Salutations,
One of the side-effects of an increase in a site's popularity is the need to cater to a broader audience.
When SOHB first emerged from the primordial ooze, I had really no one to please but myself. Things have changed: It seems real, actual girls come here to read and chat(I mean it! honest to God girls with boobs and everything!)and while these dear ladies haven't complained about the nature of my "decorations", they have pointed out that perhaps the available eye-candy should reflect the diversity of the readers. Put simply--they wanted a little beefcake.
So I complied with this perfectly reasonable request. For one thing, I'm a notorious pushover(though I did draw the line at a request to feature pics of Adam Lambert). But more importantly, I consider women to be Nerddom's most precious natural resource. I'm serious as a heart attack here. The nerd community is overwhelmingly portrayed as a Boys' Club--a Sad, Lonely, Socially-Awkward Boys' Club. The more women we can get to openly celebrate their nerdity, and participate in the community without fear of social reprisal, the better our overall image becomes.
(And hey...BOOBS!)
Ergo, I'm perfectly happy to make SOHB as women-friendly as possible.
But it was more difficult than I expected.
I've always been secure and comfortable in my sexual identity--I have slight, mostly latent, homosexual tendencies. Not enough for me to qualify as Bi, or even Bi-Curious. I prefer the term "Straightish": The word "Straight" is in there, telling you where I'm coming from, but "ish" is added to imply...well, "wiggle room"(why does that sound so dirty?)
So I expected no problems whatsoever in selecting sufficiently pleasing male images for the blog. I asked my readers who they'd like to see, and proceeded forthwith to Google Images, and I'm embarrassed to say, I haven't been so uncomfortable in quite some time.
How would I choose? There are three possible strategies I could have employed:
First, there's The Introspective Method. That's where I look within and find that small part of myself that is attracted to men, and employ it in making my selection.
Here's where I get silly: What, wondered I, if I release this kernel of gayness, and after my mission is complete it refused to go quietly back into the depths of my psyche? WHAT IF IT TURNED ME GAY?!?!
Yeah, really fucking embarrassing. You can't turn yourself gay or not gay--and I feel really fucking stupid even explaining that. You folks are smarter than that. Whatever homosexuality is in me is as much a part of who I am as any other aspect of my personality--to fear it is to fear myself, and makes me no better than the hateful cretins I so often decry(often with no small amount of smug superiority).
Second, I could try The Sympathetic Method. Sort of a compromised version of The Introspective Method, except instead of judging by what I find atttractive, I attempt to put myself in the shoes of my female readers and imagine what they would find attractive.
Problems with this will probably occur to you immediately. Hell, if I knew anything about the fairer sex, would I be sitting here alone, writing blog posts at 1:00 am about attempting to gain the favor of women I'll never meet?
And finally, there's The Self-Delusional Method--the opposite of The Introspective Method. This strategy is simple: Since I'm very obviously a 100% All-Man Heterosexual, who has no concept of male attractiveness and is incapable of even conceptualizing how a woman could possibly find a man appealing, I'll just pick one or two completely at random. And if the chicks yammer about how the pics I put up aren't sufficiently sexy, then I've just proven my manhood! Hey, how'm I supposed to know when a dude's sexy--you callin' me a pansy or somethin'?
This method doesn't deserve any further discussion.
In the end I picked what I picked, and the readers have responded positively. Aesthetics are aesthetics, it 's no indicator of your sexual preference simply because you can recognize this. I suppose that's the message here(I have a message? What's up with that?)
Until next time, dearies!
Scootlehouse Rock
P.S. Threw in another pic, guess I was inspired--call it an educated guess.
