Myth of the fake geek girl.

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Data Holmes, Nov 19, 2012.

  1. Robert Maxwell

    Robert Maxwell memelord Premium Member

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    I have my own thought about it, too.

    Being a nerd/geek (the two terms are often used interchangeable) was predominantly a male affiliation, and one that often came along with being socially ostracized, bullied, etc. It became its own subculture, with its own ethos and rites of passage. Any women who were part of it were generally expected to have come up the same way: socially awkward, few friends, little socialization outside the "geek" circle. Her gender was essentially irrelevant.

    That's not really the situation anymore, though. Being a geek is mainstream now. It's cool. But you still have the guys holding onto this nostalgic idea of what it is to be a geek, and what you have to go through to be one, and they don't like that just "anyone" can be one now. This is a status that's supposed to be reserved for the brilliant yet misunderstood, and instead you've got attractive young women who play video games and read 4chan and call themselves geeks. Some people can't handle that, because they don't like their subculture being "invaded" or "taken over" by people who haven't "paid their dues."

    I'm not saying I agree with them at all, because you just can't control a subculture in that way. I can understand where they are coming from, though. However, I think it is incorrect to assume the motive is sexist. I don't think sexism enters into it. It's more like a fear of something different, and especially the fear of these "different" people coming into your subculture and making it into something else, and then what have you got left? There are people whose lives basically revolve around living in geek/nerd culture, and once that is changed into something unfamiliar, it's like they don't have a "home" anymore.

    In my opinion, the answer is for those people to grow up and realize nothing stays the same, and to get over their fucking childhood trauma already.
     
  2. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

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  3. Davros

    Davros Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Geek, used to refer to a guy who bit the heads off of chickens in a circus sideshow.
     
  4. Sky

    Sky Captain Captain

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    I think this is a big part of it, based on some of my experiences of when I was still single and young and went to conventions a lot.
     
  5. WillsBabe

    WillsBabe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think that's an excellent analysis. The same thing happened to the UK con scene back in the early 90s when TNG fans started attending. Cons went from being twice yearly affairs with 300 people attending to a burgeoning con scene with over 1,000 attending. Some of us were shell shocked for a long time! :lol:
     
  6. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    And yet you call yourself WillsBabe and not KirksBabe..
     
  7. WillsBabe

    WillsBabe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    True! :lol:
     
  8. PlainSimpleJoel

    PlainSimpleJoel Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    Both interesting articles. Over the last few days I've seen posts on FB about this issue. It's one a lot of my female friends in the cosplay scene have been posting about.

    There maybe fake geeks out there, but I don't know them.
     
  9. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    When I worked at a bookstore we came up with a test called the geek-o-lizer. The guy who scored highest was into video games, comics, science fiction and sports. The one who denied his geekdom the most was Dead Head. Somehow, following a band from gig to gig and recording their shows, then trading those recording for the ones you don't have doesn't make you a geek. To me being a geek means you're border line obsessed with something. Be it a TV show, a sports team or a band.

    A nerd is just someone who excels at intellectual pursuits.
     
  10. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Forget the geek girls, go for the geek women. That way you know this is not some college fad, but rather a long term personality attribute.

    None of the people I was geeky with in high school (Trek, LOTR, D and D) have ANY interest at all in anything pop culture today. They had probably completely divested themselves of these pursuits long before they hit 30. They, as one person somewhat scathingly said to me, "grew up".

    Watch out for that people, the ones that grow up.
     
  11. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  12. PlainSimpleJoel

    PlainSimpleJoel Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    ^ That is gold. Must share this on facebook, as many of my female friends would get a laugh out of this.
     
  13. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    :comes in:

    LINK

    :drops the mike:
     
  14. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    One thing I've seen is a lot of bitching about anime. In my country cons have been revived by anime which has brought a huge influx of younger female fans to cons which just keep getting bigger every year. Huge amount of fun. But I've heard a lot of old guard comic book guy types (who might not be old, but they have that elitist mentality) actually dipping into bitterness about it. Some see it as an invasion of shallowness but really it's just a territorial pissing contest that only they are taking part in as meanwhile a party rages around them.