Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

macs and gender/sexual preference

jefhatfield

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
the original imac has been called a girly computer or a gay computer

the original ibook has been called un-masculine and likened to a makeup case

resse whiterspoon, who played a carefree, california ditzy blond in "legally blond" sported a tangerine ibook in a sea of black wintels in her serious harvard law class

are we being typecasted as feminine? and is that a good or bad thing?

what do you think?

jef
proud blue collar owner of a blueberry ibook
 
to me...Macs are about having a bit of style...and not giving into to what everyone else is doing...about being "different"...we show that we like to be different and think different than everyone else...which is why, to me, many Mac users have more free spirited attitudes...generally speaking...

well that and having a more efficient workstation... ;)

but anyway...I don't think they are girly by any stretch...I have often wondered if the opposition has ever viewed the Apple logo (esp. the older "rainbow" logo) as being something of a homosexual nature?

I hope that does not offend anyone...

ps: almost forgot...proudly toting a TiBook...he he he :p
 
re: homosexual

since i finished college nearly a decade ago, i had two careers...medical field and techie work

if the gay men and women of the local hospital where i live were to be kicked out because of their sexual preference, we would lose at least half the nurses, our only cancer doctor, and our two military dentists who service the military bases in the area (one dentist, a colonel, was forced into early retirement since he also had a part time job as a drag queen and because of that, he did not make brigadier general that year) but he was a great dentist and he should have become a general but this was way before don't ask don't tell

if the openly gay men i have seen in the graphic design departments of two of my major clients left (one in silicon valley and one just south or the valley), the department would almost disappear overnight
 
btw - that gay cancer doctor saved my mom's life because she had a baseball sized malignant cancer growth in her breast

where i live, there is only one experienced oncologist...problems of living in an extremely rural area

our county is the size of a middle sized east coast state and we have maybe just over 100,000 people

he he...people i went to high school with still marry their first cousins and think nothing of it and the local rednecks (my nyc wife calls me a japanese-american redneck) get together and have wild parties, which i don't attend, cut down women and homosexuals, and give each other oral "favors" after a 12 pack pf coors each (true story right out of pulp fiction) and they attest to their macho beliefs

at the end of one of those parties, the wives have to go clean up the spilled beer, vomit, and that sticky white fluid which is all over the place

i hope i didn;t offend anybody, but this is the truth

fo figure:p
 
i guess my question would be, why does any of this matter? if someone doesn't like a notebook because it makes them question their sexuality, then that's a personal issue with themself. sexuality is not something i believe people should be categorized by. if you don't like the way it looks, don't buy it. if people want to think we are "gay" for owning stylish computers, that is just fine with me, as it is really none of their business anyways. so please excuse me, i'll be over here being "gay" with my iBook while you reboot your ugly windoze notebook.
 
Originally posted by sparkleytone
i guess my question would be, why does any of this matter? if someone doesn't like a notebook because it makes them question their sexuality, then that's a personal issue with themself. sexuality is not something i believe people should be categorized by. if you don't like the way it looks, don't buy it. if people want to think we are "gay" for owning stylish computers, that is just fine with me, as it is really none of their business anyways. so please excuse me, i'll be over here being "gay" with my iBook while you reboot your ugly windoze notebook.
Click to expand...


but rebooting, freezing, and crashing is so macho:p
 
As someone who's only been a Mac owner for a little over a year (G4 533) I have to say that I took to poo-pooing the Apple colour scheme in my WinTel days. Granted, my own box was a drab, grey block. But as pretty as the iMacs looked at school (the entire college was outfitted with purple iMacs - our school colours) I couldn't bring myself to buy one.

I loved the lines, the all-in-one design, and the Mac desktop reminded me of my grade school days. But I couldn't understand why Apple didn't offer a more "neutral" colour (see: SE & Snow iMacs). The colours didn't necessarily seem femmenine or gay to me - just frivolous. It's not like I'm only satisfied with black or white, but don't give me colours that seem to belong more on South Beach Miami that on my desk.

The G4 and the Ti and even the iPod are perfect examples of machines that are sexy yet sexless. Like a fine automobile, these machines have fluid lines, glossy finishes, and a "come-and-touch-me" design that's quietly incorperated into each one. They don't have to use loud colours to attract.
 
Originally posted by tfaz1
As someone who's only been a Mac owner for a little over a year (G4 533) I have to say that I took to poo-pooing the Apple colour scheme in my WinTel days. Granted, my own box was a drab, grey block. But as pretty as the iMacs looked at school (the entire college was outfitted with purple iMacs - our school colours) I couldn't bring myself to buy one.

I loved the lines, the all-in-one design, and the Mac desktop reminded me of my grade school days. But I couldn't understand why Apple didn't offer a more "neutral" colour (see: SE & Snow iMacs). The colours didn't necessarily seem femmenine or gay to me - just frivolous. It's not like I'm only satisfied with black or white, but don't give me colours that seem to belong more on South Beach Miami that on my desk.

The G4 and the Ti and even the iPod are perfect examples of machines that are sexy yet sexless. Like a fine automobile, these machines have fluid lines, glossy finishes, and a "come-and-touch-me" design that's quietly incorperated into each one. They don't have to use loud colours to attract.
Click to expand...

after the redneck construction workers had too much to drink, it also became "come and touch me"

oh, that is so bad...re: rural drunken parties i mentioned above
 
I agree...I think the TiBook is a beautiful computer system...sort of like an Italian sports car...smooth finish...lines well thought out...incredible performance...and a hefty price tag!

uh oh...I've brought up the whole car comparrison again!! :eek:

but aside from this...I honestly don't feel it gives a bit of weakness to one's sexuality to be a Mac lover...it shows that u don't have to get what the Jones' nextdoor have...the ability to think more for oneself...
 
I think the whole rainbow logo became taboo once the Gay Pride movement started using it as thei symbol. Besides the white logos go better with the current hardware (imagine a rainbow logo on the TiBook...blech).

I think the Mac platform lends itself to a more open expression of ideas and feelings. This freedom allows people to be comfortable expressing themselves...whether that means their sexual preferences or their views on how and when Bill Gates should die, that freedom is there.

I think the current Macs go beyond gender stereotypes...clean, simple lines and colors...androgynous even! :eek:
 
Originally posted by eyelikeart
I agree...I think the TiBook is a beautiful computer system...sort of like an Italian sports car...smooth finish...lines well thought out...incredible performance...and a hefty price tag!

uh oh...I've brought up the whole car comparrison again!! :eek:

Click to expand...

good comparison though.

i too think the way you fo about this.
 
The TiPB is just plain sexy, to men and women. You can't help but look at it and think its cool and a slick piece of tech. I'm always getting comments about the TiPB when someone sees it for the first time.
 
Rower_CPU

But could you imagine the Rainbow Apple logo on the Flower Power iMac...:eek:

Truely shocking.......
 
Re: Rower_CPU

Originally posted by iGAV
But could you imagine the Rainbow Apple logo on the Flower Power iMac...:eek:

Truely shocking.......
Click to expand...

But its probably been done. Not that there's anything wrong with that
 
Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I think the whole rainbow logo became taboo once the Gay Pride movement started using it as thei symbol. Besides the white logos go better with the current hardware (imagine a rainbow logo on the TiBook...blech).

I think the Mac platform lends itself to a more open expression of ideas and feelings. This freedom allows people to be comfortable expressing themselves...whether that means their sexual preferences or their views on how and when Bill Gates should die, that freedom is there.

I think the current Macs go beyond gender stereotypes...clean, simple lines and colors...androgynous even! :eek:
Click to expand...

First off, the Rainbow Flag was invented before Apple went to the rainbow, that I do know. I've always wondered just the tiniest bit if there was a connection, but all 3 founders are married, some of them many times over... I've got a history of Apple somewhere that says why they went to the 6-color logo, it's something rather boring I think...

Second, I'm all about knocking out gender roles, because I think human beings are starting to fight them. When I was a little boy, I was happier cross-stitching than playing football (God that makes me a fag lol)... I think it's nice Apple has made their products rather androgynous, I had always thought the original orange iBook a little faye, but our HS's most anti-gay macho guy got one and showed it off constantly. So I guess it's in the eye of the beholder.

Third, I'd like to thank everyone in this thread for being mature about this subject, in fact everyone on this site is very tolerant. It's nice I can mention little gay jokes or my partner without getting flamed off the face of the earth--
And yes I know too much talk about the subject can get annoying fast, but if there's no talk, if no one opens dialogues such as this one, gay people would still be closeted everywhere, have no rights... Eventually it'll simply be another part of life, but until then, I have a job to do :) (i'm an activist)

:)
pnw
 
Are you kidding? I don't think even Steve Jobs when he was tripping on acid would have OKed an aesthetically revolting color scheme as Flower Power + Rainbow Logo...it would be like a Jackson Pollock painting using only pastel neon colors with a brief interruption of brilliant primary and secondary colors...yech!!! :p
 
But its probably been done. Not that there's anything wrong with that
Click to expand...

Agreed.... but imagine what the rest of their house would be decorated like.:eek:
 
Originally posted by paulwhannel


First off, the Rainbow Flag was invented before Apple went to the rainbow, that I do know. I've always wondered just the tiniest bit if there was a connection, but all 3 founders are married, some of them many times over... I've got a history of Apple somewhere that says why they went to the 6-color logo, it's something rather boring I think...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info...when exactly did the Rainbow Flag come into existence/use as a GP symbol? I guess I never really saw much of it until '95 or so, so I assumed the Apple logo came first...
 
Those Rednecks

Originally posted by jefhatfield
he he...people i went to high school with still marry their first cousins and think nothing of it and the local rednecks (my nyc wife calls me a japanese-american redneck) get together and have wild parties, which i don't attend, cut down women and homosexuals, and give each other oral "favors" after a 12 pack pf coors each (true story right out of pulp fiction) and they attest to their macho beliefs

at the end of one of those parties, the wives have to go clean up the spilled beer, vomit, and that sticky white fluid which is all over the place
Click to expand...

*laughs*
I have pictures...

hehe sorry :)
pnw
 
(s)he comes in colors everywhere...

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


Thanks for the info...when exactly did the Rainbow Flag come into existence/use as a GP symbol? I guess I never really saw much of it until '95 or so, so I assumed the Apple logo came first...
Click to expand...

If memory serves me, it was invented for a rally in '78. But it didn't get recognized as an "official flag" until the late '80's, and took on widespread use in the early '90's. The meaning is rather obvious, that it represents a broad spectrum of peoples, technically each color has a representation and a meaning... But that's another story :)

pnw
 
In case you were wondering what this monstrosity would look like:


Truly frightening...<shudder>
 

Attachments

  • flowerrainbow.jpg
    flowerrainbow.jpg
    8.4 KB · Views: 511
I quite like it..... it would go great with my pink shagpile......:p

Actually....Rower this is really your machine isn't it...??? no one is that good in Photoshop..... :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back