What is an acceptable desktop for a man? (Or due to responses, what does a REAL man have?)

[Caligulove]

I like using scenery, usually an actual photograph or something that's done really well for art. Usually something that kind of connects with me, though. Something that shows some humanity. But high-res photos of something that I can look at occasionally, when nothings running, but also something that doesn't distract. I get a lot of my wallpapers from here, actually.
Even when not wallpaper hunting its an amazing site: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/
my latest 3 wallpapers

Spoiler: photograph from 1910

Spoiler: Tour de France

Spoiler: España!!

I used to have wallpaper of women, like the lovely, lovely Evangeline Lilly- who I still say is the sexiest woman ever. But, just kind of felt weird having women on my desktop after awhile, decided to have a more 'professional' wallpaper or something like that. haha

Spoiler: Evangeline Lilly

 

[copperflyingace]

I usually have some sort of military hardware as my background. Sometimes I switch it up by using a funny de-motivational poster, or one I found on TheChive that says "I'm not doing shit today. Mission accomplished". I currently have a picture of Courage Wolf reminding me to bring a knife to a gunfight and "Stab them while they're laughing!!"

 

[Nannernade]

Well I don't know how to post pictures on here I forgot how since I didn't do it very often, but I make my own in a crude way I just do the print screen, crop save bing bang done new background method, gotten so good at it I'm almost proud of myself to say look what I did! =D

 

[Therumancer]

I think a desktop is a personal thing and it should be what appeals to you, not what other people find "acceptable". If you start going with what is okay to everyone, you wind up with things that are boring, generic, and kind of pointless.

In general you should only care if your technically using someone else's computer at work, and even then it depends on company policy. If people don't like something you put on your desktop, well, that's their problem, apparently they don't like your taste but they can get over it.

As far as scantily clad babes and "porn", as I frequently point out I'm a fad, depressed, disabillity retired, nerd who lives at his parents house. In other words I'm exactly the audience whose supposed to be interested in escapism through such things. Just because some people seem to think I should be in active denial of such things doesn't mean I'm going to be even more pathetic by trying to pretend I'm something I'm not. I like my eye candy, so do a lot of people, which is why they produce it by the truckload, live with it.

 

[ChocoFace]

Had this one for a long time, and i honestly have never liked any background more.

Spoiler: spoiler tag'd

OT: i really dont like putting people of any sort on my desktop. and before you ask how that is on topic, i'll say that women are people too. Pig.

 

[Jonluw]

I think the reason the male ones aren't called out as gay is the military equipment. Any by-passer will just think you're focusing on that. If you, on the other hand, had a picture of bodybuilders or models striking poses you would probably be called gay pretty quickly.

Incidentally: When I was, like, ten years old, I managed to download a picture of two men performing anal sex with Darth Vader's mask photoshopped over one's head, and some random face over the other's (I had just googled Darth Maul or something, and that was the first thing that popped up). Someone then managed to set it as my desktop and, naturally, my parents noticed this. That was not a fun talk.

At the moment I am using the "I'm an assassin (shhhhh)" Shirt design as my desktop.
Edit: It's very sleek and elegant: A black background with a thick, red stripe crossing.

 

[asgardmothership]

I think a desktop is a personal thing and it should be what appeals to you, not what other people find "acceptable". If you start going with what is okay to everyone, you wind up with things that are boring, generic, and kind of pointless.

This is very much my overriding sentiment having read through all your responses so far - thankyou everyone! Of course we must always be considerate of others, but Therumancer is quite right, when it comes down to it, if it is your machine your desktop is a deeply personal thing. I wouldnt say if is an expression of yourself, because that would mean it was as much for others as it is for you - and from what we've all said, that is not the case.

To my mind, it seems your desktop is a kind of self reflection of your self. Whether that be your mood at the time (I have often changed my wallpaper if it did not suit it) or your current interest. While a year ago I might have wanted a Borderlands wallpaper, I am much more likely to have a Metro 2033 or Mafia II wallpaper.

There has been a tremendous response so far from people showing their current wallpapers, often just because they think the image is cool, and what better reason than that.

Perhaps I was wrong, perhaps my desire to have Yuna, or Delta as my background was borne out of the fact I can't have them. If they were there, as liberally as any game poster or car, then they would be as equally freely interchanged.

Though some people are content with the default wallpaper, taking the time to choose a good one, to modify it as your feelings and opinions change, is definitely worth it. The image in a small way, holds a mirror up to your mind, reminding you even when you are buried in work, or are just looking something up, things that you like, things that you love; and transports you away, even for a fleeting moment to experience something, or someone, brightening up your day just a little bit.

Spoiler: Whether that be to remind you that tomorrow you are off to your friend's house to finish Resident Evil: the Darkside Chronicles

Spoiler: Or that one day mankind may journey to the stars

 

[Vortex Traveller]

I have a automatically changing background, most are random images of Doctor Who, Games and other stuff I'm intrested in, however I do have one of Karen Gillan (Amy Pond from Doctor Who) thats... a bit risque


Though many people have seen it on my screen and have not been bothered by it (In fact the only background I had a comment on was a Doctor Who background with all the Doctors when asked me why I have a picture several men on my computer (I think he was joking though).

 

[FactualSquirrel]

Spoiler: I use this

It's a pretty awesome background, and while being super nerdy, it's not really noticeable to those who don't know, so I get no comments about it.

 

[Krafty_Krocodile]

I tend to use video game characters as my background...
Now that I think of it, most of them are robots...
Weird...

Spoiler: A sample of my backgrounds

That X one is now my new background...

anyways, my background is a still shot from a block of ice being shot cuz it has this wierd abstractly feel to it.

 

[Meemaimoh]

real men use scientific images as their background!

I have no idea what on earth the context for this image could be, but I love it.

My boyfriend usually just uses random WoW screenshots for his desktop, but he recently changed it to a painting of a scantily clad blood elf chick, which got an eyeroll from me. I don't know why, exactly. It just seems so silly. I love to look at Ryan Reynolds' bare chest, but I can't imagine ever putting it on my desktop.

My current one is just the words "Don't Panic" in large, friendly letters.

 

[Hexador]

I like to use the Magic: The Gathering Backgrounds you can get from their website. Cool fantasy art is fun to look at but still tasteful imo, even if it has scantily clad women.

 

[OrenjiJusu]

i stole my background from somewhere, shodan looking evil through a smashed BSoD. nerdy but acceptable.

 

[Zeromaeus]

I tend to use video game characters as my background...
Now that I think of it, most of them are robots...
Weird...

Spoiler: A sample of my backgrounds

That X one is now my new background...

anyways, my background is a still shot from a block of ice being shot cuz it has this wierd abstractly feel to it.

Neat. I like Wave's work, and honestly I think that X one was one of his (?) best (for wallpaper use). Although most of it isn't abstract at all, so I don't know how much you would like his (?) other works...
Links just in case:
(Newgrounds) http://wavechan.newgrounds.com/art
(DeviantArt) http://suzuran.deviantart.com/

 

[Belthalmel]

My first one

http://www.wallpapersahead.com/wp-content/wallpapers/music/sonata-drunk.jpg

And my current one

http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/cthulhu.jpg

I guess Cthulu might scare children, but Sonata is perfectly tame.

 

[robinhood36]

My wallpaper i stitched together from three I found on the internets

Spoiler: Three Screen Wallpaper

 

[imnot]

Mmmmmmm Emma Watson.......

Personally I would have a picture of Ms Watson over Megan Fox any day!

Indeed...
...sorry lost my train of thought.

 

[ultrachicken]

The Halo Reach desktop would get a pass because there is absolutely no skin there. Also, to the unsuspecting eye they'd look like robots. My dad thought that

Spoiler: these guys

were the borg.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

There is no line. I don't care if someone has a picture of a giant wolf from space raping a frog grandma. I'll react to it in a certain way just as I would to any picture, which in this case would be laughing, but I'm not going to tell them "that's unacceptable! You asshole!"

The Halo Reach desktop would get a pass because there is absolutely no skin there.

But they could be part of some weird armor fetish!!! Pervert!!!

It's the same logic as assuming that the only reason you have a desktop with a female character, like the Final Fantasy or Borderlands ones in the OP, is that you think the character looks really hot or attractive, which of course isn't always true. And even if that was the only reason someone had it up there, I couldn't bring myself to give any number of shits.