WomensStuff

I have all the hobbies (thanks ADHD), so it depends on how much I want to avoid the conversation. Usually "computers" is enough to signal "danger, she's a nerd".

Otherwise it depends on what the other person might find interesting. Gardening, clay pigeon shooting, piano, mathematics, baking, and amateur radio are all fun topics I can infodump on.

I really am a nerd.

Well, I don't want to say "I really like watching twitch and mucking round on lemmy" so I say I like boxsets.

Declaring "I'm a strident feminist and get really boring about domestic abuse" is often badly received. So I say "vulnerability and inclusivity".

I generally don't tell people things about myself so I only tell people more when I know they'll get it.

Depends, if my guard is up or it feels like more of a casual or throwaway question, I usually default to reading and hiking.

If I sense I'm engaging with a fellow neurospicy human, I'll get into the long list of historical fashion, tea and tisanes, tarot and runes, sewing and crafting, history and reading, British quiz shows and period dramas, house renovations and land conservation, birds and bugs and snakes etc. etc. Lol

I hate when people ask me this because I don’t feel like I have any hobbies. I work long hours and am often too exhausted to do much when I’m off. I also have imposter syndrome about any hobby I start since I don’t keep them long due to getting bored or distracted. So I usually tell people I like to play with my dogs and take them for walks at the park.

As a neurodiverse person myself, I usually try to phrase the question as "what hobbies are you currently working on" to keep the conversation more about the present rather than fleeting hobbies/interests. Open ended questions lead to taking a long time to compile all of the information, targeted questions lead to an easier time coming up with an answer. Same with favorite music or movies or whatever. I've been alive for decades, how can I list off every artist/song/movie I've liked in that time. Something like "what music have you discovered lately" is easier to answer.

Leatherworking! Always gets a positive response.

Depends on who's asking. Sometimes I give generic blah answers, "reading and walks on the beach" and sometimes I give them the full force of my niche interests. I hate gatekeeping bros who will quiz me when I say I like a hobby that is even vaguely "masculine".

Gaming mostly, but I also deeply love music, cars, and flags, more than most people I've met at least.

I tell them about riding motorbikes and roller skating, either of which can lead to a conversation.

I don't tell them about shooting or reading risqué lesbian genre fiction, because many / most people are weird about those things.

People don’t ask that of me; in fact, my own friends ask me, “Tanis, why are you trying so hard to avoid being perceived, and why is it working?”

I always tell people about my love for music first, then the drawing and the reading.

In very few ocassions I say that I like gaming, because it might paint me in a way I don't want to in a specific setting.

I never say stuff like watching videos, discussing (fighting) online or similar.

Mountain / off road biking, any weather, any time of the day or night. I love the feeling of freedom and being in nature.

I usually play it safe and list reading, playing woodwinds, and currently also carving seal chops.

Sometimes I'll let slip tabletop RPGs as well. Or my collection of weird traditional playing cards.

I rarely talk about the rest.