Ah...no female geeks? Or was the researcher working with a university grant that assumes none such exist?
274: Geeks in the Mist
- Thread starter Amanda Yesilbas
- Start date
Excellent article and nice bit of satire. It even has a message about being yourself at the end there. I can't help but feel the noted behaviors might be antiquated though or maybe its just deviation due to local climate. I did get the distinct bubbling notion in my gut of the ethnocentric anthropologist of yore though and that ticked me off but that's what you were going for so kudos at replicating it.
I like this article. The only difference for me is that I am the typical geek. I work with computer and I don't hide that I've been playing World of Warcraft about 5 years. LoL The guy in the cubical next to me is a player as well. I've been a geek all my life and I am sure I am going to die that way. =P I was wondering, did any of the 'test subjects' live where people know they were a geek? Did all of them hide the fact they like D&D/manga/video games?
**EDIT**
I had a laugh when I noticed I changed my badges to show the geek one. Win
**EDIT**
I had a laugh when I noticed I changed my badges to show the geek one. Win
The Geek phenotypes have proliferated to individuals and groups not traditionally defined as Geeks.
Is the middle-aged mother of three who plays Farmville, Peggle, and Bejewelled on a regular basis a Geek? She plays video games, probably more than you do. Is she not a Geek?
Is the former high school running back who actively and enthusiastically participates in a Fantasy Football pool with coworkers a Geek? He plays the football equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons. Is he not a Geek?
A person identified as a Geek back when some of us were in high school or college may not be defined as such as they grow older. Geek seems to be socially-accepted term for what were once known as Nerds, and nowadays seems parallel to the Japanese term "Otaku" (Obsessive Enthusiast) rather than socially inept Shadowrun-playing, Mountain Dew-swilling, Cheetos and Dorito-dust covered shut-ins who play video and computer games or read comic books almost every free hour of their day.
But such behaviors are in-vogue because they are a considerable market demographic (Translation: they got money, they spend money, companies market to them). To quote the article:
"In conclusion, the report finds that for self-preservation, many Geeks approaching middle age have taken on adaptations to disguise themselves in the larger and more hostile climes outside of the university. These misunderstood Geeks have not been destroyed as originally speculated, but instead thrive hidden in plain sight. Their lives are a precarious balance. It saddens me to see such a noble creature living in fear and shame, as if its existence alone was cause for ridicule and scorn."
Was it not always this way? The Geek was never noble; lions of the societal food chain they were not. Not ever. Geeks don't disguise themselves, they are merely more open about their interests than before since those interests are somewhat socially acceptable in current times. Your former high school varsity quarterback who spends the hours after work playing Modern Warfare 2 is now a Geek. Your new girlfriend who loves playing Disgaea because she thinks the art style is cute is now a Geek. Your mom is probably now a Geek. You may proudly proclaim yourself to be a Geek. But were you ever a Nerd?
Is the middle-aged mother of three who plays Farmville, Peggle, and Bejewelled on a regular basis a Geek? She plays video games, probably more than you do. Is she not a Geek?
Is the former high school running back who actively and enthusiastically participates in a Fantasy Football pool with coworkers a Geek? He plays the football equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons. Is he not a Geek?
A person identified as a Geek back when some of us were in high school or college may not be defined as such as they grow older. Geek seems to be socially-accepted term for what were once known as Nerds, and nowadays seems parallel to the Japanese term "Otaku" (Obsessive Enthusiast) rather than socially inept Shadowrun-playing, Mountain Dew-swilling, Cheetos and Dorito-dust covered shut-ins who play video and computer games or read comic books almost every free hour of their day.
But such behaviors are in-vogue because they are a considerable market demographic (Translation: they got money, they spend money, companies market to them). To quote the article:
"In conclusion, the report finds that for self-preservation, many Geeks approaching middle age have taken on adaptations to disguise themselves in the larger and more hostile climes outside of the university. These misunderstood Geeks have not been destroyed as originally speculated, but instead thrive hidden in plain sight. Their lives are a precarious balance. It saddens me to see such a noble creature living in fear and shame, as if its existence alone was cause for ridicule and scorn."
Was it not always this way? The Geek was never noble; lions of the societal food chain they were not. Not ever. Geeks don't disguise themselves, they are merely more open about their interests than before since those interests are somewhat socially acceptable in current times. Your former high school varsity quarterback who spends the hours after work playing Modern Warfare 2 is now a Geek. Your new girlfriend who loves playing Disgaea because she thinks the art style is cute is now a Geek. Your mom is probably now a Geek. You may proudly proclaim yourself to be a Geek. But were you ever a Nerd?
Personally I heard Sir David Attenborough's [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/who/david_attenborough.shtml] voice.h0wdyth3r3 said:I read this article in my head with that tone of voice that one normally reserves for those nature-show commentators. You know what I'm talking about... "See here how the honey bee dances gently this way and that, all in an elaborate dance to show her companions where the sugar is." I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the humour. Hat's off to you
Seriously, though, how many of us haven't had to put away our "childish things" to some extent because of the demands of everyday adult life? Sure, I'd love to veg out at my computer and play games all day, but I have that pesky full-time job, food shopping, and all other kinds of self-maintenence chores to handle. And while the whole Geek thing may be more socially acceptable than it was in the past- I was chatting about FPS games with a couple of co-workers outside the office during a fire drill recently, for example- it's still not something we go around bragging about.
Why? Because games- a whole and distinct other area from sports- are still labled as "childish things", something grown adults are no longer supposed to hold an interest in. And that ties into the greater pressure to "keep up appearances", to show the world that you are a Mature Adult and a Contributing Member of Society. Games are still considered a waste of time, when you could be doing something more valuable, like getting drunk with friends at a sports bar, or shopping. Older people, of course, are given a pass on this, because they've already done all they can for society and are entitled to their leisure time. That's why people think it's cute when Grandma bowls a perfect game on the Wii, but shake their heads in disgust when a 30-year-old man talks about being in a Modern Warfare 2 clan. Why isn't he putting in overtime for a promotion so he can buy his wife better clothes and his kids more expensive toys? And doesn't the lawn need mowing?
Tee hee! I just received my "Geek to the core" badge.
I loved The Rogue Wolf's "Games are still considered a waste of time, when you could be doing something more valuable, like getting drunk with friends in a bar, or shopping". Strange to see how ruining your health over alcohol and spending money you don't have are more acceptable than playing games. If you balance your activities and responsibilities properly, what is the problem in spending your "me-time" playing games?
I loved The Rogue Wolf's "Games are still considered a waste of time, when you could be doing something more valuable, like getting drunk with friends in a bar, or shopping". Strange to see how ruining your health over alcohol and spending money you don't have are more acceptable than playing games. If you balance your activities and responsibilities properly, what is the problem in spending your "me-time" playing games?
I've always thought the terms geek, nerd, especially in modern times act as quantifiers of preceding words, because of the huge number of nerd or geek subtypes (anime-nerd, comic-geek, etc). Looking at the label that we have either adopted or had applied to us from external agents (bullies, friends, online quizzes), from this perspective I believe adds a huge new dimension to the description and definition of nerd and geek tribes and subcultures. For instance, I am a nerd but specifically, I am a music and subcultures-nerd, a bit of a language-nerd and I exhibit video game-geek tendencies (I rarely get a chance to actually play any videogames these days but still consume great amounts of gaming related news and discourse, so I should qualify my gamer geek term as, video game culture-geek.
My theory is that nerds/geeks consume and become highly literate with specific forms of media, cultural artefacts, styles, tropes etc. and appropriate them for their socialisation, development and identification. For example, I play with language, I create my own terms and phrases within social situations which would be almost impenetrable to outsiders, most of the time this language-play is completely divested from my other interests, and simply there for my own amusement. With music subcultures, I discern and appropriate ideals, and styles from the mid to late 20th century British subcultures, the stylish visual acuity of the mods, the stubborn hard-nosed grit of the (original non-racist late-1960s) skinheads, open-mindedness and inclusiveness of the rudeboys and general criticism of dogma and authority of the punks, all mildly informed by the gamer-geek aspect (gaming tattoos, a 1-up mushroom belt buckle on a spiked, beaten up old punk-rock style leather belt). All of this comes together to inform my own worldviews and construct my social self.
In that sense I guess what I am saying is, Amanda, for writing what is ostensibly (at least in the way I read it) a satirised version of an Anthropological ethnography, you are the first satirist who is an Anthropology-nerd I have ever encountered.
And-that-is-frickin-awesome!
My theory is that nerds/geeks consume and become highly literate with specific forms of media, cultural artefacts, styles, tropes etc. and appropriate them for their socialisation, development and identification. For example, I play with language, I create my own terms and phrases within social situations which would be almost impenetrable to outsiders, most of the time this language-play is completely divested from my other interests, and simply there for my own amusement. With music subcultures, I discern and appropriate ideals, and styles from the mid to late 20th century British subcultures, the stylish visual acuity of the mods, the stubborn hard-nosed grit of the (original non-racist late-1960s) skinheads, open-mindedness and inclusiveness of the rudeboys and general criticism of dogma and authority of the punks, all mildly informed by the gamer-geek aspect (gaming tattoos, a 1-up mushroom belt buckle on a spiked, beaten up old punk-rock style leather belt). All of this comes together to inform my own worldviews and construct my social self.
In that sense I guess what I am saying is, Amanda, for writing what is ostensibly (at least in the way I read it) a satirised version of an Anthropological ethnography, you are the first satirist who is an Anthropology-nerd I have ever encountered.
And-that-is-frickin-awesome!
I can only imagine you are being sarcastic?ranger19 said:
Anyway I really enjoyed this bit of tongue in cheek satire. Well done!