Geeks and nerds come in all ages, shapes, sizes and yes…sexes. See, if you thought that there wasn’t a very strong female contingent in the “geek set”, you’d be mistaken. The voice of the “geek girl” is getting stronger – and gaining more notice – every day, whether in print or on the internet. This year saw the very first “Geek Girl Con” take place in Seattle Washington, selling out to the surprise of almost no one, and proving that these gals are a force to be reckoned with!
(continued at Geek to Me)
Action Flick Chick Katrina Hill made the list, and it’s an honor to appear with some amazing women.
Related posts:
* Oh, You sexy Geek! SDCC Panel Reactions and Controversies
* What ARE the Issues? Leias, Boobs, Thrones, and Gore
* San Diego Comic-Con Day One Schedule! Sexy, Geeky Feedback
* MTV Geek and the War on Geek Girls – Reactions!
* Miss USA Alyssa Campanella Wins Crown, Forfeits Geekhood
* Geek Girls Exist! Do Fake Geek Girls Exist Too? Is It Fair to Ask?
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These sort of lists leave me pondering – Do the labels “geek” and “nerd” have any real meaning any more? It seems that they have been co-opted in the same fashion that certain racial epithets have been co-opted by those subjected to them.
It seems that Geek and Nerd have become badges of membership into a community that uses those words to illustrate traits that make them special and more interesting than non-members; especially when discussion can turn to subjects such as “geek posers” (see “Do Fake Geek Girls Exist” above).
In a sense, the whole Geek Girls thing is just another way of saying “Look, we’re Special!”. Yes, it’s superficially about gender equality (“Hey, despite what you were trained to believe, there are girl geeks too!”) but I think it’s even more about social status improvement. Blatant flattery aside, when you have a list of “geeks” that includes women like Katrina, Jen Friel, Felicia Day and the women on the Geek Girls list or the Women of the Web contest and what-not, what you really have is a recruitment poster that says “You may have laughed at us in the past but we have the hot, interesting women. Who’s laughing now?”
Those of us who grew up when “geek” and “nerd” were insults know that there have always been “geek girls” because they were always there doing the same nerdy stuff that the boys were doing, and they were just as plain, ordinary and socially awkward as the boys.
I guess that in the end it sort of comes down to the whole phenomenon of “Geek” activities ceasing to really be socially awkward activities. When they became mainstream or at least pseudo-mainstream, the labels (mostly) ceased to be a liability and instead evolved into a badge that identifies the person as having interests beyond the mundane and, by extension, being more interesting than the mundane.
There’s your sociological essay for the day. *laugh*
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