A brief contemplation on geekdom
Sep. 6th, 2009 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
perpetual_motionI've been researching female comic book fans for my media paper, and it led me to this comment connected to an article about the supposed rise of female geeks [I say supposed because it's not that we're not around, it's that we don't get a lot of notice]:
"A geek" was the only fitting role model for a lot of us guys who weren't jocks or preppies and now that is being taken away from us!
I'll give a million dollars [or this bucket] to the first person who can explain to me how women being geeky takes away from men being geeky. Before anyone gets wiseass, "boobs" is not an acceptable answer.
I really am curious as to how women are "taking away" a concept. Geek guys have no problem sharing the title with other guys, so what's it matter if women are claiming the title as well? I mean, guys like this one might actually meet girls who like the geeky stuff they do. The horror.
I find this type of thought especially weird because, in my experience, I've never met a geek guy who thinks I'm trying to bogart his territory. Geeks, in general, tend to be happy with most fellow geeks because we're geeks. Much in the same way as the "jocks" and "preps" congregate because they have a common backing, so do geeks. I've never felt that having a vagina made my geekiness inherently different.
Someone at some point said to me, in regards to a mutual acquaintance, "He's to geeks what geeks are to non-geeks."
And I wonder if the people who agree with him would look at me and think something similar: "She says she's a geek, but she's a girl, so she's not really a geek."
And that, quite honestly, bums me the hell out. Because I am a geek, and I've been a geek, and I wasn't aware that my gender was an actual factor to some people. Because it shouldn't, plain and simple, be a factor at all. I read comics. I'm scarily into movies. I learned HTML at fourteen for fun, and I started learning CSS for the same reason. I know more about Magic: The Gathering than I do about poker, and the only reason I don't play video games is because my hand-eye coordination is shit. I will, however, watch a good game from start to finish and try to help you out [Left! No, LEFT! No, your OTHER FUCKING LEFT!]. I wasn't aware that these things were less geeky because I have fleshier bits and lack a penis.
What are your thoughts, flist?
"A geek" was the only fitting role model for a lot of us guys who weren't jocks or preppies and now that is being taken away from us!
I'll give a million dollars [or this bucket] to the first person who can explain to me how women being geeky takes away from men being geeky. Before anyone gets wiseass, "boobs" is not an acceptable answer.
I really am curious as to how women are "taking away" a concept. Geek guys have no problem sharing the title with other guys, so what's it matter if women are claiming the title as well? I mean, guys like this one might actually meet girls who like the geeky stuff they do. The horror.
I find this type of thought especially weird because, in my experience, I've never met a geek guy who thinks I'm trying to bogart his territory. Geeks, in general, tend to be happy with most fellow geeks because we're geeks. Much in the same way as the "jocks" and "preps" congregate because they have a common backing, so do geeks. I've never felt that having a vagina made my geekiness inherently different.
Someone at some point said to me, in regards to a mutual acquaintance, "He's to geeks what geeks are to non-geeks."
And I wonder if the people who agree with him would look at me and think something similar: "She says she's a geek, but she's a girl, so she's not really a geek."
And that, quite honestly, bums me the hell out. Because I am a geek, and I've been a geek, and I wasn't aware that my gender was an actual factor to some people. Because it shouldn't, plain and simple, be a factor at all. I read comics. I'm scarily into movies. I learned HTML at fourteen for fun, and I started learning CSS for the same reason. I know more about Magic: The Gathering than I do about poker, and the only reason I don't play video games is because my hand-eye coordination is shit. I will, however, watch a good game from start to finish and try to help you out [Left! No, LEFT! No, your OTHER FUCKING LEFT!]. I wasn't aware that these things were less geeky because I have fleshier bits and lack a penis.
What are your thoughts, flist?
