Canvassing the Internet: Platonic Admiration

[tealin]

I know I was behind the door when hormones were handed out, but surely I am not the only one who finds it possible to respect and admire someone – or even just like a fictional character – without being sexually attracted to them. In high school the response to a statement of such admiration was usually full of conspiratorial innuendo, accompanied by a virtual 'wink wink nudge nudge.' I thought that when I joined the grownup world that mindset had been left behind, but I've encountered it a few times recently and it's got me wondering. Anyone out there know what I'm talking about? Opinions? Insights? Observations? Advice, even?

Comments

[arcana-j.livejournal.com]

YES! Oh my god, yes!

Though that kind of admiration is often referred to as a "girl crush" or "guy crush" if the the subject and the object are the same gender (and assuming the crush-er is straight.)

But it's completely possible (and I think, more common than most people will admit) to respect and admire someone with nothing more behind it than that. I think that those who maintain otherwise are really telling us more about themselves than about humanity in general.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

I know of the 'girl/guy crush' phenomenon but unfortunately it rarely applies to me; the objects of my admiration in real life are mostly in the male-dominated fields of animation or science, and with a very few exceptions male characters are just plain more interesting than female ones, generally. I don't know if it's conscious but it seems that when a character is developed, anything goes for a male but there are specific boundaries for a female in order to keep her still feeling female (the same goes for design), which tend to water down whatever inherent awesomeness there might be.