What is something that surprises people when you, a woman, dare to be interested in?
October 8, 2025
What is something that surprises people when you, a woman, dare to be interested in?
30 comments
Building Legos
other women lol (tbf I acknowledge I’m pretty straight-passing)
Watching NFL football alone. I get my aggression out vicariously through the athletes.
I don’t like watching with dudes, due to their emotional outbursts, talks of stats or their bets, listening to them eat nachos or witnessing the carnage of them eating wings.
Lock picking, chess, and comic books (but not a cosplayer).
I think the landscape of chess has changed a lot in the past 5 years, but a decade ago tournaments were 98% male. Can’t say the comic book world has changed much when it comes to collecting, but the rise of cosplay has changed comic con culture a lot.
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Racing
For some reason, people get very surprised when I talk about things like engine mods, F1 stats, or debugging code at 2am. What can I say? I like horsepower under the hood and in conversation. 😉
Women, being in the military, nudism
Video games, building Lego
Power tools. Folks don’t expect me to know how to fix or build stuff.
insects (childhood passion), science in general (my mom is a scientist so i grew up with it), and the one that is not only surprising but also makes me have mildly infuriating interactions IRL : my love for big renovation work, carpentry, tiling etc. People always assume i’m lost and clueless when they see me at the hardware store and insist if I answered “no thank you” to their “can i help you with something ?”. plumber talking to me like i’m a fucking idiot when i had to schedule an intervention through my insurance company for my flat. people misgendering me online cause the solution to a thread cannot have been brought by a woman
[removed]
putting together furniture!
As a teenager I was utterly obsessed with a Cold War era supersonic interceptor jet that was cancelled by the Canadian government in 1959. It was sort of a whole… thing… like a bit mysterious and there were various rumours of why and theories like maybe one of the planes ordered destroyed actually got away and was still out there. I was intrigued by the story. At 40 I don’t quite live and breathe my interest in it the way I did then, but I still have several books about it, a copy of a film on DVD, a T-shirt, coffee mug…
I have a motorcycle. Everyone keeps telling me I don’t strike like someone who would be interested in that stuff 😅. Tbh I have it because my husband convinced me to try his hobby but still it’s weird how people just make assumptions even on hobbies based on outer appearance.
prolly cars lol. people are always so shocked when i start talking about engines or F1 stuff like it’s illegal or something 😂
I break into software scripts and do cool stuff with it.
I am a very active part of an online community where we scrape entire websites and give away useful content for free to people who need it (no weird, unethical stuff, i promise).
Most people dont get it to begin with, and when they do, they refuse to believe that a cute, quiet chick like me can do it and assume im part of it just for the show”
Building my own computer and my intense interest for video games.
Riding a motorcycle. There’s always been comments but people think a women is unable to handle a sports bike. I’m not even on the big liter bikes, just 600cc. (07 cbr600rr was my last bike).
Woodturning.
Cars
Metal music
Death metal and heavy music- especially if you go to gigs solo
Video games. The way their jaws drop when they get their butts handed to them is simultaneously infuriating and validating.
Video games, anime (all genres), girls,
F1
Not so much now since it’s finally seeing more women in the sport but combat sports.
Doing things alone! Sitting at a restaurant/bar alone, going to concerts alone, going to the beach, airports/flying, walking at night! How dare I comfortably exist without a male supervisor to protect me from the dangerous world (aka men)!
People always ask me if I got into hockey because of my last relationship, which was with a referee/adult league player.
Pretty sure I didn’t know him when I wrote a report on why Patty Roy was my hero in the 3rd grade but okay.
Video games. A lot of people think it’s weird that I play Helldivers 2 and am also a high-ranking player as well. I don’t necessarily get hate often, but I have been the recipient of many a sexist comment and gripe.
30 comments
Building Legos
other women lol (tbf I acknowledge I’m pretty straight-passing)
Watching NFL football alone. I get my aggression out vicariously through the athletes.
I don’t like watching with dudes, due to their emotional outbursts, talks of stats or their bets, listening to them eat nachos or witnessing the carnage of them eating wings.
Lock picking, chess, and comic books (but not a cosplayer).
I think the landscape of chess has changed a lot in the past 5 years, but a decade ago tournaments were 98% male. Can’t say the comic book world has changed much when it comes to collecting, but the rise of cosplay has changed comic con culture a lot.
[removed]
Racing
For some reason, people get very surprised when I talk about things like engine mods, F1 stats, or debugging code at 2am. What can I say? I like horsepower under the hood and in conversation. 😉
Women, being in the military, nudism
Video games, building Lego
Power tools. Folks don’t expect me to know how to fix or build stuff.
insects (childhood passion), science in general (my mom is a scientist so i grew up with it), and the one that is not only surprising but also makes me have mildly infuriating interactions IRL : my love for big renovation work, carpentry, tiling etc. People always assume i’m lost and clueless when they see me at the hardware store and insist if I answered “no thank you” to their “can i help you with something ?”. plumber talking to me like i’m a fucking idiot when i had to schedule an intervention through my insurance company for my flat. people misgendering me online cause the solution to a thread cannot have been brought by a woman
[removed]
putting together furniture!
As a teenager I was utterly obsessed with a Cold War era supersonic interceptor jet that was cancelled by the Canadian government in 1959. It was sort of a whole… thing… like a bit mysterious and there were various rumours of why and theories like maybe one of the planes ordered destroyed actually got away and was still out there. I was intrigued by the story. At 40 I don’t quite live and breathe my interest in it the way I did then, but I still have several books about it, a copy of a film on DVD, a T-shirt, coffee mug…
I have a motorcycle. Everyone keeps telling me I don’t strike like someone who would be interested in that stuff 😅. Tbh I have it because my husband convinced me to try his hobby but still it’s weird how people just make assumptions even on hobbies based on outer appearance.
prolly cars lol. people are always so shocked when i start talking about engines or F1 stuff like it’s illegal or something 😂
I break into software scripts and do cool stuff with it.
I am a very active part of an online community where we scrape entire websites and give away useful content for free to people who need it (no weird, unethical stuff, i promise).
Most people dont get it to begin with, and when they do, they refuse to believe that a cute, quiet chick like me can do it and assume im part of it just for the show”
Building my own computer and my intense interest for video games.
Riding a motorcycle. There’s always been comments but people think a women is unable to handle a sports bike. I’m not even on the big liter bikes, just 600cc. (07 cbr600rr was my last bike).
Woodturning.
Cars
Metal music
Death metal and heavy music- especially if you go to gigs solo
Video games. The way their jaws drop when they get their butts handed to them is simultaneously infuriating and validating.
Video games, anime (all genres), girls,
F1
Not so much now since it’s finally seeing more women in the sport but combat sports.
Doing things alone! Sitting at a restaurant/bar alone, going to concerts alone, going to the beach, airports/flying, walking at night! How dare I comfortably exist without a male supervisor to protect me from the dangerous world (aka men)!
People always ask me if I got into hockey because of my last relationship, which was with a referee/adult league player.
Pretty sure I didn’t know him when I wrote a report on why Patty Roy was my hero in the 3rd grade but okay.
Video games. A lot of people think it’s weird that I play Helldivers 2 and am also a high-ranking player as well. I don’t necessarily get hate often, but I have been the recipient of many a sexist comment and gripe.