http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/21/boy-nerds-are-still-trying-to-tell-girl-nerds-that-theyre-not-real-nerds Comments On: Boy Nerds Are Still Trying to Tell Girl Nerds That They're Not Real Nerds by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
And I still don't blame them for taking advantage of that.
Posted by tal]]> Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:20:26 -0800 The Stranger
No shit, because sexual harassment is objectively worse than poseurdom.
Posted by apologists for creeps, everywhere]]> Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:18:33 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Sandiai]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:29:53 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Sandiai]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:17:01 -0800 The Stranger
Being pure nerd myself, some of you all are talking about geeks mostly. Nerds, for example, don't go to Comic-Con conventions in a costume, they go to scientific conventions and present abstracts of their research.

Here's what I'm talking about:

http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Differen…

Now, for the record, as an adult anyway, I'm socially pretty un-awkward, and for some reason I always fall in love with geeks, not nerds. Go figure. I like a man who's a little bit childish, I guess.

Both male geeks and nerds CAN certainly be jerks, and not as evolved as one might expect from someone with a big brain.
Posted by Sandiai]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:14:52 -0800 The Stranger
I don't identify as a nerd, but I feel that I get negatively evaluated just for being smart sometimes. It is visibly irritating to some men when a woman knows more about anything than he does. It gets worse if you make better points in an argument. Sometimes I can feel them shooting the word "bitch" at me through their eyes. I can only imagine what it's like for a sexist man to have a nice girl skip into their male-dominated conventions/forums/blogs and speak intelligibly about the topic. And the second the girl is not familiar with every single little thing the boy is, she's a fake.
Posted by mtnlion]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:31:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by lowlytootle]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:36:50 -0800 The Stranger
I can't answer that question, despite being present at events and observing all kinds of nerdy behavior (both good and bad.)

#62 -- I feel like creepy internet dudes occur as often as fake nerd girls, and get blamed for far more.
Posted by MameSnidely]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:31:34 -0800 The Stranger Posted by or perhaps you weren't clear?]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:20:30 -0800 The Stranger
This happens with boys too, though. Shallow, catchphrase spouting more interested in "doing the homework" than any sincere interest in the culture dolts that're just looking for acceptance, but they never get slagged on.
Posted by or slut-shamed for trying to sleep with nerd girls]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:04:45 -0800 The Stranger
Yeah, there are fans who get snooty about other fans for their lack of rigor or "authenticity" -- usually literature fans who complain about people who only like the movie or the game or whatever -- but this is not traditionally gender-linked. (See http://brunching.com/geekhierarchy.html for reference.)

Also, no normal geek boy cares why a MPS (member of preferred sex) is wearing a skimpy outfit and hanging out at the con. He's just glad they are.
Posted by McJulie]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 12:08:49 -0800 The Stranger
Since the most recent spurt of cool nerdiness, there has been a distinct, though very small group of people that show up and while they are Community Newbs, refuse to do the homework. They are disruptive and expect everyone to roll out a red carpet for them. They tend to be 14-16 years old, and yes, female. (At a 2k + person con, I maybe see like, six.) These folks are oh so obnoxious, and make conventions less fun if you have a run in. (Being staff, I ALWAYS run into them.) I would love to stomp the snot out of them. Not because they are newbs. Not because they are young. Not because they are female (which they aren't always.)

No, I'd like to stomp the snot out of them because they expect to be full-fledged members of a community where they haven't done the homework, aren't making an effort to fit in, and will not stick with. When the next fad identity comes along, we'll never see them again. Like any kind of leech, they are a drain. Yeah, they are obnoxious, but there's only about 2 parts per 1000 at a nerdherd event. If you ignore it, for once, it really will go away.

The geek/nerd community has way bigger problems to deal with.

Like the fact that they are projecting this leechery on ANY female newcomber. Not cool.
Posted by MameSnidely]]> Sat, 24 Nov 2012 08:30:17 -0800 The Stranger
As someone who has an 8 year old girl who is already devouring sci-fi and comics at an alarming rate, I don't understand why Geek girls let themselves be defined by the guys? Spend time with people who share your interests and respect your opinion. How is it more complicated?
Posted by Aaron CM]]> Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:42:12 -0800 The Stranger

Posted by Reality Intrudes]]> Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:47:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by LEE.]]> Fri, 23 Nov 2012 01:03:46 -0800 The Stranger
And projecting their viewpoints onto women who are geeks.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:04:10 -0800 The Stranger
1. Woman says something stupid
2. Man points out stupidity
3. Man is accused of "mansplaining", because there is no way a woman can be wrong about anything, ever, and if you disagree you are a misogynist.

I am seeing this exact scenario play out in comment threads quite a lot these days.
Posted by Quick Anonymous Comment]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:56:41 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Jizzlobber]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:42:06 -0800 The Stranger that is what's got these creeps hate on. It's not their love of Star Trek or comic books that's keeping them from getting laid, it's their own stinky personalities. For decades they used their hobbies and tastes as an excuse for their lack of popularity and now that all those things they blamed for making them outsiders are super popular with women and the mainstream they still can't get laid and they can't accept it's not Star Trek, or anime, or comics, or gaming that makes them losers...it's them that sucks!
Posted by yucca flower]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:05:30 -0800 The Stranger
Give me a goddamned break. This is not about people on the autistic spectrum. This is about manchildren whose misogynistic behavior is endorsed because he's "always been that way". These nerds have been in the clique for decades and never chastised for their attitude.
Posted by ah, the girl jumps in to "defend" MRA creeps]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:41:43 -0800 The Stranger
Irrelevant. Social pariahs have their own chain of bullydom. Nerds bully others too, as evidenced here.
Posted by they're not the victims they claim]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:55:44 -0800 The Stranger
This was an explanation I heard recently, but it was taken one step further: That women enter geek circles and say "I love all of this!!!" and then glance at the dude who would be labeled as "creepy" and the woman would add "...Except him. He's gotta go."

On the one hand, as a girl who is a geek and was rejected thoroughly by both genders growing up, I feel that it is OK to say "This individual is making me extremely uncomfortable" when we fleel that we might be in physical or psychological danger, but on the other hand it can be argued that comic book shops were the creep's refuge to begin with, a place where he could exist without being judged.

I don't know, maybe it's just the weird politics of the word "creep" since it's a subjective and (devastating) term, and sometimes guys say that women use it as a tool to disenfranchise (and cockblock) awkward men.

It's just all very distressing because the only other word we have is "predator" but that seems unfairly harsh.

How do women communicate that it's okay for both parties to be geeks, and it's OK for both to exist without one party feeling slighted?
Posted by Agent Beryllium]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:40:40 -0800 The Stranger Posted by GhostDog]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 07:32:14 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Bonefish]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:41:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In]]> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:39:20 -0800 The Stranger