FAKE GEEK GIRLS, AS SEEN BY COURTNEY LOCKHART
Fake geek girl memes and insults are a
symptom of a bigger problem. Chris Hardwick popularized the phrase ‘Nerd on Nerd Violence’ as a way to describe this general
nastiness towards each other. However
this isn’t confined to geek culture. Look at
any Facebook wall or Twitter feed. You’ll see posts about real Canadians,
fake athletes, real men and fake feminist. It’s almost as if they believe that the
only way to prove they are living well is by pointing out that everyone else is
doing it wrong.
There is a part of me that gets it. If
you are a geek of a certain age the odds are you were bullied. That history
might make you a little defensive. But that is exactly why we should be
rallying against the idea of Fake Geek Girls and the harassment of women in
general. We’ve been there. We know how it feels.
So why on earth would someone do that to another human being?
Courtney Lockhart lives in the west end of Ottawa with her husband and step-cat. She is polishing her skills to pursue one of her dream careers as either a costume drama character, Torchwood operative or executive assistant to a billionaire vigilante. You can follow her daily mission to DFTBA on Twitter @corastacy.
Geek is defined as "an unfashionable or socially inept person." Obviously, no one is using this definition in their vernacular, which begs the question of... If we're defining people as a "fake geek," we should first be pressed to define the traits of a geek. There was a time when geek culture was certainly looked down on, was fandom of comic books, cartoons, sci-fi, fantasy, roleplaying games, video games, and so on and so forth. What's more, these fandoms were perceived of as well-outside of the mainstream. They aren't anymore. There are plenty of TV shows and movies that are indoctrinating ever more people into the fold. Just about anyone you see walking down the street has a very good chance of being qualified as a geek in some way, shape, or form, if we're using a fondness for these previously "fringe" sources of entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem is that, as you say, a lot of geeks have a chip on their shoulder. They feel like geekdom is their own. I think a lot of them fear having their status and identity compromised by the influx of others. Realistically, if you are a true geek who dealt with adversity early on, you should be welcoming of anyone and everyone expressing an interest in your interests! The more people who get into geek culture, the less adversity there has to be for geeks! Besides, everyone had to start out somewhere in their geekiness. We can't be born with an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things geek. There's no such thing as a "fake" geek. Maybe there are people out there masquerading as geeks for social appeal, but, then, that means that being a geek is now in vogue, otherwise we would have to question why someone would want to pretend to begin with. I've started rambling but only because this subject makes me irritated.