{"id":3750,"date":"2016-02-08T12:00:09","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/?p=3750"},"modified":"2016-02-08T10:26:39","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T16:26:39","slug":"super-bowl-sexism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/backgroundprobability\/2016\/02\/08\/super-bowl-sexism\/","title":{"rendered":"Football, Fandom, and Feminism"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re an atheist or skeptic\u00a0there is good decent chance that you look upon sports with a certain highbrow disdain, mocking those who take it too seriously. Every year, on the verge of Super Bowl Sunday, I’m faced with a barrage of jokes from my freethinking friends demonstrating their hipster ironic ignorance, apathy, and\/or contempt for gridiron football<\/a>. I’m not entirely sure why people feel the need to do this, but probably it is some form of social signaling leftover from high school: I’m not one of those guys<\/em>, I’m one of these guys<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Personally, I would say that the most healthy attitude to adopt would be to let everyone have their own fun and not waste any time talking down other forms of recreation. My favorite meme on point directly compares geek fandom to football fanhood:<\/p>\n

\"1454941506218\"<\/p>\n

These folks get it. Everyone loves dressing up as their favorite on-screen character, which is why hotcakes wish they could fly off the shelves like replica\u00a0Peyton Manning jerseys. Once you start to see all the different fandoms as expressions of similar underlying human needs, you can let go of grade school rivalries and broaden your own horizons in the process. Some people who enjoyed the cheap beer and expensive commercials yesterday are planning to geek out on their next major sci-fi convention<\/a>\u00a0road trip, and that is okay.\u00a0We are allowed to inhabit different recreational spaces, or rather, we should be.<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone is willing to take a live-and-let-live approach to other folks’ idea of a good time. Consider the following five top voted<\/a> commercial spots, along with a small sampling of\u00a0the social media reaction thereto:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ih4VYnbm6Sw<\/p>\n

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.@Hyundai<\/a> you can do better. 'Women are bad drivers" is an outdated and ridiculous stereotype #NotBuyingIt<\/a> #SB50<\/a><\/p>\n

— Jennifer Siebel Newsom (@JenSiebelNewsom) February 8, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n