Why are ‘Hobbies’ so top secret on Mn?

Does anyone remember a man complaining on MN about his girlfriend's hobby taking up too much time? It turned out to be sailing solo across the Atlantic in a particular race. That really was outing!

@BreadstickBurglar yeah that's the one!!

Ended up being an interesting thread about her hobby. Can't remember what they did with man. They wanted to do paid gigs but he was so awful they couldn't.

Because it is Vicar’s Arse Rubbing, or Old Man Collecting.

You may drink your weak lemon drink now…

I remember that, he was absolutely rubbish and kept telling the others they were doing it wrong?

Oh, it's so fucking annoying

Or even worse - “think cycling”

Or is there a species of squirrel that lives underwater, but once dead can be stuffed on land?

There are a lot of niche sports though, which in combination with other information about the person can be outing

I think because usually what hobby it is is irrelevant when it’s the usual DH having an affair with someone he shares a hobby with. Posters also feel it could be outing.

Yeah, it's not a word I tend to use. I associate it more with childhood. I tend to say "interests."

I always assume it’s cycling if it’s a man. Or golf. Both are such niche interests that I can understand how they might be “outing”.🤣The women I know don’t have hobbies-they have things they like to do. I decorate cakes and write slash fanfic. Which, as a combination probably is pretty outing, now I think about it!

My wife's friend does taxidermy from birds and squirrels. In fairness the do look good in little glass jars etc

I am hoping my husband doesn't take up golf as that might out him on here you never know who's watching, and waiting, and listening

There's a small chance I might know (of) him! 😆

My DH plays and umpires netball. Oops - I’ve told the world he’s into a “girlified” sport.

Most of the time, the actual hobby isn't relevant to the threat, yet as others have said, it can be distracting when someone makes a big deal of not letting on what it is. If someone's husband has met another woman while doing their hobby, it really doesn't matter if it is mushroom hunting, tai-chi or soap carving. They might as well just make something up ('My husband sees this woman at choir practice three times a week') and we could just crack on with advising the OP to leave the bastard (or whatever).

It can be outing- on mn anything can be if put together-if your husband is a pro wrestler and you’re an ice skater, you have three daughters and live in the same town as the place they filmed The Vicar Of Dinley, someone might say - hold on that’s Lucy from the school gates!!!!

Also depends how much certain hobbies annoy people as well. If it was football, cycling or golf, I'd be more annoyed for the OP because I can't stand any of them!
Maybe it's better they don't tell us!

If the thread is about a partner not pulling their weight at home due to them spending time doing their hobby, then what the hobby is just isn't important.

The trouble is, if a hobby isn’t specified, in my mind’s eye the partner is clad in Lycra and wearing a cycle helmet for the rest of the thread. It’s very off-putting!

I fly small planes around for fun, which less than 0.2% of the population engage in, and only 5% or something of those are women, so when I mention my hobby to anyone I usually get a bit of a surprised reaction.

Which I guess is why I could easily be outed. I usually just name change after each post. After all, alot of people post on here because they don't want to ask people they know. It might be embarrassing, or something they're not comfortable speaking to someone close about.

This.

If I say on a thread that I do bell ringing (hardly unique across the country, but also not that many people do it.
Then, on another thread I am helping someone who has asked "Does anyone know Manchester well"
Then I've been advising about Pay bands for Nurses, and on another thread joined in a chat about working shifts
Plus I've mentioned my 4 dc on some other thread,

the combination of all that information would definitely 'out' me to all the people who know me.

There's an awful lot of people on MN who use the 'search' feature regularly.

It just makes sense to not put more information that you need to in any thread. If the thread is about a partner not pulling their weight at home due to them spending time doing their hobby, then what the hobby is just isn't important.

Well my husband is a mountain climber,top of his game ,has climbs named after him all over the world but am sure no one would identify him because there are many top climbers …same as cyclists 🤦‍♀️

There was a great thread a few months, years or decades ago where a poster was complaining about a man who was rubbish at the "hobby" and was trying to take over.

Loads and loads of posters were asking for the hobby as it couldn't be that unique.

In exasperation she said what it was ... and it was unique!! It was something like a 17th century string instruments band.

I mean they played 17th century music not they from the 17th century! Because that would definitely be unique.

The guy was absolutely terrible at playing and spoiled the whole group.

Anyway every time I read "outing hobby" I think of that thread!!

If I ever took up a strange, niche, identifying hobby, I don’t think I’d tell anyone irl, but I’d blab it all over MN!

Oh no! I don't recall posting this but I am the only one so it must have been me! Doubly outed!