Geek Girls Lambast Prejudice in Music Video

[Gorrath]

I have no idea why people would label themselves as a 'geek' or anything for that matter.

Self labeling serves as a way for social groups to form around subjects of common interest. Labels can create camaraderie and a sense of unification. Calling yourself a geek is shorthand for saying that you've an interest in a subculture or subjects related to certain pursuits, usually involving games, comics, books, intellectual endeavors, animation ect.

Of course such labels can also cause problems as well, such as a hierarchy and claims that some who claim the label are 'fake', as we see with the issue at hand.

 

[rasta111]

So... What would happen if we had the fake gamers/geeks/whatever who happened to be guys trying to achieve popularity through fraud *cough*FACEBOOK*ahem* instead then...? What's that? We always have and no one ever really cared at least up until now?

... So err what's the point here again?... Forget I asked *sigh*

captcha: butter side down... Yes I slept through lunch again today captcha stop reminding me.

 

[faefrost]

To quote Sean Connery " Who would claim to be that, who is not?" I mean really? They choose to claim to be fake geeks, for the attention? Really? That makes about as much sense as someone choosing to be gay because of the broader fashion choices available.

 

[happyninja42]

No woman browsing through a game shop or hanging out at a convention, or talking about Star Trek are fake geek girls. Fake geek girls don't have the time, patience or desire to do any of those things.

I would disagree somewhat with the statement of "there are no fake geek girls at cons" Considering that comic conventions are the new source of advertisement and promotion for Hollywood and other entertainment industries, there is a LOT of money and "talent scouts" moving through them these days. And if you are an upcoming actress, hoping to get spotted by an agent, nowadays the best place to go would be a geek convention. Dress yourself up in a sexy outfit, walk around, and maybe some agent will spot you and offer you a gig. I've seen several convention "news casts" where various internet figures go around and interview the various costumed con-goers, and quite frequently, the really attractive women, wearing an incredibly sexualized outfit would ask, almost immediately after introducing themselves "Now what site are you hosting this on? Who do you work for?" It sounded very much to me, like they were wanting to have a name and site to add to their resume and portfolio for possible job connections.

THOSE I think, are the type of woman that has engendered the "fake geek girl" concept.

*Disclaimer before every decides to flame*

I'm not saying that EVERY woman who dresses sexy at a con is a fake geek girl, or is simply an actress looking for her "Big Break" by promoting herself at the cons. I'm quite certain that the majority of them are genuine fans of the genres, but to just simply say that 100% of them are there "for the love of the nerd culture" is I think, somewhat naive. Geek culture and Nerddom is now becoming a multi BILLION dollar industry, and people know it. To think that NOBODY is going there with the sole purpose of trying to get found out and picked up for a boost to their career is naive to me.

I mean for god's sake, they hire Booth Girls, models/actresses with no purpose other than to simply look hot, and draw attention to their booths. If you are trying to get into modeling, and maybe you think starting as a Booth Girl would be a good foot in the door method, where would you go to try and catch that gig? Your local con of course.

 

[Cecilo]

To quote Sean Connery " Who would claim to be that, who is not?" I mean really? They choose to claim to be fake geeks, for the attention? Really? That makes about as much sense as someone choosing to be gay because of the broader fashion choices available.

It is fair to say that Geeks are not popular, they are not accepted, and they are certainly not the most experienced when it comes to people of the opposite gender. Many have been rejected by women or men or just never had the courage to someone out. It leads them to crave ANY kind of interaction with members of the opposite sex, this is where the main problem is. They will give people attention for just being around them.

And as I said earlier, Not every woman does this. Clearly. Not every woman points out they are a woman. I don't point out who I am, my age, how I look or what I do. If you feel the need to tell everyone you are a male, with a such and such size penis. Then you are just as bad as the "Fake Girl Gamers".

There is no good reason to have your chest showing on a webcam while playing a video game. None.

 

[xplosive59]

I have no idea why people would label themselves as a 'geek' or anything for that matter.

Self labeling serves as a way for social groups to form around subjects of common interest. Labels can create camaraderie and a sense of unification. Calling yourself a geek is shorthand for saying that you've an interest in a subculture or subjects related to certain pursuits, usually involving games, comics, books, intellectual endeavors, animation ect.

Of course such labels can also cause problems as well, such as a hierarchy and claims that some who claim the label are 'fake', as we see with the issue at hand.

I get that but it still used as a derogatory term like otaku, nerd and emo etc. I believe it is jsut shows like the big bang theory that have really brought the term into full schwing.

 

[klaynexas3]

Yup, the "guilty until proven innocent" idea still exists here. It's sad when the YouTube comments seemed to have more sense to them than this forum.

Don't get me wrong, there are attention whores out there that claim to be something for the sole purpose of manipulation. However, the only reason why this video exists is because there are a multitude of people that act like all girls are those manipulative attention whores until proven otherwise. They shouldn't have anything to prove, yet they really aren't given a choice by some people. So they got annoyed and they made this. That's the point of this video.

 

[Gorrath]

I have no idea why people would label themselves as a 'geek' or anything for that matter.

Self labeling serves as a way for social groups to form around subjects of common interest. Labels can create camaraderie and a sense of unification. Calling yourself a geek is shorthand for saying that you've an interest in a subculture or subjects related to certain pursuits, usually involving games, comics, books, intellectual endeavors, animation ect.

Of course such labels can also cause problems as well, such as a hierarchy and claims that some who claim the label are 'fake', as we see with the issue at hand.

I get that but it still used as a derogatory term like otaku, nerd and emo etc. I believe it is jsut shows like the big bang theory that have really brought the term into full schwing.

When I was young (oh so many moons ago) geek was not a term that you wanted associated with yourself or anything else that you were into. It is amazing to me how much I was derided for the hobbies I enjoyed when I was young. It seems things have shifted fantastically and that geekdom is not only commonplace, but downright mainstream. I am curious as to whether The Big Bang Theory helped cause this or was caused by it. I like using the label geek now even though I hated it when I was young, probably because it seems like it no longer carries the same stigma. If it is still used as derogatory, it seems to have fallen out of favor. I can still imagine socially awkward kids with niche interests might still get the full brunt of it as a bullying term though. It's curious.

 

[DaWaffledude]

It seems like people think a girl is a fake geek unless she proves otherwise. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

That's kinda the point of the video.

Captcha: "haters gonna hate"

Indeed.

 

[Sutter Cane]

You know i fail to see how the attitude that some people seem to have that since some women pretend to be geeks to take advantage of guys, it's fair to be suspicious of geek girls, is any different than saying that since some black people are criminals it's fair to be suspicious of black people, or because some men are abusers its ok to suspect any guy of being abusive.

The attitude is stupid, prejudicial, and needs to stop.

I'm curious as to which people you mean. I'm not sure I've seen anyone who made that leap of logic. Mostly what I've seen is some people claiming fake gamer girls either don't exist or are in no way a problem and other people saying that they do exist and that they can be if they are using lies to manipulate people. Can you quote anyone who has said that the resulting suspicion is justified? Advocating for understanding why some male geek gamers might hold a prejudicial opinion is not the same as saying that said opinion is justifiable.

I mean no disrespect to you, I am simply confused by our seemingly different views on what has been said.

I don't see it so much here, but on the less savory parts of the internet that attitude is more prevalent.

 

[michael87cn]

This whole situation I feel is quite ridiculous and restricted to two places prone to immaturity.... school, and the internet.

That music video is equally silly; because adults shouldn't be being harassed for being geeky, in fact, they shouldn't usually be in any kind of situation where anyone notices such a thing.

In my experience being an adult is like this: you work, you come home and enjoy whatever you enjoy in privacy by yourself/with your family (your family shouldn't be anti-whatever you are) and then you sleep and start over. At work you can talk to others but you really should be able to keep what you like to do in your free time to yourself if you really are so insecure about it; think others will harass you about it; are female and feel alienated.

I'm male and that's how I've always been. I wear glasses but I don't consider myself to appear geeky/nerdy, I have gotten the odd rude question or two, but it's not enough to make me go on an 'I'm offended' parade. For example when I was buying some quarters (to do laundry) Cashier: "Gonna play some video games?" me: "No, I need to do laundry". Anyway, I'm male and I do enjoy geeky/nerdy things, from RPGs to Star Trek (the tv series, not the latest movies).

Also, since when is geeky/nerdy the same thing? It was my impression that geeks loved technology and gadgets and nerds loved intellectualism and thought provoking activities like Books, Games, etc. You can be both, but both aren't the same thing.

 

[Gorrath]

You know i fail to see how the attitude that some people seem to have that since some women pretend to be geeks to take advantage of guys, it's fair to be suspicious of geek girls, is any different than saying that since some black people are criminals it's fair to be suspicious of black people, or because some men are abusers its ok to suspect any guy of being abusive.

The attitude is stupid, prejudicial, and needs to stop.

I'm curious as to which people you mean. I'm not sure I've seen anyone who made that leap of logic. Mostly what I've seen is some people claiming fake gamer girls either don't exist or are in no way a problem and other people saying that they do exist and that they can be if they are using lies to manipulate people. Can you quote anyone who has said that the resulting suspicion is justified? Advocating for understanding why some male geek gamers might hold a prejudicial opinion is not the same as saying that said opinion is justifiable.

I mean no disrespect to you, I am simply confused by our seemingly different views on what has been said.

I don't see it so much here, but on the less savory parts of the internet that attitude is more prevalent.

Ahh, okay. I thought you meant in this thread specifically. Anonymity tends to breed people spouting off ignorantly about pretty much every subject unfortunately. This site seems to be a lot better than most for that kind of thing thanks to diligent moderation. In a broader context, I do see people who try to justify the prejudice, and those people are wrong to not recognize that it is an issue. Thanks for your clarification.

 

[Mister Chippy]

Ok, this is a question that people need to start answering before this conversation goes on any longer:

Do you or do you not have a problem with women getting grief because men often wrongfully assume that they don't know what they're talking about?

This question is NOT about the following topics:
Do 'fake' geek girls really exist?
Are 'fake' geeks girls annoying?
Are 'fakes' of any kind annoying?
Do people care about the issue?
Have you ever actually seen or heard of this happening to anyone?
Have you ever wrongfully given someone (of either gender) trouble for being a 'fake' in any context?
Anything to do with 'booth babes', 'cam whores', or women using their sexuality to get attention.
Any comparison to anything that happens to guys too.
Anything to do with the quality of the video.


Also, if you think that you have to take any of the things I have listed as irrelevant into consideration in order to properly address the question you are dodging the issue.

If you claim that this issue is in no way related to sexism, then you are dodging the issue.

If you feel the need to respond to this post telling me how I'm missing the point, or being inflammatory, or how I'm wrong (even though all I've done is ask a question), then you are seriously dodging the issue.

If you feel that the question I am asking isn't what this whole thing is about, then you are completely missing the issue and should go and do some research as to why people keep bringing this up in the first place.

 

[Gatx]

From what I've heard/read some of the "Fake Geek Girl" stuff is based around streamers who are attractive, usually play WoW, and show their face in the corner in addition to gameplay.

There's an article [http://kotaku.com/5982137/theyre-attractive-theyre-women-and-they-play-games-live-on-the-internet-but-theyre-not-camwhores] on Kotaku (I know, I know) by Patricia Hernandez (just bear with me) that delves into this aspect of it a bit. If nothing else it would someone a broader view on the whole thing - I still don't know what to make of that last example she brings up that doesn't have an interview.

I mean that twitch.tv page looks like a porn site... but I suppose it's bad to judge people based on initial appearances? But then again it's a website, and it looks fairly professional which means the person had a very specific intent in mind so it's different (I think?) than judging a someone's promiscuity based on their fashion sense...

 

[JarinArenos]

That said, we can't help but puzzle at why some would even want nerd-ism to be male exclusive. Personally we'd love there to be more women that share our joy of Star Wars and oddly shaped dice. It's just a bit easier to get past our crippling social awkwardness when we have things like the various ways George Lucas butchered the prequel trilogy as conversation starters.

Pretty simple answer, here. A standby self-assurance is "she won't go out with me because I'm a geek." But if SHE'S a geek too, the reason she won't go out with you is YOU, not your interests. God forbid.

 

[Gorrath]

Ok, this is a question that people need to start answering before this conversation goes on any longer:

Do you or do you not have a problem with women getting grief because men often wrongfully assume that they don't know what they're talking about?

This question is NOT about the following topics:
Do 'fake' geek girls really exist?
Are 'fake' geeks girls annoying?
Are 'fakes' of any kind annoying?
Do people care about the issue?
Have you ever actually seen or heard of this happening to anyone?
Have you ever wrongfully given someone (of either gender) trouble for being a 'fake' in any context?
Anything to do with 'booth babes', 'cam whores', or women using their sexuality to get attention.
Any comparison to anything that happens to guys too.
Anything to do with the quality of the video.


Also, if you think that you have to take any of the things I have listed as irrelevant into consideration in order to properly address the question you are dodging the issue.

If you claim that this issue is in no way related to sexism, then you are dodging the issue.

If you feel the need to respond to this post telling me how I'm missing the point, or being inflammatory, or how I'm wrong (even though all I've done is ask a question), then you are seriously dodging the issue.

If you feel that the question I am asking isn't what this whole thing is about, then you are completely missing the issue and should go and do some research as to why people keep bringing this up in the first place.

Your question is simple and the answer is simple. No it is not okay to assume someone doesn't know something out of prejudice. Out of curiosity, since I've not seen anyone here claim that it is okay, what do you hope to gain by asking the question? As for the other topics you mentioned, they are irrelevant to answering your question, but they most certainly are not irrelevant to the causes of the issue and are worth discussing and analyzing in that context. There are other issues, problems and prejudices that are related to the fake gamer girl stuff and there is nothing at all wrong with talking about them.

 

[Tono Makt]

People whinging about fake game girls deserve to be roundly, soundly and mercilessly mocked. They deserve no respect whatsoever, and will get none from me. I like my hobbies becoming more inclusive. I like seeing cute girls dressing up like characters, and if they're doing it so that they'll get a thumbs up from me, more power to them.

In fact, I would much rather girls come to geeks and nerds for their attention needs (if they do need the attention) than to go for studs and athletes, who are far more likely to see the girls as nothing but prizes to be won, used up and then traded in for a newer model a few years later. Geeks and nerds are far more likely to actually appreciate girls trying to please us and more likely to try to please the girls in return, and so it is a better environment for them to try to exist in.

What the difference between that painfully shy 18 year old girl who comes to Comic Con or Fan Expo or whatever dressed as Rikku who is trying to get attention from gamers and nerds, and that painfully shy 18 year old girl wearing a micro-bikini top, a mini-skiry and stilleto high heels with the Michigan Wolverines colours, trying to gain attention from jocks, or coming to a rock concert wearing the same general outfit to try to get the attention of the band? Dressing up as Rikku gives the girl a chance to make a deeper connection to the objects of her attention - she can talk to us about Final Fantasy, about Japanese anime, about video games in general. Or we can talk to her about it, get her to understand what it is about the character we like, beyond the cute outfit.

What does the jock or the rock star have to talk about? How nice her tits are? How nice her ass is? How great she is at blowjobs? Maybe she has an appreciation for football and they can connect about football, or about music and they can talk about how much fun it is to play Stairway to Heaven while people around them are trying to tear their ears off. But let's get serious here - it not likely to be much more than a wham-bam-I'm-done-get-lost situation.