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  • #1

    "Mundanes"

    Lately I have started hearing other fantasy/SF/comic/gaming fans refer to those with no interest in these subjects as 'mundanes'. I attended a con last weekend and was shocked to hear panelists use the term in a public forum.

    I know there are derogatory terms for fans, but we've actually embraced the biggest: 'geek' and 'nerd'. Having a derogatory term for non-fans is just unncessarity hostile and condescending, especially this word. Being a fan doesn't make you better than anyone else. It's just a different interest.

    And if there is one thing I have learned, no one is 'normal'. Almos everyone I know, fan or not, has something interesting about them. One friend is an erotica writer. One collects bicycles and brews his own beer. One makes short films. Are they mundane because they're not prancing around in Harry Potter costumes and filking? I certainly don't think so.

    Grow up, fanboys and fangirls.
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  • #2
    I don't think I've ever heard the term 'mundanes' to describe people outside of a fandom in a derogatory manner. It's just a term to include "everybody else" in a single word.

    Was the word actually used in a negative manner, or was it just to talk about the people who were "not us" to that group?

    ^-.-^
    Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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    • #3
      This is getting creepy. Yet another time my post would have been *exactly* what Andara Bledin said, only not as well-put.

      What concise, one-word, non-negative (as in, not "non-fan" or similar) term would you prefer?
      "My in-laws are country people and at night you can hear their distinctive howl."

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      • #4
        How about something that doesn't mean "common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative. " (dictionary.com)? How about "people who don't share our interests"?

        It was used in the context, "We were at Harry Potter World (or whatever that theme park is called) in costume and all the mundanes were staring." said with a sneer.

        As in, these people are too unimaginative, banal, and common to accept my delightful sense of whimsy.

        It seems like a symptom of what I see as the greater problem of a general "us vs. them" mentality I have observed among some (not all) geeks. See blas' post on not being a 'real' fan on the Pop Culture board/
        Last edited by anakhouri; 03-20-2012, 12:09 AM.

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        • #5
          Depends; if they were Xanth fans, then it would be simply referring to those without magic. I've heard more HP fans use the term "muggles" than "mundanes", personally.
          "Oh wow, I can't believe how stupid I used to be and you still are."

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          • #6
            Originally posted by anakhouri View Post
            How about something that doesn't mean "common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative. " (dictionary.com)?
            Considering that the word was originally used to distinguish something as being secular, it's pretty obvious that language changes. Hell, we've managed to resurrect dead languages just so we can abuse them.

            Originally posted by anakhouri View Post
            How about "people who don't share our interests"?
            When six words (and nine syllables) somehow equals a single word, then sure.

            ^-.-^
            Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

            Comment

            • #7
              Well, if we have to stick labels on people, "non-fans". The hyphen makes it one word.

              The CURRENT ACCEPTED definition of 'mundane' is common, boring, mediocre, banal. So by using this particular word, it is automatically derogatory.

              I don't care about 'muggle', as I don't believe it was used as an insult in the HP universe (haven't read the books).

              It's not like there's only geeks and non-geeks. There are many casual fans and the borders of geekdom are permeable.
              Last edited by anakhouri; 03-20-2012, 01:51 AM.

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              • #8
                That seems to be more an issue with the company around you than the word itself.

                And, yes, "muggle" was used as an insult. Just as pretty much any word that describes a class of people has been used as an insult by those of an opposing class.

                ^-.-^
                Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

                Comment

                • #9
                  Well, if we have to stick labels on people, "non-fans". The hyphen makes it one word.
                  That's still a negative, though. What single word label would you approve of that *isn't* a description of the people they're not, preceded by a negative?
                  "My in-laws are country people and at night you can hear their distinctive howl."

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                  • #10
                    There isn't a single word like that, which is why I despise labels. "People with different interests" or "people who don't share my interests" works fine for me, but apparently some people might sprain their tongues on all those words so they chose a single word to describe them that is unfortunate in its meaning.

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                    • #11
                      In the SCA (www.sca.org) we refer to non-SCAdians as mundanes as well.

                      The big problem with choosing a term that is convenient and not a three-page essay describing "people who do not share our interests" in a way that is not offensive...

                      is the simple fact that you can not avoid offending someone. Largely due to the fact that in our modern world far too many people are dragging their figurative coats on the floor and challenging any poor sod who steps on it.

                      As in they're looking for someone to offend them so they can either make themselves feel superior by bashing someone else, going for the lawsuit, or the very petty ambition of destroying the group for no other reason than to destroy it.

                      So what is someone going to so apart from saying "person or persons who do not share our interest to the level that we do" every time it comes up in a conversation?

                      And yes I worded it that way since there are people who would get offended at "does not share our interests" because they may be a Star Trek fan but not be to the level of Trekkers or Trekkies. Can't exclude them now can we?

                      So...unless someone can find a one word way to say "person or persons who do not share our interest to the level that we do" that is not offensive to *someone*...I'm going to use the least offensive term that I can find. Mundanes is it.
                      “There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.” - Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.

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                      • #12
                        There isn't a single word like that, which is why I despise labels. "People with different interests" or "people who don't share my interests" works fine for me, but apparently some people might sprain their tongues on all those words so they chose a single word to describe them that is unfortunate in its meaning.
                        That approach is perfectly reasonable... so long as it's a concept you don't discuss much. Frequent usage demands simple terms. That's why we don't normally say, for example, "those smallish animals that purr and scratch furniture," but use the word "cats" instead.
                        "My in-laws are country people and at night you can hear their distinctive howl."

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                        • #13
                          So make up a word. Call them 'wugglewumps'. Don't use a term that is blatantly insulting. And honestly, I rarely ralk about people who don't share my interests to other geeks, I usually just talk geek stuff to them.

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                          • #14
                            You make up a word; you're the one that doesn't like the one currently in use.

                            Considering that the term has been in use in this fashion for more than half a century, I sincerely doubt you're going to get much traction.

                            ^-.-^
                            Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              I have a phrase I use, thank you very much, as indicated above. I'm just amazed no one else sees anything problematic about the term.

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