In THIS article, Richard referred to his fans as being
"quite motherly."
Are you kidding me!?
Richard, I don't know a single fan of yours whose first thoughts of you
are in any way motherly. (Further evidence that you're in denial of your sex appeal.)
In the recent David Stephenson interview HERE, Richard described his fas as,
"...mostly middle-aged, quite well-educated Radio 4 listeners"
I had to laugh when reading that because the majority of my RA online buddies
DO in fact seem to fit that description! (Most are over 40 and are very intelligent women,
who tend to love reading, period films, and analyzing Richard's work,
rather than just "squee." Although nothing is wrong with a good squee now and then.)
All of this made me wonder...
Being in my twenties, am I considered one of the rare "youngsters" in the crowd?
Hence, the latest
POLL QUESTION:
What is the average age of the RA Fan Blog reader?
Knowing I couldn't survey all of Richard's fans, I figured I can at least
find out the age ranges of those who read this blog. 299 votes were cast.
RESULTS
in ascending order:
Tied for the majority~
Thornton-swooning Thirties (30-39): 88 (29%)
Flirty Girty Forties (40-49): 88 (29%)
Followed by~
Friendly Harry Fifties (50-59): 47 (15%)
Track-loving Twenties (20-29): 36 (12%)
Guy's Squealing Girlies (under 20): 27 (9%)
Sexy Standring Sixties (60-69): 11 (3%)
Granny Gisborne (older than 69): 2 (0%)
First of all, I have to say that I LOVE the fact that there are at least 2 people over
the age of 69 who read this blog. I feel like making you a "Granny Gisbornes Rock!" t-shirt.
I was also pleased to find out a few teenagers follow along too. It made me feel hip.
(The fact that I just used the word "hip" shows how completely uncool I really am.)
Although it was neck-and-neck,
I was surprised to find out that the majoirty of the voting blog readers
are actually under the age of 40. (Under 40: 151 people, Over 40: 148 people.)
Therefore, I think this proves that, although Richard has many fans who are
in their "prime of life," enjoying the wisdom of life's experiences and possibly an empty nest,
there are many other fans who come from other age ranges as well.
There are a variety of Armitage admirers and we all
contribute something to the community of fans.
Thanks to Phylly3 for the idea of this poll question!
I had to laugh when reading that because the majority of my RA online buddies
DO in fact seem to fit that description! (Most are over 40 and are very intelligent women,
who tend to love reading, period films, and analyzing Richard's work,
rather than just "squee." Although nothing is wrong with a good squee now and then.)
All of this made me wonder...
Being in my twenties, am I considered one of the rare "youngsters" in the crowd?
Hence, the latest
POLL QUESTION:
What is the average age of the RA Fan Blog reader?
Knowing I couldn't survey all of Richard's fans, I figured I can at least
find out the age ranges of those who read this blog. 299 votes were cast.
RESULTS
in ascending order:
Tied for the majority~
Thornton-swooning Thirties (30-39): 88 (29%)
Followed by~
Friendly Harry Fifties (50-59): 47 (15%)
First of all, I have to say that I LOVE the fact that there are at least 2 people over
the age of 69 who read this blog. I feel like making you a "Granny Gisbornes Rock!" t-shirt.
I was also pleased to find out a few teenagers follow along too. It made me feel hip.
(The fact that I just used the word "hip" shows how completely uncool I really am.)
Although it was neck-and-neck,
I was surprised to find out that the majoirty of the voting blog readers
are actually under the age of 40. (Under 40: 151 people, Over 40: 148 people.)
Therefore, I think this proves that, although Richard has many fans who are
in their "prime of life," enjoying the wisdom of life's experiences and possibly an empty nest,
there are many other fans who come from other age ranges as well.
There are a variety of Armitage admirers and we all
contribute something to the community of fans.
Thanks to Phylly3 for the idea of this poll question!
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28 comments:
You've got us all pegged nicely, Nat!
I'm slightly over the average age of your blog readers being a Flirty Girty Forty, but in keeping with Richard himself, I really don't feel a day over 25! So, young at heart and in spirit seems to be the key to Richard's admirers.
Richard himself can be said to be the epitome of "the thinking woman's crumpet" which the Cambridge idioms Dictionary defines as: "a man who is popular with the opposite sex because he is both intelligent and sexually attractive." Nothing remotely motherly about that, then!
Great post, Natalie! I really hope he reads your blog. He needs to hear this.
BTW, I have NEVER thought of RA like a son. Not once. The thought of that is icky. Plus, I'm not old enough to be his mother. His good lookin' older sister maybe but not his mother. LOL!
Oops, I guess I missed that poll! *sighs* I guess I'd be in the Squealing Gisborne group (I'm under 20). Gotta love that Gizzy! Don't worry Nat, you're awesome! (I'm not a fan of common American slang like cool or stuff like that, just not my style.) Thanks for the blog!!!
Richard will turn 40 next year,so I have to say that personally I don't find the result of the poll as such a surprise. I mean,I find it pretty "normal" that the majority of his fans are between 30-49.
(but of course it is really cool that he has fans of all ages :) )
Anon, I wasn't surprised that many of my blog readers are between the ages of 30-49, but "middle aged" is usually defined as being between the ages of 40-60. So if Richard thinks most of his fans are middle aged, he may be wrong. I don't know if the RA forums have done an age survey or not... it would be interesting to find out the age ranges from a broader perspective.
I just started reading this blog and I didn't get to vote! I'd be under the category of one of the 20's =)
I just reached the Thornton-swooning Thirties back in December when I turned the big 3-0! LOL However I first became a fan in the mid Track-loving Twenties! ;-) I feel like a squealing girl in her teens though when it comes to being a Richard fan! What this man does to me! *sigh* LOL
You know, I always wondered about the age of RA's fan base. In the US, I think there is a certain niche audience who goes for period pieces, and that does cut across age groups, so I would expect a broad age group of support for RA as his first big production was N & S. But I am curious, in England, are period pieces something that usually the older (don't mean to sound pejorative in any way), maybe middle-aged crowd is into? If so, maybe that's why he thinks his fan base is more middle-aged rather than under 40.
Also, regarding the "motherly" statement, it occurred to me that maybe what he was getting at was the protectiveness some fans feel towards him, like a mother would for her kid. I mean, his fan base is considered to be fiercely loyal to him. Any thoughts on this notion?
@TM I do think you are onto something with the motherly/loyality. When he says stuff like this:
(Asked if he himself is a macho man, he says, "I’m probably more of a new man. I’m not particularly alpha. ‘Nourish and nurture’ are my watchwords as opposed to ‘search and destroy’.)
How can you not be protective of him? I think it's kinda cute that he thinks we're a bunch of white haired ladies.
Also, if he is uncomfortable with the idea of having adoring fans and is as self-deprecating as he seems, imagining us as a group of tea-drinking grannies might be easier for him....if he doesn't quite believe in his own inner and outer beauty, he may wonder how anyone else can.
Go 'Guy's Squealing Girlies!(under 20)' if my friends only knew about this blog...you'd have a larger amount of votes in that category! :) Maybe I should tell them about it...though some just think i'm crazy. Thanks for this awesome poll Nat!
I am glad to see he has some younger fans because that must mean he is becoming more popular. And popular means more roles for him and more viewing (and drooling) for me! It's a win-win situation! Thanks for doing the poll, Nat, and as you said you were going to do it anyway! :)
Hey young chicks can be intelligent, like to read, and watch period pieces too! Lol, I am just playing, I know what you mean. This was really cool, interesting.
I have a teenage niece that admires RA and she read this post and said I wonder how many of his "younger" fans have thrown their thongs at him....And I thought age has nothing to do with it. (but of course I would never do such a thing!)
Obviously, he reaches across the "age" spectrum. I wonder how many actors have this capability?
He's chosen such diverse roles, which helps. He's developed into a first-rate actor, and is still developing, which helps.
And (the shallow reveals itself here) he's DDG....
@fitzg,
I'm not sure what DDG means. Drop Dead Gorgeous? Or something with gorgeous?
@bZirk - you got it! Drop Dead Gorgeous, it is!
LOL! I was just about to look it up when it hit me. Great description!
@bZirk, not my creation; the late Princess Diana used to refer to her sons as DDG. So it is probably a common English term!
I am in the same catagory has bZirk, we could be his glamorous twin big sisters:D :D :D
Very interesting results! I'm still in my Track-loving Twenties for another couple of years. :)
I wonder if he thinks we are middle-aged or grannies or whatever, because he doesn't see himself as a "heart throb" which often is coupled with the word "teenage" heart throb.
So, I am guessing that the bulk of his fans, even in the UK, let alone world wide are not teenage girls, so he downplays his attraction to the opposite sex as often the girlish behaviour comes from that age group.
Besides, I think maybe the fans he has met in real life are older than being in their teens or early 20s (I just have this general impression) and so he thinks that most of his fans are indeed older.
Am I making sense here?
Total sense.
@bZirk,Thanks for confirming that I am making sense! Although, I had to chuckle at the fact that the one I'm making sense to goes by the name bzirk :)
I'm a bit surprised by the poll results, but only because I thought that blog-visiting was more of a teens-thru-thirties type activity. Glad to have my eyes opened to the tech-savvy qualities of the over-thirty set. I'm also glad to be in the company of such wonderful women!
Also, is anyone else having trouble with the second interview link? I'm getting a 403 error :(
Link problem solved, Jane M!
New to this whole thing...but wanted to say my two cents. Just got into RA after N&S and am am a Thornton 30's. And with my beloved husband gone for 90 days on business have Devoured all things RA. So much so my sister only calls him "lovely Richard" to me now... glad to find a place where other feel the same way... Oh and I am well educated..sum cum laude at school...and worked for WGBH for years...
Welcome!
'Lovely Richard' is a wonderful reference. There's such a wealth of meaning in it, and Richard Armitage deserves a rich description. And no, I've never said that about another actor, and I also am fairly educated with a professional background. But I'm not telling my age. :D
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