So there’s been an article circulating around about Comic-Con Hook-Ups. I read it, felt a little weird about posting it, and ultimately decided against it. But after I read this excellent second opinion by Laura Hudson, I felt that this deserved a shout-out. A nice highlight:
Penthouse says: “I was a little surprised when my friendly neighborhood comic-book-store clerk told me she was looking forward to this year’s New York Comic Con because ‘conventions are all about the sex.’”
CA says: FALSE. Comic conventions — in New York or San Diego or anywhere else — are never “all about the sex.” Sex happens — SOMETIMES — and it may happen more often than an normal weekend for SOME con-goers, but that’s because it’s an enormous show that packs more than 100,000 people with similar interests into a convention center where they spend four days getting incredibly amped up and drinking a lot. The show is not about the fact that this SOMETIMES happens — it’s about comics… and TV shows, movies, and video games. If anything, hookups are a bonus, like the t-shirts and posters that the Marvel booth likes to toss into crowds of screaming fans.
You can read the original article (obviously NSFW) here, and read Laura’s rebuttal here. What say you, Rama readers? As someone who has hit three major cons in three cities, I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the original article, but have you guys found love underneath the big Marvel placard?
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Maybe at Dragon Con…
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
The only cons that were significantly “about” sex were SF cons, and generally the ones that were predominantly concerned with the written stuff, as opposed to media-oriented cons.
Also, this was many years back; the heyday of con hookups (and even orgies, according to some stories) was easily two to three decades ago, before it sunk in about STD’s being potentially deadly and not just a matter of a penicillin shot, and also before a lot of people grew older, married, and had kids.
I think this might be where the hack who wrote this up got this idea, and became confused; comic cons, and huge cons run by businesses like Wizard or Creation, are not so amenable to such possibilities, as opposed to amateur fan-run cons in smaller hotels where a lot of the attendees are already somewhat acquainted.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I heard the anime convention, Archon (I think I spelled that right), in Collinsville IL (near St Louis) is pretty bad for the random hook ups.
They had to ban signs a few years back because of some girls with “Will give head for Pocky” signs.
The general consensus among everyone in the St Louis metro-area is that if you can’t get laid at Archon, you can’t get laid anywhere.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
only geeks would argue an article that says they have sex.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Same with me, Christian. As an Atlanta native, DragonCon just isn’t a “con”, it’s a 4-day party that never shuts down.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
“huge cons run by businesses like Wizard or Creation, are not so amenable to such possibilities”
What does the company running it have to do with anything? Wizard’s Chicago con has more or less an official con hotel with a well stocked (if overwhelmed) bar that people gather at…as well as people who buy their own beverages to bring into their rooms and lure others with.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I’m an ex-con who got laid plenty of times by my fellow cons.
June 24th, 2009 at 3:02 am
If you don’t think hook-ups happen at concs, head to Dragon*Con -
It’ll will chance everything you know about ‘hooking up’.
There’s a reason why there are ’safe sex’ flyers passed around at the show - and I believe there is also a ‘DragonCon’ video on YouTube that addresses all of the hook-ups.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:16 am
…so what I’m getting from all this is I should go to DragonCon.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:49 am
Wow. I should post at 3 in the morning, when suffering from a killer tooth ache. Please pardon the horrible typos above.
Also, I think it goes without saying, but I found love at the Acclaim Comics panel at New York Comic Con.
June 24th, 2009 at 6:49 am
My favourite part of the article? Right at the start - ‘flicking the bean’ - LMAO, not heard that before.
Ahh, euphemism, where would we be without you?
Cheers,
B
June 24th, 2009 at 7:02 am
I think it’s a lot better that cons are gaining a rep for being sexfests than for being nerdfests populated by virgins.
That said, yes, what Laura says is true about any con. You go for a specific thing - comics, or Trek, or costuming, or even filk - but there is socializing and there is beer and there are often outlandish costumes, and there are healthy young men and women with healthy libidos. Some hook-ups are inevitable. Just like in college, or the office, or anywhere else in life.
I can add that I am not on the comic con circuit, but do attend a lot of gen cons and filk cons, and there is a very active alt-lifestyle presence at many of them (which as a monogamous and happily married man I only know about from afar). If you really want to get some, it isn’t hard to find, and there are even specific adult-oriented tracks and room parties that are clearly meant as mixers of some sort. I would imagine that if you know where to look at SDCC, you can find that sort of party.
June 24th, 2009 at 7:12 am
I’ve been to a couple comic cons, and outside of the celebs there, I wouldn’t touch the average female fan attendee (different than the wives/girlfriends/sisters/etc that are dragged there) with a Doc Ock arm.
June 24th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I would touch almost anything with a Dock Ock arm because holy crap it would be cool to have Doc Ock arms!
June 24th, 2009 at 9:48 am
@Simon DelMonte
filk?
June 24th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Eric… you -really- don’t want to know.
June 24th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
lol classic….but honestly I met a few cuties at NY cons over the years but the best is the after party story tellings at local bars. Some of the adventures and weirdness is just priceless!
June 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am
“I’ve been to a couple comic cons, and outside of the celebs there, I wouldn’t touch the average female fan attendee (different than the wives/girlfriends/sisters/etc that are dragged there) with a Doc Ock arm.”
Most of the guys that attend are no prizes either.