How do you deal with "The Look"?

I am assuming you have all been recipients of "the look" at one time or another. If you haven't (or don't know what I'm talking about) let me explain. It's the dismissive facial expression of pure mockery that I get from people when I tell them I write Horror. Sound familiar?
I first noticed it from my doctor on our first appointment after I quit my job as an English Professor to write full time. When he asked me if I was still teaching at the University I told him "no" and explained why. He was thoroughly impressed that I'd decided to become a writer until I told him what genre I'm writing. He actually laughed at me and said with obvious sarcasm "good luck with that."
Something similar happened with the lady who cuts my hair, then my friends, then some family members, and finally some former colleagues. They were all impressed I decided to become a writer. They all seemed thrilled with the idea. They were all very encouraging until . . .
"What do you write?"
"Horror mainly."
Then I got "the look."

It hasn't prevented me in any way from writing what I love, but I must admit that I am unwilling to tell people anymore what I do for a living (or at least what I am trying to do).
Is it just me or does it seem to everyone else as well that this genre carries a stigma with it?
At a get-together with some friends when the topic came up (my wife proudly shares my passion with others constantly while I shrivel up in shame) most of them took turns going around the table making fun of my chosen genre. I heard things like:
"Aren't you too old for ghosts and goblins?"
"No, seriously now, what are you writing?"
"Do your books feature a dumb, big breasted blond girl who gets murdered from a hockey mask-wearing psycho?"
"You're too smart for that nonsense . . . aren't you?"

Only one friend of mine received the news positively and she was consequently the recipient of my first manuscript to read and evaluate. She of course loved it, but what else would a true friend say? You shouldn't have given up your day job?

Sorry, I know this is somewhere between a rant and a question, but I am curious to find out if I alone am the recipient of this treatment.

dgrintalis:
If only I were pretty enough (or handsome in my masculine condition ) to get the same type of comment.

CACTUSWENDY:
I'm using a Pen name that's not really a pen name at all. When I got my SS number they decided to automatically translate my name into a more comfortable English substitute so officially I have to use the name on all my government documents, but as a published author (may that day come swiftly) I will use my proper, Greek, given name. In short, everyone who knows me on a personal level will know who I am.

I'm actually hounded by people who ask me how my books are going while also giving me the look again. Wasn't the first time enough? You think I didn't get that you're mocking me the first you looked at me like I'm wasting my time?
The funny thing is that I have asked people what was the last horror book they read and some of them will tell me very proudly they just finished a great "King, Barker, Rice, whatever" book. But I'm still wasting my time apparently.
c'est la vie I guess.

hehe, very apropos.

Hey, look at that, negativity seems to be following me around these days. Anyway, I use the term Professor generically. My last promotion earned me the title of Associate Professor, meaning no tenure.

And since I have a 15 month old daughter and another one on the way do you really think I'd quit that job if I weren't financially secure enough to do so? I still have two other sources of income (and if the Euro keeps beating the hell out of the Dollar I can even afford a yearly vacation in Hawaii without sweating it much). As it is right now I'm very comfortable and financially secure. I'm not rich, or at least not rich enough to not care about not having a job with a fixed income, but I can live with the same quality of life for many, many years to come even if I don't land a few books deals. Good enough for you or do you want my complete medical history as well?

This is going off topic now, but assuming you've been to college did you refer to your Professors by their full and proper title (e.g. excuse me Adjunct Professor Smith, or pardon me Assistant Professor Rose) or did you just use the generic form of it? Granted many Profs prefer the "Dr." salutation when speaking directly to them, but still. Or say perhaps you're at a party and you're telling your friends a story about this real hard ass Prof of yours back in the day. Would you say "oh, that Associate Professor Lu was a real prick"?

I see what you're trying to get at here, but I don't see the point of it. If you don't want to believe me that's your right. There's plenty of alter egos on the internet, but I never found it of any importance to care about the true man behind the mask.

Yeah, that's the other thing about writing horror. Since I don't censor my writing in any way and I have no lines I will not cross I get some pretty strange reactions from the people who have read my stuff. They'll say things like "what's wrong with you?" etc.

That reminds me of a publisher who stated in their website: No Horror containing child abuse, animal abuse, profanity, sex, gratuitous nudity, excessive gore, or misrepresentation of proper Christian values and history.
Should I send you the 10 words that are left in my MS for review then?