# No-No:s for adult men **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093 "2011-03-26T22:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/81 "2011-03-28T01:26:19Z")
The Duke would be playing, _Super Marion._ ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/82 "2011-03-28T01:40:21Z")
What’s funny is if you go to any deployed military base in their rec rooms there will be at least a few video game systems and chances are they’ll be full. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/83 "2011-03-28T01:57:34Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > any man who doesn’t beat the woman he loves does not love her. > > Any man who shows any affection for any human being except for Vince Lombardi should just wear a pink triangle. > > any man who touches a child, in a way that does not cause the child to toughen up, is not a man. > > Any person who think there are behaviors that is OK for one sex and not OK for another, please shut up. Dude!?! WTF? Is this a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/84 "2011-03-28T01:59:14Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > The Duke would be playing, _Super Marion._ That rates a big 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Troutsqueezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Troutsqueezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troutsqueezer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/85 "2011-03-28T03:22:55Z")
I’m 61. I’m right in the middle of Red Dead Redemption on my PS3. The last two games I finished were Dead Space and Heavy Rain. My wife played alongside on Heavy Rain and she’s 67! I could be unusual I suppose, since I design microprocessors for a living. Yes, someone’s got to show these young punks how to do it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/86 "2011-03-28T09:38:38Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Either your male friends are lying to you or you’re not paying attention, I suspect. Certainly, it’s possible you’ve got the only group of Twentysomething Male friends in the English-speaking world who don’t play video games, but I suspect what they’re actually saying is “I’m not a gamer”, which is a totally different kettle of fish to “Not playing videogames”. Yeah, my female Translation classmates would get angry at the suggestion that they played videogames, then they’d launch into a conversation about how they were doing in Farmville. I tried to explain it once, but figured if I wanted to leave that school alive, I better stop before all those nice 25ish girls turned into something to give nightmares to Hades. I know that at least one of the guys (late 20s) was familiar with WoW - but when a teacher asked who played videogames, I was the only one who raised her hand. In that particular group, “playing videogames” was perceived as socially unacceptable. Playing Farmville evidently carried no such stigma. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/87 "2011-03-28T10:05:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I don’t know any adult males of my age group who _don’t_ play video games. I question your logic. I was sort of thinking that myself. Unless the videogames are like barbie Dress-up and My Little Pony Online… ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/88 "2011-03-28T11:09:09Z")
I’m an adult male, but I don’t want to be taken seriously - can I still play Borderlands when I get home from work? That is, assuming that my girlfriend isn’t playing Red Dead Redemption. If the Council of Manliness won’t allow it, I guess I’ll just have to wait for my roleplaying group to start up again after Easter - that’s manly, right? A bunch of guys (and two girls, so it’s not gay, _obviously_) sitting around, eating cakes, pretending to be elves and halflings? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/89 "2011-03-28T15:05:38Z")
nm… made a point that’s already been made… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/90 "2011-03-28T15:27:39Z")
Well, with regards to the OP: coming from a guy (that is, me) who is in his 40’s and uses “gig” in normal conversation - as in “I have a gig tonight, so I need to change the stings on my Tele sometime today.” - chalk me up as another who will hopelessly fail if there is a specific checklist. However, I will [link to a previous thread about Manliness](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562904)and knowing your Man-types and how they relate to one another… ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/91 "2011-03-28T15:35:11Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > Some things an adult male cannot do if he ever wants to be taken seriously > > -Use the term “LOL”, no matter what circumstance > -Play videogames > -Update his facebook status once a day > -Respond to chain letters on email > -Read the horoscope > -Follow a soap-opera > -Call-in Vote for his favorite Pop Idol > -Be up to date with what celebrity is dating who > > more? Make lists about what men can and cannot do. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/92 "2011-03-28T16:37:56Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Not only that, but the “correct” keystroke is apparently for the grammatically incorrect “No-No’s”, which shouldn’t have an apostrophe (and shouldn’t have the second N capitalized when one doesn’t capitalize the other words in the title). So the OP failed at typing the incorrect spelling of an unmanly word in the course of expressing a childish sentiment. Maybe the OP’s first language is [Kanien’keha](http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mohawk.htm), hence the colon? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/93 "2011-03-28T17:50:26Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > …Unless it’s called _The Sopranos_ or _The Wire_. Or _Mad Men_. Really, what a silly list! Obviously composed by somebody with a fear of not being considered an “adult man.” Reminds me of the lists I used to read in _Cosmo_–back when I was much younger… ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/94 "2011-03-28T18:29:01Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Video games address a lot of the same needs that sports do for men to fulfill our competitive and aggressive urges. I recently postulated elsewhere that this is the reason heavy metal and progressive rock audiences are predominantly male. Playing lightning-fast solos or extraordinarily complex music is a physical challenge with an aspect of competition. You rarely see women making lists of the best guitarists/drummers. As to lists like the OP’s, and along the lines of the “no-no” comment, I’ll quote my dad: “Grown men don’t ‘go potty’.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/95 "2011-03-28T18:42:05Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Never pee sitting down. I have to pee sitting down. My doctor warned me about lifting heavy objects. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/96 "2011-03-28T19:20:24Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I recently postulated elsewhere that this is the reason heavy metal and progressive rock audiences are predominantly male. Playing lightning-fast solos or extraordinarily complex music is a physical challenge with an aspect of competition. You rarely see women making lists of the best guitarists/drummers. Charo must have an enormous dick then! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/97 "2011-03-28T19:58:58Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > You rarely see women making lists of the best guitarists/drummers. > [@llcoolbj77](#): > > Charo must have an enormous dick then! 😃 Allow me to rephrase: You rarely see women _compiling_ lists of the best guitarists/drummers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/98 "2011-03-28T22:06:03Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Either your male friends are lying to you or you’re not paying attention, I suspect. Certainly, it’s possible you’ve got the only group of Twentysomething Male friends in the English-speaking world who don’t play video games, but I suspect what they’re actually saying is “I’m not a gamer”, which is a totally different kettle of fish to “Not playing videogames”. It depends how semantic you want to get, and I’d prefer not to get very semantic. My mom got a Wii for her birthday and at her birthday party and my 80 year old grandmother and I both tried it. So we both played video games, but I don’t think you could say we _play_ video games. I’m definitely not a golfer, but I own clubs and play a few times a year. So I’d say I golf. If I golfed with rented clubs once every couple years, I think it would be a stretch to say I golf. Remember, when I say we don’t play video games, there’s no stigma attached. We’re not like the OP looking down on others as unmanly if they do. We just don`t play them regularly. None of my friends own video game systems though and I don`t think they play at other friends houses regularly. I certainly don’t. I can honestly say it’s probably been more than a dozen years prior to that Wii that I touched any other video game system. I know I played some play station game after that came out but the last time I played regularly Super Nintendo was the newest thing. It’s not like they have cooties, but none of my friends own any video games so I don’t have even incidental opportunities to play. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/99 "2011-03-28T22:07:37Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > What type? I remember some of the students in my classes at bar school having animated discussions about Call of Duty. Just the type that don’t play video games. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093/100 "2011-03-28T22:30:03Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > Sorry for the hijack, but I’m really interested. What do you do with your free time, **Fuzzy Dunlop**? Do you have kids or some all consuming hobby? I’m a really bad example. I own a technology startup and work a lot, so limited free time to begin with. I also own a few rental properties that take up a lot of weekend time, and a family farm that takes up as much time as I want. Both of those I actually enjoy. The latter is a lot like farmville except with fresh air and dirt. My father is in very poor health and I need to manage all his affairs for him, including some large outstanding debts and a number of legal issues. I figured out once that between corporate counsel, our IP lawyers, my personal lawyer, my securities lawyer, the lawyer in another part of the state who does real estate work for me there and my dad’s lawyer there were 7 lawyers representing me, my company, or my dad at my behest. So I think that there’s like a magic number and if you have more than X lawyers representing you, you don’t have time to play video games. On the other hand, thinking of my two best friends, one is an avid tennis player and also does some sort of dance thing with all his free time, and the other is really into yoga and other fitness activities. So they have actually fun lives and simply choose not to fill them with video games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-no-s-for-adult-men/576093.md?page=6)