Female "Red Dwarf" fans?

[The Borgified Corpse]

On the documentaries on the Red Dwarf DVDs, they talk about how the show has female fans. I find that hard to believe. I've tried for years to convert my female friends into Red Dwarf fans but it hasn't worked. And these are women who are big fans of other British sci-fi like Doctor Who & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I think the problem may be that Red Dwarf is just too male-dominated of a show. It's not just in a predominantly male genre with an all-male cast. It's a show that I think is very much about men. You have pretty much all the dysfunctional male archetypes you can think of-- the bitter egomaniac (Rimmer), the carefree slob (Lister), the fussy neat-freak (Kryten), the vain lothario (Cat), and the eccentric intellectual (Holly). The culture of the ship is what emerges when these male characters are all left to their own devices without any feminizing influences.

So to any of you female Dwarfers out there, how do I convert my female friends and get them to love this show as much as I do?

 

[js]

If you don't fall in love with Red Dwarf from the very first episode, I wouldn't know how to convince you. I understand not loving the later seasons, but the first four or five seasons are pure magic. Plus, I always liked it being a predominantly male cast - each of whom had their own distinct charm.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I love RD my all time favorite episode has to be quarantine.

 

[Harvey]

I've never met any female fans. My best friend's girlfriend doesn't get it, and neither do any of her female friends. But, stranger things have happened, I suppose.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Maybe it's the male bonding aspect, on the flip side I personally never could really get into "Sex and the City".

 

[Cutter John]

Well theres my best friend Cindy. Shes always been a Grade A nerd. Loves Red Dwarf (she actually lked the 'new episode' that came out earlier in the year) and can recite quites from Hitchhikers and Monty Python. The only real concession she makes is she lets her husband pre-screen shows if they're likely to be excessively depressing, or gory.

 

[Steve Roby]

My wife likes Red Dwarf, but she also likes Star Trek, Doctor Who, video games, and a lot of other nerd/geek stuff.

I wonder if anyone in Canada or the UK has managed to convert a girlfriend/wife who likes Coronation Street into watching Red Dwarf. If you like one Craig Charles show...

 

[TerriO]

I've been a Dwarfer for as long as I can remember it existing. Love Cat, and I became a fan of Chris Barrie's because of Ace Rimmer.

"Sex and the City"? Makes me want to shoot myself in the head to make it stop. I hate that show with a passion.

Just me speculating here, but I'll bet the more feminine women tend toward "Sex and the City." The typical female stereotype obsessed with buying a million pairs of shoes and wearing frilly dresses and pampered princess mentalities. The "girly" girls, as it were. The chick lit genre was meant for these girls.

Then you get the geek tomboys who were almost never into the "girly" stuff as kids. I've been in fandom in some way, shape or form, for as long as I can remember, and I have yet to meet women in fandom who are into the "girly" girl stuff. I'm sure they're probably out there, but my experience is that they're few and far between.

That's just one person speculating from experience. Take it as you will, or won't. I know you guys.

 

[Tulin]

My aunt LOVES RD.....and she's a woman.

 

[SiorX]

I love Red Dwarf, and know a fair number of my friends enjoy it too. Largely, I think, because we grew up with it showing on a particular time slot when we were all inclined to be in front of the tv.

If there is a disparity in how many men and how many women watch the show, I'm not sure you can put it down to the problem of how male-centric it is. I mean, there've been loads of studies done over the years about how women viewers identify with male protaganists because there are fuck-all well-developed women characters in lots of shows.

Could just be a quirk of your particular circle of friends?

 

[Steve Roby]

Then you get the geek tomboys who were almost never into the "girly" stuff as kids. I've been in fandom in some way, shape or form, for as long as I can remember, and I have yet to meet women in fandom who are into the "girly" girl stuff. I'm sure they're probably out there, but my experience is that they're few and far between.

Laura's never been into organized fandom, as opposed to being a fan, but she'd agree with you. I've often heard her too describe stuff as being too girly for her. (She's playing the military shooter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising on Xbox Live right now with a guy somewhere in the US who's in the Marine Corps Reserves.)

 

[Kelso]

I used to date a girl who fell in love with Red Dwarf after I showed it to her.

Note: There is nothing dirty in this post... get your mind out of the gutter.

 

[Meredith]

The Red Dwarf fangirl, the rarest of all nerds.....

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

how do I convert my female friends and get them to love this show as much as I do?

Show them a lot of scenes with Kochanski?

 

[Flibble]

I'm a female Red Dwarf fan. I guess growing up with a slobby brother and at the time when the first episode of Red Dwarf was shown in the UK, I had just finished a long term relation ship with a Scouser, the character of Lister made me laugh...a lot!

 

[captcalhoun]

i was mates with a girl in college who loved RD.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Red Dwarf was one of the only Sci-fi shows one of my exs would watch with me.

 

[WillsBabe]

One of my female friends was and probably still is a massive RD fan. I think she might have run the RD fanclub in the UK or something at one time. I'm a fan of the show. It doesn't bother me in the slightest that they're all blokes, in fact I hadn't really noticed. Most of the shows I've ever watched have been male dominated.

Then you get the geek tomboys who were almost never into the "girly" stuff as kids. I've been in fandom in some way, shape or form, for as long as I can remember, and I have yet to meet women in fandom who are into the "girly" girl stuff. I'm sure they're probably out there, but my experience is that they're few and far between.

Yes, that's been my experience, too. In fact, the girliest girl fan I can think of is, ironically, my friend who is majorly into RD.

 

[Australis]

Ace Rimmer, what a guy!

Never met any fem RD fans. Ah well, maybe in my next life.

 

[Kataaran]

I love RD, been a fan since series 1. Everything after series 6 is mostly poo though. Kochanski is not a good enough replacement for Rimmer.