Guilty Pleasure?

[Parasite_Steve]

I wouldn't admit to liking anything besides the normiest of shit if i was trying to bone a woman.
Just be urself never works.

Speak for yourself then. I’m a semi-attractive at best, autistic socially-awkward nerd and never had an issue finding partners of any gender by being myself. I just infodump for a couple of hours on the obscure nonsense that occupies my brain at the time, and when they stay or even better infodump right back at me I know they are a keeper. Got a ten year long marriage that way. I guess us neuro-spicy people just always find each other.

Just learn to be yourself. Even if you’re just looking to score it’s way more fun with someone you have an actual connection with. Instead of awkward silence in bed afterwards, you can maybe learn some interesting animal facts from her or whatever she’s interested in. Always come prepared with shark facts, as a general rule in life. Sharks are way cool.

So let me redact that joke about eurodance and nu-metal. Maybe I should disclose that along with my love for cheesy overly romantic Japanese enka from the 70s.

 

[Ikagura]

I wouldn't admit to liking anything besides the normiest of shit if i was trying to bone a woman.
Just be urself never works.

You're a bit crude lol.

But sadly niche interests don't attract the most.

 

[Prism_Red]

I wouldn't admit to liking anything besides the normiest of shit if i was trying to bone a woman.
Just be urself never works.

Don't worry, just be yourself, if she can't accept you for who you are, then you are better off without her anyway, you probably dodged a bullet.

 

[NobodyHere]

I don’t really have guilty pleasures anymore, why should I feel bad for enjoying stuff if it’s not harming anyone? If those around me make me feel bad for enjoying things like cartoons, manga and what not then I don’t want to spend time with them.

I really do get it though, it can be quite frightening to experience enjoyment for things deemed ‘bad’ or ‘childish, etc, a lot of people are asses.

 

[miguk]

I don’t really have guilty pleasures anymore, why should I feel bad for enjoying stuff if it’s not harming anyone? If those around me make me feel bad for enjoying things like cartoons, manga and what not then I don’t want to spend time with them.

I really do get it though, it can be quite frightening to experience enjoyment for things deemed ‘bad’ or ‘childish, etc, a lot of people are asses.

A lot of people in this thread expressed this denial of the concept, so it's probably worth explaining it since nobody has done any real analysis of the concept aside from saying it doesn't/shouldn't exist.

A guilty pleasure doesn't have to be something you feel bad for liking. It doesn't have to be something that ruins you socially. (That is technically possible, depending on multiple factors, but we'd be here a while going over that aspect.)

A guilty pleasure is something that you know most people dislike, or most people could give good reason to not like it, and you can acknowledge the flaws yourself, but still enjoy it for the positive aspects that shine through despite the flaws. It's not about feeling bad, but about understanding the work on a deeper level and having the self awareness to admit that it isn't an S-tier, A-tier, B-tier, or possibly not even C-tier work, but nonetheless still has some things that keep it above F-tier enough to be fun.

Take my answer for denpa songs. I get they are cheesy, cartoony, lacking in any deeper meaning and have little artistic depth. But the rhythm, cuteness, and novelty all make them enjoyable anyways. Do I feel bad for liking them? No. But I get that in the grand scheme of the art of music, they are low art that's just for entertainment. And that's fine, as I listen to a lot more music that is of much greater depth and value, so my music diet is balanced enough to not have to sweat it. I transcend the "guilt" of listening to low music by simply making it a small part of what I listen to. (Now if it was all I listened to, purposely avoiding the massive amount of wonderful, technically better music out there in other genres, then I'd feel guilty.)

Really, a lot of people in this thread are exaggerating the "badness" of the topic and throwing self awareness to the wind. There's nothing wrong with admitting you like some crap (in terms of artistic quality, that is) as long as you have the awareness to get what it is and the spine to admit it.

 

[NobodyHere]

A lot of people in this thread expressed this denial of the concept, so it's probably worth explaining it since nobody has done any real analysis of the concept aside from saying it doesn't/shouldn't exist.

A guilty pleasure doesn't have to be something you feel bad for liking. It doesn't have to be something that ruins you socially. (That is technically possible, depending on multiple factors, but we'd be here a while going over that aspect.)

A guilty pleasure is something that you know most people dislike, or most people could give good reason to not like it, and you can acknowledge the flaws yourself, but still enjoy it for the positive aspects that shine through despite the flaws. It's not about feeling bad, but about understanding the work on a deeper level and having the self awareness to admit that it isn't an S-tier, A-tier, B-tier, or possibly not even C-tier work, but nonetheless still has some things that keep it above F-tier enough to be fun.

Take my answer for denpa songs. I get they are cheesy, cartoony, lacking in any deeper meaning and have little artistic depth. But the rhythm, cuteness, and novelty all make them enjoyable anyways. Do I feel bad for liking them? No. But I get that in the grand scheme of the art of music, they are low art that's just for entertainment. And that's fine, as I listen to a lot more music that is of much greater depth and value, so my music diet is balanced enough to not have to sweat it. I transcend the "guilt" of listening to low music by simply making it a small part of what I listen to. (Now if it was all I listened to, purposely avoiding the massive amount of wonderful, technically better music out there in other genres, then I'd feel guilty.)

Really, a lot of people in this thread are exaggerating the "badness" of the topic and throwing self awareness to the wind. There's nothing wrong with admitting you like some crap (in terms of artistic quality, that is) as long as you have the awareness to get what it is and the spine to admit it.

The point of a guilty pleasure is that it’s something you feel guilty for enjoying. The guilty part of ‘guilty pleasure’ often is invoked because the subject of the interest has been deemed in some way lesser, something that others have used to diminish their views of the consumers of it. If something doesn’t cause anyone harm and brings a person joy why should they feel guilty about it?

It’s important to be able to see the flaws in all media, admitting they have flaws and enjoying it despite or because of them shouldn’t bring on negative emotions. There shouldn’t be a stigmatism that one should feel bad for consuming largely flawed media, something purely for the feel good vibes, or doing something for the same reasons.

 

[Kamako]

Still enjoy throwing on some older Grime disses when I wanna get amped

 

[diapered]

perhaps you think power metal is the best genre

pls no bully ;_;

 

[miguk]

The point of a guilty pleasure is that it’s something you feel guilty for enjoying. The guilty part of ‘guilty pleasure’ often is invoked because the subject of the interest has been deemed in some way lesser, something that others have used to diminish their views of the consumers of it. If something doesn’t cause anyone harm and brings a person joy why should they feel guilty about it?

It’s important to be able to see the flaws in all media, admitting they have flaws and enjoying it despite or because of them shouldn’t bring on negative emotions. There shouldn’t be a stigmatism that one should feel bad for consuming largely flawed media, something purely for the feel good vibes, or doing something for the same reasons.

You are getting semantical, which is the whole problem with the argument so many people made. The word "guilty" is not as important as you are making out to be, as the phrase is a borderline misnomer. You might as well argue that blackboards can't be green, that koala bears can't be marsupials, or that there can't be aluminum in a tin can. Semantics aren't much more than an argument against how we all know language works, and they don't really go anywhere.

If you ever take a liberal arts or fine arts class in a university (especially a literature class), you'll find that even S-tier works still get criticized. Everything from Toni Morrison to Shakespeare gets put under the microscope. That isn't about creating negative emotions or calling them bad; that's about actually having a deeper understanding of the work instead of blindly bobbing your head to it like a toddler listening to a kids' song.

Like I said, this thread isn't some argument that you need to feel like a bad person for having fun. The idea is to show some self-awareness, show you can relax and not be uptight about the false sacrosanctness of your media, and just admit that you have good dumb fun sometimes.

Really, everyone here needs to lighten up about this topic. Media isn't a religion or ideology; it would be terrible if it was, and people would deserve to feel guilty about it if they made it that way.

 

[Ikagura]

In my language Guilty Pleasure is literally translated by "Cute Sin" which is not exactly the same meaning.

 

[beefbowl]

If you ever take a liberal arts or fine arts class in a university (especially a literature class), you'll find that even S-tier works still get criticized. Everything from Toni Morrison to Shakespeare gets put under the microscope. That isn't about creating negative emotions or calling them bad; that's about actually having a deeper understanding of the work instead of blindly bobbing your head to it like a toddler listening to a kids' song.

This has nothing to do with "guilty pleasure" btw.
Having a deeper understanding of Shakespeare doesn't make your enjoyment of Transformers comics any less. Just because one is higher art doesn't make the other any less. You can enjoy both. If you feel guilty about it, it becomes a guilty pleasure. Like you can enjoy Pushkin's poems, but you may feel guilty about enjoying his sex diaries.

 

[Prism_Red]

It's getting too technical my head gonna burst soon.
In my opinion guilty pleasure is simply an act of engaging a piece of art that you objectively believe you do not suppose to enjoy, but you do.

For me personally, it is weird for a grown ass man like me to enjoy media made for children, and that's where the 'guilty' part hits, but eh I like it anyway.

 

[miguk]

In my language Guilty Pleasure is literally translated by "Cute Sin" which is not exactly the same meaning.

I was once told by someone that they think an eel (a long fish) counts as a snake because in their native language the word for eel translates as "water snake." I had to explain to them that a misnomer doesn't define what something is, and that a glove is not a shoe just because Germans call it a "hand shoe." (They were not German, btw; I just used that example because most people find it very odd, and every German I've met has the self-awareness to get how odd that term is to non-German speakers.)

This has nothing to do with "guilty pleasure" btw.
Having a deeper understanding of Shakespeare doesn't make your enjoyment of Transformers comics any less. Just because one is higher art doesn't make the other any less. You can enjoy both. If you feel guilty about it, it becomes a guilty pleasure. Like you can enjoy Pushkin's poems, but you may feel guilty about enjoying his sex diaries.

I brought up Shakespeare because he's the go-to "perfect" writer. And like all the other great canon writers, he's not above criticism. And if high art can be analyzed in a way that shows its flaws, then works on a much lower level can be too. But it goes both ways: while you are finding the bad in something, you can find the good in it, too. The more artistic value a work has, the more often you'll find the good parts than the bad. But with low art, you find the issues much quicker; and yet, if it does have some value, you can easily find that as well.

Side note: I want to make it clear that when I say "low art", I am not talking about immoral works like racist trash. (That does sometimes find its way into low art, though not always.) I am talking about how much artistic complexity the work has; that is, it's more "low effort art" than "lowly filth art".

Like I said, you can enjoy both. It only becomes an issue if you don't even give the higher art (or any art even a little higher) a chance.

 

[IDMTINP]

I think pleasures make you feel "guilty" when the pleasure goes against YOUR own principles as opposed to standards set by other people.
Here's a common example:
If I had been a teenager in the early 2000's, I would have hated the ever living fuck out of Limp Bizkit. It's a band that went against every principle I have regarding music listening and production. Their lyrics expressed juvenile feelings at best and they were the opposite of poetic or clever. The vocal work from Fred Durst was gimmicky, as was the melody of most songs, making them feel formulaic. They would have been listened to by all sorts of people I would have disliked since it was so accessible and always mindlessly playing on the radio. Yuk. They were everything I've stood against. A complete and total product of their time.
Yet, I fucking love Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Every time I listen to this my brain goes "there's probably something much better you could be listening to".

 

[RunicOrangejuice]

1- The Album "Lemonade and Brownies" by Sugar Ray (NSFW cover and lyrics)
2- The Song "Hush" by Tool (Explicit lyrics)
Edit: I own the Sugar Ray CD, but no copy of the Tool one.

Post automatically merged: Feb 22, 2025

I was once told by someone that they think an eel (a long fish) counts as a snake because in their native language the word for eel translates as "water snake." I had to explain to them that a misnomer doesn't define what something is, and that a glove is not a shoe just because Germans call it a "hand shoe." (They were not German, btw; I just used that example because most people find it very odd, and every German I've met has the self-awareness to get how odd that term is to non-German speakers.)


I brought up Shakespeare because he's the go-to "perfect" writer. And like all the other great canon writers, he's not above criticism. And if high art can be analyzed in a way that shows its flaws, then works on a much lower level can be too. But it goes both ways: while you are finding the bad in something, you can find the good in it, too. The more artistic value a work has, the more often you'll find the good parts than the bad. But with low art, you find the issues much quicker; and yet, if it does have some value, you can easily find that as well.

Side note: I want to make it clear that when I say "low art", I am not talking about immoral works like racist trash. (That does sometimes find its way into low art, though not always.) I am talking about how much artistic complexity the work has; that is, it's more "low effort art" than "lowly filth art".

Like I said, you can enjoy both. It only becomes an issue if you don't even give the higher art (or any art even a little higher) a chance.

subjective

 

[Ian Naxieas]

I think pleasures make you feel "guilty" when the pleasure goes against YOUR own principles as opposed to standards set by other people.

Yeah, this is how it always came across to me.

I'm not really a fan of 90s and above pop music as a whole, so imagine my surprise when Lady Gaga clicked with me super hard. I don't know what it is, I just like her singing voice and the vibe of her music I guess.

Mika is another surprising hit for me. His stuff is just so upbeat, I can't help but enjoy it.

 

[Antilocal123]

Yeah, this is how it always came across to me.

I'm not really a fan of 90s and above pop music as a whole, so imagine my surprise when Lady Gaga clicked with me super hard. I don't know what it is, I just like her singing voice and the vibe of her music I guess.

Mika is another surprising hit for me. His stuff is just so upbeat, I can't help but enjoy it.

Fame Monster is genuinely one of Pop’s greatest albums don't feel guilty.

 

[NatalieZaki]

with everything that happened last year, it's now considered a guilty pleasure that I like Nice for What by Drake

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's iconTamagotchiTamaHero24]

Sum 41. Found their work off a YouTube recommendation. No Reason became my favorite song ever. Hunted down more music by them. Then more. Then more. Then I got Heaven X Hell on CD when it dropped. Then I imported Chuck and Happy Live Surprise from Japan. Then I found Does This Look Infected and Death By Decline at stores near me.

Then I find out they’re somewhat controversial, have some copied musical backings, and aren’t the most widely respected.


I don’t know how I should feel. All I know is that I don’t care. They made me an adult. I will never forget nor regret the time over given their work.
As an aside, please listen to Into/No Reason. May not be your thing. I love it like my own child.

Post automatically merged: Mar 16, 2025

 

[RunicOrangejuice]

Fame Monster is genuinely one of Pop’s greatest albums don't feel guilty.

is it the costumes you like about about lady gaga @Antilocal123 . cause i like those way better than her music. (though she has a couple titties.....i mean DITTIES)

 

[Ikagura]

Sorry but memes and overuseage aside it's still a catchy song

The world has changed too much in 10 years.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's iconTamagotchiTamaHero24]

Oh, it’s plenty memorable! And has a lot of nostalgia for me.

I can confirm, as one of the kids back then, you had ELEMENTARY SCHOOLERS yelling “Heyyyyy sexy lady!”

 

[Ikagura]

I think that song summarised pretty well the paradigm shift of Internet culture from the classic to the modern era.

 

[lil_thang]

I feel the slightest amount of guilt for bopping this song. I have never heard the original it is covering and I only found this from looking up shitty skibidi covers to put into shitposts.

Only the slightest though, skibidi wabwabwabwabwab.

 

[GardeniaSky]

Dubstep

THEY DID A SONG WITH KERLI OKAY?!