Turkey Braveheart said:
We've all seen/heard the stereotype of the fat, weak gamer or nerd. I'm wondering, is that close to the truth? I've been at both ends of the spectrum. At 17 I was 320 lbs, and two years later had dropped to just 207 lbs after a lot of hard work and strict diet. In the last year, I've gotten into weight lifting and lift at least four days a week. I'm very happy with the results (my posture, build) and plan to keep going. Before my big weight gain, I played hockey too.
How about you guys? Play any sports? Want to lose weight? And I'd be happy to give advice if you're looking to cut weight.
Oh yeah, it's true.
The thing about stereotypes is that people misunderstand them. They tend to think that because something is a stereotype that it means someone has to be a cookie cutter of everything that is part of that stereotype to match it. In reality a stereotype is like a checklist and you'll find that most people conform on more of those marks than they don't. What's more by not conforming to one stereotype you generally enter another one, which is not entirely a good thing. People rage against this, but it's the basis of things like sociology and advertising (and people make big bucks by targeting advertising professionally through understanding the formulas and all the subgroupsings of stereotypes).
The actual stereotype for the gamer nerd (which overlaps heavily with that of general fanboys and paper and pencil RPG nerds) is that they tend to be either massively obese, or painfully think. The defining characteristic is to not have a body build within normal parameters, and not in an attractive way. With video gamers, the stereotype is greatly weighted towards being too fat however.
At any rate, hang out at a Gamestop sometime and watch the people who come in and out, especially those who are apprently regulars (come in every week or so, know the workers, etc...) as opposed to casual visitors. You'll notice that they do tend to fit a general profile.
Now yes, you WILL find gamers who don't match that aspect of the stereotype, but if you go down the list of other features they will match most of them. If they don't, that means they aren't a gamer, but will probably fit another stereotype where a video gaming habit can be part of it (but I'm not going to go into it).
Understand that gamers currently occupy a fairly unique position socially where they tend to be both despised and worshipped at the same time. Gaming is popular enough where people can actually respect and envy a lot of the accomplishments of an actual gamer, but at the same time are unwilling to make the sacrifices to actually become one (or simply lack the obsession). There is sort of this desire to be a gamer, but without all of the side effects of that kind of unhealthy obsession. By definition that isn't possible though because to REALLY be a gamer isn't so much a matter of skill, but of putting ot before pretty much everything. Guys or girls that will tell you they are gamers or even "nerds", but manage to maintain a social life, have close friends, constantly work out and practice good hygiene, and similar things are not gamers by definition. See, the gamer winds up like that because all of the time that could be spent doing those other things is invested in his game(s) of choice, that's why he's always ahead of everyone in say World Of Warcraft or whatever. It's also why try as they might more "normal" people are always buying gold and stuff, becase they want to excel at the game, but don't want to put in that kind of committment. Some gamers will of course due to obsession both put in the time, and also do things like buy gold and do other things to keep a leg up to simply be that dominant, because again it's "gaming above anything".
Now, speaking for myself, I'm a complete physical wreck today. I'm fat, out of shape, always tired, and take tons of medication that makes things worse. I'm also not a gamer though, I do spend a lot of time gaming, but I'm more of a super-nerd. I'm in to all aspects of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other things. Gaming is an extension of those interests, and realy if it wasn't for the fantasy/horror/sci-fi type elements I'd have absolutly no interest at all. There is a whole stereotype for people like me (and it's hardly flattering) as we pretty much tend to become experts in almost everything that isn't practical, though hardly as specialized in our tastes or knowlege as gamers, weeaboos, comic fans, etc... pretty much "we" show how all of those things intersect by being right in the crossroads between them. As a result I've met/dealth with all varieties of nerds and geek subcultures and it's why I can rant about the differances. I'm pretty honest about it simply because I've come to the conclusion my life is pretty much over, this garbage is all I care about anymore in a very real way. It's what keeps me getting up in the morning as sad as that is.
