Geek Girls Lambast Prejudice in Music Video

[Cecilo]

We're dumbfounded to tell you how the concept came to be, but somehow a bunch of people under the nerd umbrella decided that one of the pre-requisites for liking geeky things was the possession of a dangly bit between your legs.

If you're dumbfounded as to how the concept came to be, then don't take a wild (and completely wrong) guess at how the concept came to be. Really.

The whole anger against "fake geek girls" started when overly beautiful/makeup-wearing video blogging females who got most of their views thanks to what they put on display (often reffered to as "cam whores") started putting on glasses and claiming to be geeks. They brag about how much they own at CoD/Halo even though they've never even held a fucking controller, throw around technical terms which they have no clue about. All because being a geek has become fashionable over recent years, it's no longer something the cool kids get to shun and sneer at.

That's why females who were genuine geeks started getting hit by criticism, thanks to truly-fake "cam-whore" geek girls who are only doing it to draw attention. Yes it's unfair, yes it's stupid, yes it needs to end, but now you know why it came to be.

Just keep in mind that nothing angers a geek more than someone who pretends to be a geek, or someone who throws around half-baked misinformation claiming to be correct. Gender is largely irrelevant to geek culture, it's more about elitism than anything else.

Why is this such a complicated thing to understand. I concede that Women have been getting shafted and that it needs to end. I concede that the whole debacle is as pointless as it is stupid, but why in the name of Raisin Bran Oatmeal is it so hard to understand the gist of what you said. It's as if everyone(and i hate to say it but a large majority of the Escapist Staff especially) is so quick to pick up thine Sword and Shield and be a White Knight every time this happens that they're starting to forget which Lizard is the TRUE Dragon. Guys it's as simple as this WE DO NOT LIKE ATTENTION WHORES. Be it Male or Female, we don't care wht you have between your legs we only care about legitimate conversations on Geekdom. You know what you're talking about? Then it won't matter what you are, i could be talking about The Romance Of Three Kingdoms with a dog and it would be meaningless as long as he knew more than what he's learned from Dynasty Warriors. Between The Escapists double Witch Hunt on Sexism in Games and Fake Gamer Girls i'm becoming progressively burned out. Every time i stumble upon another Jimquistion calling forth the cry of Anita Sarkessian i start foaming at the mouth. It's gotten so bad in general that mentioning A.S. around the Escapist Forums causes a bigger Nuclear Fallout than freaking Chernobyl!

Yea. I'm getting kind of tired of the Gender War too. I don't really know what people expect now, you can't please everyone, so eventually it will boil down to "Well, We want what we want so everyone who doesn't want it can go suck it."

 

[PirateRose]

Hey, before the internet and youtube became a thing, I remember getting harassed at video game stores and at comic book stores for being female and apparently faking because I had yet to read every single copy of spiderman or played every single final fantasy or watched every episode of Star Trek. I even remember preordering Fable 2 and the guy at gamestop asked me if I was sure I wanted to play that and he suggested an M rated game might be too much for me at 21 years old. I don't even dress like a proper female apparently. I actually get guys telling me if I would wear makeup more often I'd be so much prettier, if I styled my hair I'd get a boyfriend. This is from actual geeky guys who probably haven't shaved in months, completely unsolicited because I am not looking for a date. I'm just looking to discuss why Mass Effect 3 sucked so much due to bad story telling, destroyed characters, and lore breaking plot holes. "Hey you know, if you would wear your hair down..."

Don't act like these women in the video are making stuff up and drawing attention to something that isn't a big deal. I've been experiencing this crap since I was four years old and had to sneak into my teenage uncles room to play his Super Nintendo, because according to him I was a girl and should be playing with dolls.

It's great to hear there are some women out there, that at most experience, wow you're a girl who plays games! But my experience is that I still get kicked out of playing multiplayer games when it's discovered I'm female moments after joining a room, before I even open my mouth and say anything even. I still get driven out of games by unrelenting harassment. I still get questioned about obscure details in game/movies/comics. Any woman that hasn't even experienced any of this, I consider her lucky as hell to have found a group of swell guys to hang out with. The geek gods have blessed her and given her a special cloak of acceptance amongst male geeks, and I wish that cloak could be shared.

 

[faefrost]

I know that the "fake geek girl" insult is usually thrown at overly attractive girls who guys couldn't possibly believe are into geeky things. I feel like such a jerk thinking that a small few of the girls in this video are fooling themselves into believing they are perceived like that. I hate sounding mean, but I cant help thinking someone needs to put a hand on their shoulder and say, "Oh sweetie, nobody is doubting "your" geek cred".

Ok, quoting myself here to try an alleviate the potential flamestorm because I swear the video changed after I watched it. I will swear to anything that the first time I watched, and posted, there were many dorky/homely looking girls there, but every time I rewatch I see a larger percentage of beautiful girls.

I still stick by my first post though. I think when we describe fake geek girls as, "Attractive women, looking for attention." some girls are partially pleased to be perceived that way. Not because of the "seeking attention" part but because of the "attractive" part. And I do genuinely feel bad that some girls might fool themselves into thinking thats how they are perceived.

But the weird disconnect in this whole thing is does the fact that they are attractive and enjoy a bit of exibitionist attention in any way impact whether or not they actually enjoy what we consider to be geeky? Someone pointed out how lots of actresses will use cons fr attention. Great point, but so what? It makes them no different then any other vendor at a con. Is the guy making swords a fake geek? The better question is are these people enjoying themselves or is it just a job to them? And guess what, people who like acting enjoy playing dress up and playing characters. And geeky stuff lets them go hog wild in ways that most other things don't allow. This is just as much an expression of socially dysfunctional nerdlings as the rest of us tend to display. They just tend to be in a little bit better shape. And last time I looked cardio vascular health was not an absolute determinant of geekiness.

There is no real geek girl or fake geek girl. They're all in the same pool and its just a matter of depth. ( would this be a good moment to point out that both Milan Kunis and Henry Cavill, arguably two of the more attractive people on the planet, are known and confirmed Geeks, both being or having been avid MMO junkies among other things?)

 

[iRevanchist]

Female feminist here: that was one of the shitiest songs I've ever heard. Seriously,not helping the cause. While people do need to know that most gamer girls are 'real' and shouldn't be subject to 'geek tests' anymore than males, the way this video gets the message across is kind of obnoxious.

 

[NiPah]

So whats with the whole writing things out on large note cards and dropping them? Is that a thing now? I've seen it in several of these raw raw fuck the sexist videos but the whole thing is stupid to me. I'm just as much for being anti-sexist as the next nameless internet face but if the movement is going to be spearheaded by people doing annoying things, well wtf? I'm going to end up hating them too.
Fighting sexism in geek culture is great, the fanclub not so much.

 

[Nurb]

This is totally needed, just look at all the men who were trying to keep women out of the SD comic con.

Why are we pretending this is a real issue? This is the result of a few over-reacting to trolls yelling "kitchen" comments and the like. A minority of assholes is no reason to crusade against a whole group of people and villify anyone who doesn't agree with them, and if any nerd doesn't agree with them or they're given a "woman hater" label, more kicking around, but now in hobbies they were using to escape this name-calling nonsense.

Women didn't suddenly appear in traditionally nerdy sub-cultures in the last 2-4 years, they've been a part of gaming, comics, table-top, roleplaying, etc, and in our circles of friends for 40 years or more. What about those thousands of women? Were big bad nerds keeping them down all these decades until some people started writing on cards in videos?

It also denies the fact geeks and nerds constantly blast each other over who's more "hardcore", especially on gaming forums. Everyone here knows that this isn't some gentleman's club that suddenly turns nasty when a woman joins in the discussion, arguing and accussaions over consoles and games or the wrong opinions about games gets you yelled at regardless of your gender. Women aren't special just because some occassional idiot gives them a hard time.

This is all getting blown out of proportion the more we let it go on, now posts and blogs are to the point that cons are super-dangerous for women to go to because creepy nerds may try to rape them, to the point insulting "creeper cards" were made:

Spoiler: CREEPER CARDS

 

[Xisin]

That said, many women who are genuinely geeks tend to get caught up in the emergent assumption that women who profess a love of nerdy things must be faking it. There exists, for many, an unspoken litmus test that you have to pass to count as a nerd. Being a woman is, for some, seen as a disqualification. In essence, while some are truly (and stupidly) angered by the idea of a woman pretending to be a geek for attention, others act as though women being nerdy at all is something absurd

Where have you seen this thing that exists actually perpetrated?
What was the guys name that did this crap when you saw it in your life?
When you asked him what he was angry about what did he say?
What was the questions on this litmus test?

How are we to challenge these things without all the juicy deets?

It's not that I don't think you're in the same camp as everybody else that buys that line in that this is a thing you've never actually witnessed happen (but that everyone 'knows' 'happens' 'all the time')... Actually, I lied, that's exactly what I think. But to be fair to the well meaning people that perpetuate this stuff, nobody has tried to come up with some anecdotal crap, they're all earnestly straight forward in a 'oh yeah...' kind of way that they've never seen anything resembling what they're talking about.

When I was still a little girl in college, I decided to attend a tournament for a new fighting game that had come out. My husband(boyfriend then) and I signed up and then waited about 30 minutes for the bracket to be posted. We were really excited; turn out was really good for a local tournament: 70ish people! Then the bracket went up...

I was placed in the girlfriend bracket(that was it's actual name), which was located in the losers bracket. When I talked to the tournament organizer, he ignored me. Sad part is after winning the girlfriend bracket, my next five or so rounds were against people that should have gone out in round two and my first opponent was really good. She and I went right down to the wire, but she was eliminated in the first round(and since we started in losers, she was out.) I three stocked the first guy I played against without taking any damage and he made it to round 4.

Crap my husband was already better than me at that game, he didn't need a handicap. So there is your example, though I can't really give names since it was a collective. Think the organizer was a John. (Which helps so much, I know.)

OT: People lie...it's not gender specific. So I've never seen the point of thinking someone has a lack of integrity as they are walking up to me. I'd like to be judged on merit in competition and I don't rate people in normal conversation. In other words I don't test people while talking to them. Having drastically different views and likes can make for great conversation.

As for the, I think someone used the term cam-whores, I adore them. Most of them are fairly easy on the eyes, no matter which gender they are, but more importantly, the comments are pure gold. I once saw a guy donate $150 for a hello from the girl streaming. I'm chuckling thinking about it. To me, that man isn't a victim, he made a mistake and a very stupid one. If I went to a bar, got drunk and had sex with a guy, I would have made a mistake. I would have a lot of re-accessing of my life to do, just like the $150 hello man does. You live, you learn, and then you buy Loves(and hopefully you don't distrust an entire group of people based off just a few members.)

You know what, I'd even go so far as to defend the "fakers." A wise not-horse once said, "It is the actions which matter, not the Name it was done for." The "fakers" might be interested for different reasons than me but we are both still interested. They might know less than me about a given subject, but that just leaves them room to do some tangential learning. I know I've been against trying or doing something, only to discover I love it after going through the motions a bit.

 

[Spearmaster]

Did it ever occur to anyone that anyone that has to test someones geek credentials is most likely a geek poser them selves?

There is no checklist or any bar that someone must meet, also there is no such thing as a geek, its an illusion, its nothing more than a slang insult some people applied to people who had hobbies that were less of the norm...that's it. I think a geek was actually a circus sideshow performer if I'm not mistaken.

Ive watched sci-fi since I can remember, I've played video games since before the game boy launched both consoles and PC, I started tabletop gaming with AD&D but I am not a geek because labels are stupid. I feel the second you label yourself as a geek you are officially a geek poser.

 

[likalaruku]

I don't see this video claiming to be about gender inequality in geekdom or fake geek girls. All I see is a boring video with a bunch of girls doing that lame "hold up a card" meme.

As for Star Wars, my friend Shanna makes Star Wars costumes & carves Star Wars props out of wood. I've seen her cosplay as Darth Maul & Boba Fett.

Did it ever occur to anyone that anyone that has to test someones geek credentials is most likely a geek poser them selves?

There is no checklist or any bar that someone must meet, also there is no such thing as a geek, its an illusion, its nothing more than a slang insult some people applied to people who had hobbies that were less of the norm...that's it. I think a geek was actually a circus sideshow performer if I'm not mistaken.

That's how I feel about machoism & displays of manliness & homophobes; They're quick tempered, paranoid of being judged. They say they don't care about what others think, yet they spend every public moment trying to act or look a certain way & get defensive if you take anything they do out of context. They're trying too hard to hide something & I find it suspicious & immature. When their display of manliness fails to impress, they put on another act called "sour grapes." I've never seen women go out of their way to act as feminine as possible, & that's a good thing.

 

[00slash00]

I could not care less about whether fake geek girls exist. I'm a girl and I like video games. That's all that matters to me. I'm not worried that there are fake gamers girls out there, giving me a bad name or something. For as long as this debate or whatever has been going on, I have yet to hear a logical reason why anyone is upset over the idea of fake gamers. In high school I wore a lot of skater shirts and yet I have never even touched a skateboard, but I never had any skaters harassing me and demanding I wear different clothes

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Yes, but that it doesn't exist for men, too, is why it's worrying. Or is there "fake geek men" we have to watch out for, too? And if there are - why don't people gun for them, too? It's probably cos most of the people shouting out against "fake geek girls" are insecure little straight fellas, eh.

There are, and they do (they are a little bit more uncommon because there's less to gain, but otherwise yes, they are totally a thing that happens). It's a pretty common response in these threads to talk about them, which then gets described in two different ways, depending on who is talking about it. Either "You're only bringing them up now to pretend this isn't really about sexism" or "The difference is that no one bats an eye about it when it's directed at dudebros."

But dudebros aren't fake gamers. They do exist within the definition of "gamer". Unless, of course, we've relegated Call of Duty and FIFA and the like to "not games" (despite them being market leaders), and if you have to start making concessions like that, is there a point of the tag "gamer" at all? A secretive, selective little group?

A lot of people who are deemed "fake geek girls" actually properly play games. They play The Sims and Angry Birds. It's just, for some reason we (and I say "we" with the exclusion of myself here) have decided they don't "count" as games, so they can't call themselves "real gamers". It's... it's weird. It's the kind of stuff that creates the market disparity that leads to "console wars," the kind that leads to the utterance of the term "PC master race" WITHOUT the irony intended in its conception... if it's not sexist, it is something-ist. It is something that seeks to invisibly pigeonhole a series of people based on what should be self-defined attributes. It's really just baffling.

 

[Rblade]

I think this, as so many, discussions can be neatly summarized and solved by Will Wheatons comment

"Don't be a dick."

I know, profound, he's a wordsmith

 

[WindKnight]

Uh... I don't think the term 'fake geek girl' means that women can't be geeks. It's about how some would lie about being fans of geeky things to be more popular, right?

So... uh... yeah.

But then you get a game editor of a tech site being accused of never playing the game she's wearing a T-shirt of.

A woman having male comic fans trying to block her off from the aisle because she doesn't deserve to be there.

A games journalist having a gamepad taken out of her hands by the PR guy because she isn't playing the game the way they think she should.

A guy going around a convention and slapping 'fake geek girl' stickers on the asses of every woman he encounters.

Some guy who's contribution 'to gaming' being 'just being hired by a website' decides he can have a go at Felicia day and ask her what she's contributed to gaming.

heck, look at some of the examples in the video itself - a game/comic store owner get repeatedly told she's just doing it for her boyfriend, among others.

The list goes on. The problem is essentially that just being a woman is used as evidence to prove your a fake and shouldn't be there.

 

[Easton Dark]

The list goes on. The problem is essentially that just being a woman is used as evidence to prove your a fake and shouldn't be there.

I just felt the article was misappropriating the term. Because if it's fake geek girls, the implication is there are real ones, which the men the article mentions don't believe exist. Which are the same men you describe.

I'd collectively call them "man-children" tbh. Name it the man-child female geek fallacy. I'm coining that, ®

 

[Phasmal]

I think Geek girls are an American thing. In Britain its still an almost exclusively guy thing, I'm not happy about that obviously I'd love women to share my interests its just that, when I think geek girl all that comes to mind are American girls on youtube, and Americans online telling me they exist.

Hello.
I exist.
Also am English.
Know many ladies who game, too.

OT: This video <3
Nice to see some solidarity from the ladies who've had enough of this crap.

 

[WindKnight]

I think Geek girls are an American thing. In Britain its still an almost exclusively guy thing, I'm not happy about that obviously I'd love women to share my interests its just that, when I think geek girl all that comes to mind are American girls on youtube, and Americans online telling me they exist.

Hello.
I exist.
Also am English.
Know many ladies who game, too.

OT: This video <3
Nice to see some solidarity from the ladies who've had enough of this crap.

I'd also like to bring up that Geek Girls are not a new thing - DC Fontana [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._C._Fontana], one of the most celebrated writers on the original Star Trek - is actually Dorothy Fontana, and unfortunately had to use a gender neutral name just to get her work accepted, and BJO Trimble [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjo_Trimble] who ran the 'save star trek' campaign when it first faced cancellation. Girls have been around in nerdery for as long as the guys, and it just seems a distinct shame that some guys are now trying to lock themn out.

 

[The Funslinger]

I just want people to be calm and rational about this whole topic (all topics really) and not lambast women because they like geeky things or engage in victim blaming because a guy's loneliness and awkwardness was used to manipulate him.

Fair enough, but honestly I have never heard of someone who has been harmed this way and still kinda doubt they exist.
Obviously what your describe is wrong and its definetly not my intention to blame a victim, but I have never heard (or read) about such a case.
All I have heard are cases in wich women (who did nothing exept trying to fit in) were blamed to be no real geeks.

I would recommend going to twich.tv around 8-12pm EST. You will find several channels on there with women who have facecams, So conveniently placed so as to show their breasts. As well as a donation box directly under their stream, who do not actually play the game, they sit around in whatever game they are playing (Mostly WoW) and take donations just for existing.

This is preying on men who were ostracized from normal relations for being "Geeky". I am not blaming all women for this, quite the opposite, I am quite happy with my own girlfriend, I am glad I can talk to her about Warhammer, Sword of the Stars, Marvel and DC comics and actually get a conversation out of bringing these topics up. I just see that there are some, very opportunistic women who see insecure men, who have probably either been rejected by or just never worked up the courage to ask out attractive women, and see them as a way to make money, or get attention. There are men that do this too. There are some live streaming men that play their games with a cam shirtless. And I am sure there are some women (Even men) who donate to him just because he is shirtless.

Though that isn't even the worst part of Twich.. Just look up ZileanOP. Scam artist and his girlfriend.

Moral of the Story is. DON'T DONATE TO PEOPLE ON TWITCH.

To be fair, even if the girls on Twitch are as you say, I really don't think it's some elaborate scheme to prey upon the virgins. Because let's be fair, loving comics, vidya games, etc =/= shy and awkward with some form of minor physical handicap, even if (assuming) the percentage is somewhat higher.

This being a thing is just the result of why this thing is a thing in numerous other marketing fields. Sex sells. Case in point, Nuts magazine, and all the newspapers with page 3 bikini girls.