appliances we love: The washers, dishwashers, vacuums, etc etc were mostly designed by men, to be used by women. Often times marketed either directly to women, or "through the husband" to "delight the little home-maker"... (one ad, I remember, hinted that "with this machine, she'll have more energy at the end of the day...(wink wink)".

(I love the Christmas & mother's day advertisements, especially... "Oh honey, I didn't want that Tiffany ring and blue point mink: What I REALLY wanted was this new Maytag!")

WHERE does this love and fascination come from? Is it the combination of the masculine with the feminine? Many of the members do their own mechanical repairs and restorations (Hi Robert & Fred!) and yet laundry was traditionally in the realm of the female home-maker. Is it the lovely period styling of the MACHINE combined with the memories of mothers and grandmothers using them? The Yin and Yang, if you will? I was born in 68, but my love is of the machines from the 50's UNTIL my birth, really... Modern machines don't do it for me, but yet many of us LOVE the "glamour" of the Brady-bunch era push-button harvest gold wonders. Where does it come from?

Why do I feel I want to write a term paper on this? I eagerly look forward to your responses.

 

[retro-man]

Interesting thought here for a topic badgerdx.
My interest came as a very young boy that anything that was plugged into a wall outlet and had moving parts was always a mystery to me and i wanted to find out how it worked. This included toasters, blenders, vaccuums, washers dryers dishwashers mixers etc. Anything that broke or no longer worked properly was replaced and then the old ones were given to me to take apart and see the workings in it. One of my favorites were record players. Plugged in made movement and made music. I had the whole basement wired with speakers everywhere from a stereo that i had repaired. My parents were amazed at the sound from all over the ceilings downstairs. That started my fascination with appliances and such. That turned into automobile engines along with lawnmowers snowblowers and all types of gas combustion engines. The real topping to the cake for me was when my father would take me into work with him on the weekends. He worked for a transistor and capictor manufacture. They had these huge gas furnaces that had to bake the components that were fed by an assembly line type of machine. it was most facinating machine to watch. I would sit there for hours watching while he would take care of other tasks. He would also allow me to assist him in many home repairs and appliance repairs around the house so i guess thats where it comes from for me.
Jon

 

[tomturbomatic]

Jon, you would have loved the trips I made with my father to bottling plants with a bottle washer that was almost a block long and metal link conveyor belts carrying bottles through the whole bottling line. The pins that loaded the bottles into the cradles at one end of the "soaker" as they were called and then lowered them from the washer onto the conveyor were almost hypnotic. The way the bottles rose up on the circular filler and then through the capper was poetry in motion, like something out of the movie Modern Times. The conveyor line ran through open-topped boxes with a big wheel inside. This box was full of a soapy water solution for lubrication and the wheel forced the links under the water to lubricate the links thoroughly. The sound of all of this machinery operating was grand also.

I was initially drawn to the machinery in washers, the mechanical motion and the water movement of washers. Whenever the repairman came, I was looking to see what he was doing and asking lots of questions. Machines were as fascinating as a carnival ride and right there inside the house. From washers, the interest grew to other appliances as I encountered them. There is even something magical about the flow of electrons through the resistance coils of a heating element that impresses me. I, at times, wonder if there is something of an alien race in us from a place where people somehow were drawn to electricity for their life force. Maybe there have always been souls that loved mechanical things and we are the most recent incarnations. It's probably far more mundane like a step on the autism spectrum. Did you know that in regions of the country where there are fire ants they are drawn to electrical equipment like switch boxes? They are a big problem because they cause short circuits. At least we don't do that.

 

[bajaespuma]

Boys love toys

When I explain my fascination to intelligent people, people who aren't jumping to judgements or attitudes, what they usually say is something like, "Oh, just like some guys are into vintage cars".

 

The second or third time I heard that, I reflected and concluded that, gay or straight, boys like toys. To expand on that, I knew lots of male friends who developed an interest in cars because they stood by their fathers as they fixed or tinkered with the family car. My Father didn't do that; even though he was into lots of "guy" things like guns and war and tools, he couldn't have cared less about cars. What he DID do, because he had been in the signal corps in the army was work on electrical motors and circuits. Whenever the family Electrolux and sometimes the Filter-Flo broke, before he would call a service person, he would take them apart himself and fix them himself if he could and this was one of the rare arenas where I could spend creative, recreative time with my Dad and learn from watching him. Of course I started to appreciate and be fascinated by these machines. It was also one of the unusual areas where he became a more benevolent teacher. One of the best things he ever did for me, when he realized at a very early age that I was interested in bells and whistles is he took a piece of Masonite pegboard and installed all sorts of little lights, bells and buzzers that were all connected to a 9-volt D-cell battery. It is one of the biggest sadnesses and regrets of my life that during one move or another it was lost.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, I was attached to the hip of our "Help", an angel named Mae Gravett, who did the housework with me tagging along. I used to love watching her do the laundry and she would put me up on the sink and I would watch our BOL Whirlpool spin. I still remember the feeling of excited anticipation as the machine would do the neutral drain and then wait for the machine to decide to start spinning. Mae had a Timeline Norge in her own home and she took me to see it. Mae had been a neonatal nurse at Bellevue and my Father liked her and asked her to come take care of his two kids. Mae stayed with us until 1969 when she left to marry a very wealthy man named James Taylor and begin the life she should have had from the beginning. I started writing away for appliance brochures later that year.

 

Maybe being gay helps to overcome the inhibitions of fearing to appear "sissy" (since it's academic at this point)for an interest in what used to be called "women's work". There are people that persist in thinking that I'm more that a little strange for being interested in appliances. One of the joys of age is being able to look narrow minded people in the eye and tell them to go fuck themselves.

 

[akronman]

hmmmm

Interesting question. I'm into many things mechanical. My straight brothers and friends rely on me to tune up cars, do brake jobs, wire in new circuits, and install toilets and dishwashers. I rely on them for decorating advice, clothing choices, etc, yet I am quite the sissy bottom boi(old queen.)

On these washers and dryers, it started for me when I bought this 1916 home and wanted a daily use reliable stove to match its 1940's kitchen. A Chambers range was found and restored by me, and it just led to other vintage appliances. Also, some folks tinker in the garage on cars, some watch way to much TV(BF) and I tinker in my basement, the whole thing is a workroom. I do my own plumbing and wiring for all these washers and dryers, do all the repairs and restoration my self, and I am long over the standard ideas of Women's work versus men's work from my folks generation. I can my own jelly and jam, sew up curtians myself, dress terribly, can't decorate a room to save my soul, know all the recent Broadway hits and old Judy Garland movies, and change my car oil myself, jack or jackie of any trade I choose. The boyfriend is significantly more standard issue male.

And once I'm done with repairing and restoring 8 washers and 6 dryers, I surely enjoy every load of dirty clothes, I watch it all and have a fun basement evening, no computer or tv in front of me.

 

[jetcone]

Ken

my experience was very similar to yours. My earliest memories which were gone for awhile but came back when I was bar tending in Boston in the 80's.
I was 3-4 years old when my parents had moved to Schenectady and we lived in an apartment at the time. Dad had bought a 1956 GE washer for Mom and it was installed in the kitchen beside the stove. So what my mother used to do when she started making dinner was to put a soap box or my high chair up beside the washer and start a load. That way she could keep an eye on me in the same room while she made dinner on the stove beside me. I got hooked, she had her big white appliance and I had mine and we were both doing something together.
Fast forward to my bar tending years- I had forgotten all of this. One day my partner in crime, Gail, made plans that we would do our laundry early and go to the beach before work the next night. She told of this great laundromat that had these terrific machines that really cleaned! I told her Gail, a washer is a washer is a washer! She emphatically said no! So as waiter you tend to get very dirty pockets from moving all that change all day long and my pockets were filthy. Off we go and do the laundry and the 'mat was an all Frigidaire Jet Action one. We'll to my amazement all the change grime was gone from the pants! I was hooked because my mother was complaining bitterly about her 1970 Kenmore 70 machine. It was a beast! So I decided I would buy her a new Frigidaire. Unfortunately it was 1980 and they were no longer available. So that put me on the hunt for second hand machines and that put me onto repairing them. I got her one a 1963 Custom Imperial, and she loved it. But my friends started asking me for machines so I started buying up and restoring machines for them and in one month I made $1200! Which was a lot of moolah back in 1980! Thats when the memories started coming back. From there I started finding 1950's machines and then the flood gates opened so to speak.
As for tools I loved spending Sat mornings in the basement with Dad or really loved going to Montgomery Wards over in Albany to get something. So the tool thing I learned from him.[this post was last edited: 4/15/2012-12:06]

 

[thelaundrylab]

The Domination of Washing Machines!

This was originally posted April 2011 but I did a few amendments...

Many of you know that I was born partially deaf and as a toddler I was a naughty child, simply because of the stress of not being able to hear (I've been told). Before I got my first hearing aid, I use to scream and tear the house down. My Mother was desperate to find ways to calm me down, which she eventually found the solution and stuck me in front of the washing machine, when it was on.

I apparently use to lean my head on the side of the machine and listen to the machine spinning around. The vibration use to calm me down as I use to hum with it (bad idea, this went on for years, me humming randomly round the house lol) 

My Aunty (my father's sister) owned a launderette, my mum and I use to go and visit Aunty often. My memory on this is very vague though one thing I remember is My Aunty would give me coins to start the machines. Through out the years my Uncle's owned several launderette's and dry cleaners. Came in really handy when my family needed there dry cleaning done lol. My brother and I would visit regularly and at the age of 16 I worked at my uncle's Dry Cleaner's every Saturday for a few year's.  

So back in 1985 I got my hearing aid at the age of five and I was starting to hear...that same year Mum had got the Hotpoint 95260 "New Generation" Super Electronic De Luxe. At this point my love for washing machines grew more stronger because of the amazing sounds Hotpoint had made. Not only that, it was a comfort for me, listening and feeling the vibration of the machine working that my mother instigated.  

When I was age 7/8 years old, I started helping mum do the washing. I was fascinated how the machine worked from start to end. I use to read the manual like it was my "bible". I learn't what each programme and button's did etc and knew the machine inside out. 

I then started comparing my machine with other people's machine. I would rush to there kitchen and if the washing machine was on I would sit and watch, and learn the whole process of the machine from start to end. Also investigating other wash functions, ie the half load button's etc. 

In the 80s mail order catalogue's were big, everyone had them...I use to ask my family & friends, if I could tear out the pages from the Washing machine section's and collected them. (Shame now though after years of hard work, I ended up throwing them away, like most teenagers, you think to your self why would I need them for and thought it wasn't a cool thing to do. Wish I hadn't now...) 

Most of my secondary school years was designing washing machine's on the school computer. I even included washing machine's in my story's...In the last years of my schooling, I really wanted to design washing machine's or work within that industry. I was often encouraged by family and friends to learn how to rip a washing machine apart and put it back together again. But due to a number of disabilities, I am not really suppose to lift heavy things, so lifting a machine would have been impossible, other wise I would.  I was often told this would've been a great career path, but back then I wanted to become a lot of things... there wasn't much information within that area and the internet in the mid 90s was still very limited. It wasn't till years later, I decided to become a musician and actor and my interest on washing machine's became my hobby and as they say the rest is history.   

Hass 

 

 

[firedome]

Think there is definitely a gene

on the Y chromosome for all things mechanical and structural... (also electrical, for me): cars, boats, bridges, houses, bicycles, appliances, motorcycles, stereos, guns, if it moves, smokes, makes noise or does something cool, I'm into it. Dad was a Mechanical Engineer, so get it honestly. Design of things is fascinating: architecture, furniture, industrial design, how it looks is as important for cars and appliances as how it works. I do draw the line at high fashion however... I take great pleasure in dressing like a stereotypical old fashioned blue collar car mechanic/appliance repair flannel shirt and grease stained-pants type of guy. No designer jeans, tatoos or jewelry to be found anywhere around here, and I can't stand to wear a tie!

 

[bertrum]

the gay question?

I can understand that most of the people on this forum are men as alot of us men have been brought up with mechanical / electrical repairs from our fathers or schools.

I cannot understand why an interest in appliances should attract a high percentage of gay men than any other mechanical or electrical hobby?,

Very interested in any ideas as to why this should be?

 

[arbilab]

anything that was plugged into a wall outlet and had moving parts was always a mystery to me and i wanted to find out how it worked
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Zackly. Plus when you're talking about a slantfront Westy, it's an action adventure. "How far across the floor is it going to dance this time?" Then it would unspring its snubbers and not work. HAH! Your feeble mechanics are no match for the power of ARBI! Now get on with it and make it snappy.

I was 9. TV hadn't discovered kids yet. The Westy was the most interesting thing in the house to watch. Summers, I spent much more time building mud dams in the creek across the street. Never lost my love for complex machinery. In the 80s I was master of the most complex piece of broadcast machinery ever made, the $1/2M Ampex ACR-25. Made the Westy look like a cup of tea with a spoon in it. But hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

What any of that has to do with gender preference, I dunno. I mean, women don't LIKE washing machines (statistically) much less understand them. Boys are SUPPOSED to like machinery. I did. I just happened to like boys too.

 

[swestoyz]

GTO's and Frigidaires

I wrote this a few months ago in response to a member rebuilding his Whirlpool, but it fits quite well within this thread....

GTO's and Frigidaires
The honesty of the hobby –

This past weekend I held a gathering at my place, with about 15 or so people passing through the front door throughout the evening. One of the highlights is always the basement as it is the most hyped up point as past visitors always make their friends privy of the basement before visiting.

Once folks get downstairs, they love the panel lights, the different colors, and can always respect the history and memories provided by any vintage appliance. People grew up with their mothers or grandmothers using a conventional Maytag, or a belt-drive Whirlpool, or their aunt had a fun coppertone refrigerator in the kitchen.

Once the glitter and glam wears away, the conversation quickly turns back to me and the question is always – why? Why do I collect appliances? And the answer always comes back to – GTO’s.

I explain that I grew up turning wrenches with my father in the garage. My dad raced a 1970 Buick on the weekends, and would drag me along and taught me how to work on cars. Eventually as I progressed through high school and college, I was buying old beat up cars and dreaming of restored GTO’s and Firebird’s. I quickly realized though that the cars I admired were out of reach for a poor college student, but knew someday I would enjoy them again once I had an established career.

By pure luck a good friend ran across AW.org weeks after it went live in 2004 and told me I had to check it out. Besides Pontiacs I had also collected anything vintage that looked fun. It didn’t take long for me to remember playing with my mother’s center dial Maytag, and her nagging about leaving it alone while I was opening up the lid just enough to see what it was doing.

Appliances quickly replaced automobiles – they have motors, transmissions, water pumps, electrical components, suspensions. Everything a car has but in a small, convenient box that can be stored in a basement. Plus you could have many vintage appliances in a smaller space for pennies compared to a vintage GTO. Few people let others drive their vintage cars, but who cares if others wash their laundry in a vintage washer! I was able to get my hands dirty again and enjoyed seeing something come alive from the dead.

The morale of the story is, I was lucky to have been born into a house where my dad taught me how to troubleshoot and work on old cars. If you are mechanically inclined but have not worked on a washer, and while rebuilding a belt-drive Whirlpool/Kenmore is a large task, it is certainly no more difficult than say rebuilding a GM Turbo Hydramatic 400 transmission out of a 1970 Chevelle. Yes you’ll need to acquire service literature, replacement parts, and the proper tools to complete the task – but it is achievable.

If you are not mechanically inclined and find a task like this to be completely overwhelming, then vintage appliances may not be the right hobby unless you have the resources (aka CASH) and are able find a reputable repair agency who can find the parts and would even touch an old machine like a BD Whirlpool.

This isn’t intended to discourage your from perusing your dream of owning a vintage appliance, but meant to put a perspective about the depth of the hobby. We are all here to enjoy watching these machines work, and some of us are willing to get our hands dirty and learn something along the way.

Ben

fixing 1966 Whirlpool

Hey does anyone know where I can get parts for repairing these older belt drive machines? If I could get parts I think I could fix this thing my self. Can you still get most of these parts through appliance parts places these days? Any help would be appriciated.. thanks

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[applianceguy47]

Escapism.

I tend to have an escapist mentality.

 

I didn't have the best childhood and in my early teens several things happened, all at once, that left permanent damage.  It really set me back and has cost me in almost every area of my life.  It took me years, decades to get to the point of living a "normal" life.   Suicide is what pushed me to get the help that helped me see how bad things were for me.  I'm better than ever now, but I'm 45. Though I may look like I'm in my 30s, mentally, I feel 75.  Major stress and is not something I can handle anymore.

 

Appliances were these, quiet, non-judgemental boxes that represented another world.  A safe world I could go to and be a part of.   And they were flexible.  I could improve them and make my mark.  I could fix them, change them, upgrade them.  And still not be judged, regardless the outcome. 

 

I remember, when I started refurbishing appliances in 1982, anticipating what type person would have owned my current find.

 

A grimey white Bol, washer, caked with hard water, lint, and scratched and dented was surely not from a good home.  

 

A clean, colored appliance with only a minor service  issue was from that quaint cape cod house, on the way downtown. 

 

The 70s hoover found at the Goodwill, without any attachments, but in pretty good shape,  well...  MOL.

 

What snooty neighborhood did that matched, nearly TOL, almond Whirlpool SET come from.  It even still has the plastic owners manual holder on the back.  Oh, and the dryer works.   Well.

 

It's funny, looking back, those quiet, uni-purpose machines, even with their design flaws, outdated features, mechanical problems, or owner inflicted damages,  seemed more real... than I felt.   

 

When I found Roberts site in 2002, it was validating. 

 

I no longer collect, though I have had at least 300 major appliances pass through my hands.  At one point I had collected a little over 70 (2002), and in record time.  I had a collection from 1982 to 1985, 1995, and 2002.  With arthritis in my hands and having suffered frost bite in my hands, arms, and feet, I doubt I will be collecting again. 

 

I no longer need the physical machines.  I also aim to not be so materialistic.

 

[stan]

Hi Bob

This has been a very thought provoking question ! And thought you would have had more responses by now, than you've had, and thought someone would have had "THE" answer?

I'm not sure if you feel you have gotten a definitive answer, and I'm not sure if there is one! but the phenomena EXISTS dosen't it!

I know for myself it has mostly been functional items that capture my attention, I've been in a consignment store on occasion, and been in front of the tool section, and been attracted to the really old screwdriver set, or vintage power drill, not the newer one???

It may be that most (not all) gay men have some innate appreciation for quality... be that Art, or "The Arts" clothes, vintage cars, furniture, food, wine, or, in this case... appliances! LOL. That appreciation may come in different forms, based on the individual, and their life experiences.

Also there is "The Rescue" we've seen it hundreds of times here on the forum, the "rescued" washer or blender, going unnoticed, set out somewhere that no one wants. Most (again not all) gay men have had to rescue themselves, emotionally or physically, in order to live.
" Get busy living, or get busy dyeing"
So it's not a stretch for us to "rescue' and protect something that we see as worthy, something we call "quality" The engineering, styling, reliability, and most times, superior in "function" standing out, to us, in our ever increasing throw away society. Some of the restorations have been what you might call acts of love! Do you see where I'm going here?

I don't know if you realize the importance of your question, but I think I do... just don't have THE answer either?
I do think it's an excellent topic for a term paper, and I hope someone can put their finger on just exactly what the philosophical answer might be! So I'll be waiting LOL

If you do write something, be sure to share it with us!

Best to All
Stan

 

[kevin313]

Bob,
You pose a very interesting question - one I haven't thought much about until now. What is the facination with all these old machines? Reading other members' postings, it looks like reason for this facination differs from person to person, but in many cases it is something that started in childhood. It stands to resaon that our early life experiences help shape our adult interests. I know in my case, my attraction to electrical appliances and machines started as a child.

My love for these vintage appliances is two-fold: First, I am in love with the design of these things. The melding of form and function. The fact the someone spent so much time thinking about how something should look, what would make it seem stylish, modern, sturdy, fancy, etc. Today, things are white plastic, black plastic or maybe stainless steel. When you look at seemingly simple things from yesterday like a mixer, blender, toaster or vacuum, it is amazing how the designers transformed them into - in some cases - works of art. A stove, washing machine, or electric roaster can truly be "beautiful" - and who doesn't appreciate beautiful things (maybe more gay men appreciate and celebrate beauty more than straight men - but that's just a guess).

My second reason for loving these is this: my mom. She loved to cook and she loved tools that helped her cook. My earliest memories are of her in the kitchen with her Sunbeam Mixmaster, making a cake, or at our Norge stove getting dinner ready. She loved Crock Pots when they came out, she had one of the first Corning topped ranges, she had a Lifelong Proctor-Silex perculator that was all glass and lit up. Mom is gone now, but forever in my heart and these things that she loved I now love, and having them around me helps me to keep that connection with her spirit, her love of cooking and of life.

 

[franksdad]

d

 

[franksdad]

Sorry about the above deletion

My dad was not mechanically inclined.  He was a plumber until AR made him quit plumbing so he went to work as a carpetnter for a builder who built banks, churches, and small business buildings.  My brother, who was 18 years older than me knew my dad as a plumber and took up plumbing.  My dad was working as I carpenter when I was about 4 or 5  and I took up building and woodworking.  I loved going with my dad to hardware stores on Saturdays.  I had my own tool box and my dad was always bringing me scrap pieces of wood home so I could build birdhouses, doghouses, bookends, junk, whatever.    My brother-in-law, on the other hand, was truly a jack of all trades.  Roy could tear anything apart, washing machine, car, whatever, and fix it.  I was absolutely amazed at this repair ability.  Although amazed I never developed a keen interest mechanics.   But what truly fascinated me was standing on a stool in the kitchen and watching my mom's 1961 Lady Kenmore.  All my life whenever I need to go to my "happy place" I recall fond memories of my mom's 1961 and 1971 Lady Kenmores, going to Sears in Greenville (which had the very best Sears store) and checking out each and every one of their washers on display, helping my aunt do her laundry in her wringer washer, doing the family's laundry on Fridays during the summer when I was out of school, hanging the laundry on the line outside, and the smell of clothes that had been hung of the line. Up until I was 8 we lived in a neighborhood in Greenville where half of the kids I went to school with lived all around me.  We walked to school together, played together, and fought together.  When I was 8 we moved about 20 miles away into the country where there was no one around.  I no longer had any friends or playmates.  I was all alone.   Using the washing machine, I guess, became a game for me in some demented way.   I became obsessed with washing machines and I HAD to find out what kind of washing machine everyone in my family then everyone who's house I entered had.   I believe some folk receive joy from restoring a classic car or washing machine then there are us who receive joy from admiring and respecting classic cars or washing machines.   I also enjoy woodworking---not as much as I love washing machines, though. 

 

[wayupnorth]

I started the fascination of a washer as a very young kid. My mother had a Kenmore wringer in the basement next to a double concrete sink. My father had fashioned a swing off the rafters and I would sit there and watch my mother do the laundry. One time the phone rang and my mother instructed me to sit right in the swing. She was gone all of 2 minutes and in the meantime I got this bright idea to take my toy cars and trucks and throw them in the washer as it was running. Naturally it jammed up and the motor started smoking. Ma thought that would be a good excuse to get an automatic and I was always on the chair beside it in our kitchen watching every cycle. There were 2 girls that lived next door to us and they had a Wolverine automatic washer and I spent more time playing with it than they did. I loved taking things apart to see how they worked and eventually it progressed to cars also. But later in life I gained the appreciation of older things because they were not only nostalgic, but better made. I used to only want the biggest, newest and best but today I figure, the only one I need to impress is me.

 

[bwoods]

...and another theory

Good observation, Bob!

Appliance affection, and the desire to save and restore vintage machines, does seem to have a higher occurence rate in those who are somewhat to the left in the
homosexuality--heterosexuality spectrum. At least in my observation, and it sounds like in yours too, as well as many others on this site.

It seems as in today's society, we are being programmed to overlook reality and pretend there are no behavioral differences in cultures, races, sexes and sexual inclinations. Even the ones who are saying this, I suspect, really believe that there are. But they have been programed not to admit this as it is politically incorrect. In all fairness, I think one reason people are being programmed to ignore reality is they don't want to stereotype the individiual.

For example, men tend to be interested in mechanical things, "gay" or "straight". But I have known some highly masculine "straight" guys that couldn't repair a damaged plug on a lamp if their life depended on it. (really) I have known some "gays" guys who are more masculine than any "straight" guy I know and can pull an engine from a car and grind down the camshaft and make an engine purr.

So we should recognize general behavior of certain groups and not live in a fantasy world we make up, but we should also recognize there are exceptions, and many of them.

So now with my theory, Bob.

In general men tend to be attracted to mechanical things and technology, I do believe its in our genes, hehe. Those who have been raised with their fathers may have this innate tendancy developed and honed by watching and assisting.

Those who are on the left of the homosexuality/heterosexual spectrum tend to be more emotionally sensistive and often a little more emotionally attached to their mothers (when raised with one).

So here is this innate interest in mechanics, engineering, technology, etc. Here we have these devices in our homes that are a practical product of mechanics and engineering. So they interest us initially anyway, but we also see these devices
used by our mothers day in and day out. They help them and make life easier for them, Since we love our mothers (or aunt, or grandmother) and we see something we are attracted to anyway, make there lives better and easierm it further develops that attraction into a bonding.

By the same token, those who are particularly close to there father (oftentimes someone more to the right on the homosexual/heterosexual spectrum) may develop this bonding with tools, machinery, etc. that their father (uncle, grandfather) uses and makes there life better Sometimes working on a car is a pleasant escape for a dad and the child sees this makes their dad happy. Something that makes their dad happy and they have a natural attraction to anyway may also cause them to bond with it. And a "straight" guy might emotionally bond with autos by the same manner in which a "gay" guy might emotionally bond with an appliance.

OK, so that's my Theory on the Philosphy of "Gay Appliance Bonding", Bob.

Remember,this is a generalization. We have some women on this site who have a fantastic handle on appliance technology, too, and yes, seem quite bonded to appliances.

 

[philr]

That's a good thread, it's been a subject of conversation with a friend of mine a few times!
I know I had an interest in appliances (big and small!), cars, radios, clocks, typewriters, mechanical watches, lawnmowers, outboard motors and almost everything that made sound, movement or had lights in it! (It was better if it had all of this!). I couldn't care less playing with other kids and didn't want to go to school either!

Neither my parents cared about cars or appliances or any of these things. As long as they are working, it's fine and they certainly didn't attempt any repair... But they certainly did notice I liked them because they were buying me a toy washing machine, battery-powered toy vacuum, lawnmower... But I didn't have too much interest in toys, I wanted the real things!

I did have some friends but, unlike most, I didn't like sports, or playing with transformers or GI Joes or video games...

As a kid, I never made the distinction about appliances being for girls or cars for boys... To me, they were all interesting machines!

As I began collecting appliances, I had no idea about it being related to being gay or not! I'm not gay and I know a few gay people who probably think I'm weird collecting this stuff! And as I think about it, there are also a lot of gays that collect old radios and old cars too... I noticed it after people I was used to talk to on a car forum did a coming out as being gay in a thread! I also bought vintage radios to a few persons and I realized quite a few were gay. A friend of mine who's a member of this board had an explanation for that. He thinks it's probably related to the fact that gay people often have more time for that, as many of them don't have kids so they may have more time and money for themselves and they're probably not embarrassed by the stereotypical "appliances are for girls" thing... He's probably right!
I don't have kids and I'm not embarrassed by many things in life (other than my look because I'm quite fat and I'm not too proud of that!) so that probably explains it for me!