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Well, from a guys point of view they are kind of what you make of them. You get to choose your favorite, and within the confines of what you are given *in ways of description* and make them look however you want. For me, I get to choose my favorite person and do what I want with that character later on, like tour the setting with them, or just view them however I want. I dunno, I just like them, cause I live in books . . . .
Women do the same all the time, but it isn't expressed in the classic, nerdy fashion. Heroes, fictional or non-fictional, say something about the culture that brings them up and the individual that admires them.
My heroes (fictional and non-fictional): TE Lawrence, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen (the first martyr), Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Peter Sellers, The Savage, Jean Valjean, Captain Picard, Captain Kirk, Odysseus, Ender Wiggin, Mazer Rakham, Paul Atreides, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Burke, St. Augustine, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Nikola Tesla, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Sologdin, Paul (the apostle), CS Lewis, Mark Steyn, Bryan Rhode, Frank Castle, Walt Disney, The Brave Little Toaster, Jack the Giant Killer, Jason (of Jason and the Argonauts), and many, many others I assure you.
Judge me however you like, but the list says a lot about who I am and what values/qualities I admire even if they contradict each other. For a more modern example see Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
Some men I know take it to the extreme. I have a good friend who calls himself the wandering knight because he seeks to save people. Commendable, but I've always been the type who would like to further explore the meaning of things (keyword explore) and save people in so far as letting them sort their own lives out. Sure, I'll save a damsel in distress, but I don't go seeking damsels to save. I'd rather fight and die for a revolutionary ideal, or give something that will better serve the whole of humanity...come to think of it, maybe my list of names reflects that as well.
Either way, women do the same thing. Some choose men they would fantasize being with because they admire them so. I know one lady (a professor) who is probably in love with George Washington. Some choose women that reflect their highest ideals, hence the perennial fixation of women on all things Jane Austen.
At the end of the day though nerdy hero worship isn't their modus operandi simply because women tend to strive for a more supportive role. There is less to admire in a hero if you yourself do not seek to become one. Furthermore, what is there to admire in another lady who plays more of a supportive role? When men fantasize, they jealously desire a larger than life role they will likely never assume. Women are drawn to the same larger than life power, but not in the same sense. They wish to be the Princess Leia to the Han Solo, but that isn't really because of Princess Leia, it is because of Han Solo. Being Princess Leia isn't nearly as difficult a task (granted you have to be born into wealth as the orphaned daughter of a Queen and a psychopath with respiratory issues).
Say you wish to gender bend. I will bet my bottom dollar more men appreciate the exploits of Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth I than women.
My heroes (fictional and non-fictional): TE Lawrence, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen (the first martyr), Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Peter Sellers, The Savage, Jean Valjean, Captain Picard, Captain Kirk, Odysseus, Ender Wiggin, Mazer Rakham, Paul Atreides, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Burke, St. Augustine, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Nikola Tesla, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Dmitry Aleksandrovich Sologdin, Paul (the apostle), CS Lewis, Mark Steyn, Bryan Rhode, Frank Castle, Walt Disney, The Brave Little Toaster, Jack the Giant Killer, Jason (of Jason and the Argonauts), and many, many others I assure you.
Judge me however you like, but the list says a lot about who I am and what values/qualities I admire even if they contradict each other. For a more modern example see Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
Some men I know take it to the extreme. I have a good friend who calls himself the wandering knight because he seeks to save people. Commendable, but I've always been the type who would like to further explore the meaning of things (keyword explore) and save people in so far as letting them sort their own lives out. Sure, I'll save a damsel in distress, but I don't go seeking damsels to save. I'd rather fight and die for a revolutionary ideal, or give something that will better serve the whole of humanity...come to think of it, maybe my list of names reflects that as well.
Either way, women do the same thing. Some choose men they would fantasize being with because they admire them so. I know one lady (a professor) who is probably in love with George Washington. Some choose women that reflect their highest ideals, hence the perennial fixation of women on all things Jane Austen.
At the end of the day though nerdy hero worship isn't their modus operandi simply because women tend to strive for a more supportive role. There is less to admire in a hero if you yourself do not seek to become one. Furthermore, what is there to admire in another lady who plays more of a supportive role? When men fantasize, they jealously desire a larger than life role they will likely never assume. Women are drawn to the same larger than life power, but not in the same sense. They wish to be the Princess Leia to the Han Solo, but that isn't really because of Princess Leia, it is because of Han Solo. Being Princess Leia isn't nearly as difficult a task (granted you have to be born into wealth as the orphaned daughter of a Queen and a psychopath with respiratory issues).
Say you wish to gender bend. I will bet my bottom dollar more men appreciate the exploits of Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth I than women.
Agree... but we are idealists and we are drawn to such things as moths are drawn to light.
Its not how strong a hero is, its what he believes in that drives him and US to like him.
Some have shallower motives that seem more human and relatable to us, like Wolverine. Its rough to see what separates him from the bad guys some times but, thats why people Identify with him.
Whether its non-violence or protecting the innocent or supplanting tyranny, each hero represents a virtue that we identify with and long to espouse.
But there are other "heroes" that i know women Identify with. Take every woman's favorite movie, Pride and Predjudice. They love Elizabeth because she is immune to corruption and trusts her intuition. They love Mr. Darcy because he is genuine, humble (in his own way) willing to be vulnerable to help those he loves, for the sake of love itself.
Its not how strong a hero is, its what he believes in that drives him and US to like him.
Some have shallower motives that seem more human and relatable to us, like Wolverine. Its rough to see what separates him from the bad guys some times but, thats why people Identify with him.
Whether its non-violence or protecting the innocent or supplanting tyranny, each hero represents a virtue that we identify with and long to espouse.
But there are other "heroes" that i know women Identify with. Take every woman's favorite movie, Pride and Predjudice. They love Elizabeth because she is immune to corruption and trusts her intuition. They love Mr. Darcy because he is genuine, humble (in his own way) willing to be vulnerable to help those he loves, for the sake of love itself.
Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, and Wolverine are definitely up there among fictional characters that I like. A lot of it has to do with their avoidance of the typical superhero stereotypes which make their actions, drives, and decisions. Frank Castle fits here as well especially in the #Dirty Laundry short they did with thomas jane recently. Just for the most part average guys in extraordinary circumstances.
J
Speaking of which, one of the threads (about lingerie) was moved by popular request from one of the other forums to the ladies forum, and when I saw Nautilus' red t shirt/Ritter's black boxers remarks (posted before it was moved) I totally FREAKED! 
I thought something had happened to the server and the guys had broken in and read all of the secret codes! Seriously! (Lil christian is probably STILL laughing at me about this hahahahaha)
[And before anyone says anything, the suggestion to have a forum just for men has been in the suggestions forum more than once over the past few years and most of the guys who responded were against it. Unlike the ladies, they didn't feel anyone would actually post there on a regular basis]
I thought something had happened to the server and the guys had broken in and read all of the secret codes! Seriously! (Lil christian is probably STILL laughing at me about this hahahahaha)[And before anyone says anything, the suggestion to have a forum just for men has been in the suggestions forum more than once over the past few years and most of the guys who responded were against it. Unlike the ladies, they didn't feel anyone would actually post there on a regular basis]
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Speaking of which, one of the threads (about lingerie) was moved by popular request from one of the other forums to the ladies forum, and when I saw Nautilus' red t shirt/Ritter's black boxers remarks (posted before it was moved) I totally FREAKED! I thought something had happened to the server and the guys had broken in and read all of the secret codes! Seriously! (Lil christian is probably STILL laughing at me about this hahahahaha)
[And before anyone says anything, the suggestion to have a forum just for men has been in the suggestions forum more than once over the past few years and most of the guys who responded were against it. Unlike the ladies, they didn't feel anyone would actually post there on a regular basis]
I thought something had happened to the server and the guys had broken in and read all of the secret codes! Seriously! (Lil christian is probably STILL laughing at me about this hahahahaha)[And before anyone says anything, the suggestion to have a forum just for men has been in the suggestions forum more than once over the past few years and most of the guys who responded were against it. Unlike the ladies, they didn't feel anyone would actually post there on a regular basis]
*innocently whistles*
hahahahahaa yes I am! XD
Interesting that you say that; I agree completely. Feminists claim to support strong women, but when you look at the ideals of the heroes of feminism, all any of them seem to stand for is more feminism. Women who REALLY step up to the plate and take on a true leadership role are often demonized by the very people you would expect to be their ardent supporters.
