FAKE GEEK GIRL BY TONI WERI
The “fake geek
girl” label has been around for quite some time now. I’ve heard it used by both
men and women when describing such a person. During my time as an employee of a
comic book store, I would often feel like I was being “tested” on my knowledge.
Tested on if I had seen or read the newest anime series that has JUST been
released from Japan or if I knew which Robin was currently alive/or had just
expired in the Batman comics. But alas, the moment I tripped up on information
or wasn’t up-to-date on something, my credibility as a “geek” was questioned. I never quite understood why really. Big
deal, so what?
One
time I even had a customer jokingly say, “Well, maybe I should be behind that
counter instead of you”, only because I messed up on my knowledge on a sci-fi
topic.
The
number of women that were openly into geeky fandoms during the early 90’s had
it a bit rough because it was a VERY rare thing to find. What?? A girl that
knows what happened in
“The
Incredible Hulk” issue# 181? Unheard of! Ok then, who was
the writer and the artist of that comic book then? You don’t know who they
were? Then that makes you a “fake geek girl”.
My
understanding of what makes a “fake geek girl”, through my experience, is one’s
judgement based on another’s level of knowledge on comic’s, movies, gaming etc...
Like
most labels, I do not encourage the use of this one. It’s enough that some of
us were bullied for being a geek/nerd when we were growing up. Why should we
shun newborn female geeks today by calling them a “fake geek girl”? If
anything, we should nurture their likes because we have a common interest. No
one should be berated because they don’t know as much as you do.
Embrace
evolution! Girls can be geeky too! Deal with it.
Toni Weri is a freelance artist and a proud member
of the Rebel Legion. She is a geek of all trades, but her forte lies with
anime, costuming, video games and Sci-Fi.
You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram @
TONIGEEKGIRL
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