Anyone remember a few months ago when the internet was all aflutter with “fake nerd girl syndrome”? Some comic book artists and a few vocal geek boys were making a lot of noise about this epidemic of girls who dress up in hot costumes hoping to get attention. Or something like that. It died down for a while only to come up again recently at a game convention. The short of it is a blogger handed out free “fake geek girl” advisory sticker as a satire against that stupidity. Most people got it. That didn’t stop a few idiots from causing an incident by slapping them on girls’ butts. Stay classy guys.
My fellow TNS columnist extraordinare Heather has more than a few gripes about being accepted as a geek girl. I never understood why I am able to move more easily in the geek world than someone like Heather or her friends. I know for a fact these “fakes” can geek me under the table at any given time. Fortunately they keep a mat under the table so I can be comfortable. Yet people still do assume that I’m more geeky than them. It doesn’t matter that I am a luddite when it comes to technology [ed. note: It’s true, you should see his phone.], rarely read comic books or science fiction novels, and the only show I have extensive knowledge about is Doctor Who. This came in handy when I worked in a video game store. I don’t own a single gaming system so my knowledge of video games is sketchy at best. Without fail when a mother who wanted to buy her sweet cherub offspring a game I was their go-to guy. If I were a meaner person a lot of teen boys would have gotten Barbie’s Dream Castle instead of Bioshock like they wanted. Fortunately for them I’m not, so I just picked whatever game was listed in the top ten for that week.
Personally I couldn’t care less who enjoys any of these things. So what if they are easy on the eyes. It doesn’t take anything away from what we love. That’s not to say there isn’t a problem. Back in the day it used to be jocks who cornered you at school. These days it is the general public who have co-opted the things we loved to make them into something more palatable for general consumption. They get excited when a new Call of Duty comes out or to see the next Avengers movie. That’s about as far as it goes. Many of them don’t care about the details that can drive a geek nuts. Inconsistency doesn’t bother them in the least. They don’t care if the right actor or actress is in the part or not. Not to mention their ignorance of source material.
As I stated in the past there are now more socially acceptable forms of geekery. They turn up their nose at Dungeons and Dragons, but have no problem with paintball or fantasy football. They laugh at fans of Doctor Who, but will get into Lost. If you’re a fan I am OK with that, but don’t call yourself a geek unless you have earned your stripes. Owning every season of Big Bang Theory doesn’t count. We have all had our moments where the general public made us feel unwelcome. Fortunately we had our small group of fellow travellers for company. If we have to explain why something is amazing then you will never get it. These others are nothing more than fans. That is also fine with me if you don’t make fun of geeks for their higher level of fandom. There is room for you at the table. Now if you’ll excuse me it is time I take my rightful place under the table where I belong.
