Why do pinball guys always rag on their wives?
Why do pinball guys always rag on their wives?
This humorous video essay breaks down and analyzes various examples of casual sexism in the pinball hobby by men and women who regularly refer to - the wife - a character who exists to promote male...
Highlights
- Pinball machine home ownership became commonplace only at the end of the 1990s due to low operator sell-off prices and internet access to manuals and repair communities.
- Wife posting intensified dramatically during the pandemic stay-at-home period, coinciding with rising used game prices.
- Moderators of Pinball Enthusiast Facebook group had to explicitly ban wife posting jokes due to community complaints that they alienate and insult supportive pinball partners.
- Married men earn significantly more income than single men and both single and married women in developed countries.
- Wife posting functions primarily as a male bonding ritual similar to golf course or fishing boat conversations.
- Pinball is a male-dominated hobby with historical themes like Playboy, WrestleMania, and Rush catering to men.
- Tim Sexton produced an AI video last December to convince his wife to allow a fourth pinball machine; she had consistently said 'three is sufficient.'
Notable quotes
“Three is sufficient. You don't need one more. Three is sufficient. Our space is too stuffed. We'll run out of quarters. We'll end up poor.”
“Guys, jokes about your wife selling your games alienate and insult the awesome pinball partners in this community who we love. Stop it or find another community.”
“I think a significant amount of people who post about the wife are really just using her as a character that's a stand-in for their conscience.”
“Combine that with this pinball community and the nature of social media that is constantly showing you these people who have been collecting pinball machines for years and years and have these beautiful, spectacular, enviable game rooms and thou shalt not covet his neighbor's pinball machines becomes a difficult commandment to uphold.”
“I don't think that seven comments calling someone's wife a keeper on a post they made is particularly funny. In fact, I perceive it as a significantly negative aspect of participation in the pinball community.”
“Sometimes not telling your wife about money, your hobbies, or what went on that day at work is the best way to just keep everyone happy and stable.”
Entities
- Stern Pinball· company
- Medieval Madness· game
- Monster Bash· game
- Star Wars Pro· game
- Phil's Web Store· organization
- Pinball Enthusiast· organization
- Pinside· organization
- r/pinball· organization
- David Cross· person
- Heather Dubrow· person
- Tim Sexton· person
- Comet (Hershey Park)· product
- Comet (Six Flags Great Escape)· product
More from Tim Sexton
→ All content from Tim Sexton
The 10 Best Pinball Machines Ever Made From 1980 - 1984
In the early 1980s pinball was booming and these pinball machines represent the best of the best of this exciting pinball era which brought tons of new innovations like multi-level playfields...
Here's What Happened In 2025 In Pinball
2025 was an amazing year for Pinball where we averaged a new game announcement every single month. In this video I cover all the launches from companies like Stern Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball...
Pinball Tips - How to Catch the Ball (Bounce Pass, Drop Catch, Live Catch)
Looking for some tips to help improve your pinball game? In this video, I take you through the 3 fundamental catch moves in pinball. The bounce pass, the drop catch, and the live catch, and show you...
