I’m tired. I’m tired of hearing about “fake geek girls”. I’m tired of hearing about cosplayers being attention whores and cockteases. I’m tired of being expected to look past impractical costumes, brokeback, women in refrigerators, and damsels in distress. And I’m tired of being expected to compromise who I am. I like comics, sci-fi, cartoons, video games and collecting toys while female. Exactly why is that a problem? Why is any woman or girl liking these things a problem?
Years into my geekiness I still haven’t found an answer. They ironic part is, my geekiness started because of men. When I was little my dad and I watched the old Fleischer Superman cartoons. My cousins showed me the Transformers cartoons. I bought my first comic when a friend’s brother wanted to go to the store. My guy friends taught me how to play D&D. I went to my first comic book convention on a date.
Because I’ve known all these men who were happy to share, I don’t understand those who feel the need to play gatekeeper. No one needs to be a bouncer for the X-Men. Anyone can like them. It’s really okay. It’s even okay if someone likes them in a different way than you. If you want to collect Star Wars facts to pull out at a moments notice and someone else wants to knit a Darth Vader, you can both be fans. Fandom is big enough for all of us. There is no reason someone should spend life being picked on for their obsessive love of Batman only to come into the Batman fandom and be picked on for the way they love Batman.
