Jimquisition: Fake Nerd Girls

[Smeatza]

So your card isn't being checked "solely on the basis you being female." It's being checked due to a general atmosphere of fear and apprehension of change within the community. And the excuse they're using to check your card in particular is your gender.

So you just admitted I was correct, you realize. That crap's got to stop. The most I can do, I realize, is to rebuff the pricks that do it, and simply refuse to be a part of their group.

I've had to do this, A LOT. Not always on a gender issue, but if you're going to call me a fake or a johnny come lately, especially say it to someone who knew the old guard of the hobby, I'm going to take it pretty bitter and not have anything to do with you.

I also said I don't remotely care about you as an individual, but the general trends you might be indicative of.
And so any conclusions I make while pretending that this crap only happens to you, or even only happens to females, would be very narrow minded and not at all reasonable.

The is a big difference between someone who is sexist and someone who is behaving in an insensitive manner.

In short, while your gender is a factor in this equation, it is an almost negligible factor.

It's the equivalent of me being harassed by a bunch of poor people who suspect I'm rich, and me blaming it on the fact I'm white.

 

[Smeatza]

So your card isn't being checked "solely on the basis you being female." It's being checked due to a general atmosphere of fear and apprehension of change within the community. And the excuse they're using to check your card in particular is your gender.

So you just admitted I was correct, you realize. That crap's got to stop. The most I can do, I realize, is to rebuff the pricks that do it, and simply refuse to be a part of their group.

I've had to do this, A LOT. Not always on a gender issue, but if you're going to call me a fake or a johnny come lately, especially say it to someone who knew the old guard of the hobby, I'm going to take it pretty bitter and not have anything to do with you.

I also said I don't remotely care about you as an individual, but the general trends you might be indicative of.
And so any conclusions I make while pretending that this crap only happens to you, or even only happens to females, would be very narrow minded and not at all reasonable.

The is a big difference between someone who is sexist and someone who is behaving in an insensitive manner.

In short, while your gender is a factor in this equation, it is an almost negligible factor.

It's the equivalent of me being harassed by a bunch of poor people who suspect I'm rich, and me blaming it on the fact I'm white.

If you're not going to care about addressing it as an individual, why talk to anyone here at all, seeing as we are...well, individuals.

Also, yes, you might have a point with the equivalency, but ask this; are they, in the end, CORRECT in their assessment?

We may all be individuals here, but we are individuals discussing ideals and the masses.

The fact they are making the assessment in the first place is wrong. Everyone has to be introduced to a hobby/subculture at some point and how long a person a person has been a part of it is entirely irrelevant.

I've been video gaming since I was a couple of years old and I still know people who are about 5 years younger than me, who could be described as "real" nerds in comparison to me.

I don't mean to justify the behaviour of those who harass you because obviously they are in the wrong. I just want to highlight the fact that while their reason for focusing on you is at least a little bit sexist, it doesn't make them a sexist individual, just and angry and unreasonable one that's trying to make someone else feel angry so they can feel a bit better.

And I always I despise the media narrative, and how this issue has been presented follows the "girls need protecting from nerds" narrative. Which in itself is sexist.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

We argue incessently like overgrown children, we excommunicate people who disagree about the best version of a thing & we expect to get just as good as we give. Female geeks are not given a free pass anymore, where as before they were so rare as to be given special privileges (this is called benevolent sexism).

Taking gender out of it, why are you so eager to judge people? Why do you want to "argue like overgrown children"? What is it exactly that you are "excommunicating" people from? Nerdiness/gaming is not some exclusive club, and you are not some high priest who has any power to kick people out of it.

I'm a nerd. Have been since childhood. Whatever you think of me isn't going to change that. You say "we expect to give as good as we get" - I question why are you so keen on this "giving"? It seems like a very warped perspective, a very high-school attitude. It might be a better to grow up and just stop judging others so much.

A lot of this thread reeks of the bullied becoming the bullies. There have been many comments made about people suffering for their interests and being outcasts. If that's the case, why would you want to perpetuate that? It just seems like revenge fantasy - you weren't socially accepted, and now it's your turn to do the excluding.

This is a very unpleasant aspect of nerd/gaming culture and not one that should be encouraged. If you want to talk about being fake, if you got into these things to be part of some sort of exclusive club, then you're doing it wrong. It should be about following your passions and enjoying your life, not some kind of stupid social status.

 

[Uhura]

Geez, I was aware of the 'fake geek girl' meme but I didn't know there are people who actually take it this seriously...this all just seems like a bunch of pointless high school level drama.
I'm so glad stuff like this isn't an issue in my circles.

 

[Speksi]

Even if it is, who the hell cares? It doesn't affect you in any way. Just ignore them. It seems that the only way something like this would happen would be if you choose to engage with the "fake" people. Just go and speak to somebody else instead.

Yeah, I'd think this is the mature response in regards to 'fakes'. It's not like you're gonna catch cancer from their existence.

I've been photographing for 15 years or something. I've worked as a professional photographer, both a freelancer and a 9-5 job, I've held classes about photography. I've displayed my pictures in a gallery, though it wasn't as glorious as it may sound. My photos have meaning behind them, I have my own style, I know the technology and settings inside out etc. I have passion for the artform.

I'm a photographer. I've paid the dues to become one. I've put in the hours require to be able to proudly call myself a photographer.

How do you think it makes me feel when I see teenage girls, who obviously only do it because it's fashionable, and easier at the beginning than, say, playing an instrument, post their generic landscape photos on Facebook, list "Photography" as their passion and hobby, and call themselves photography artists? It's insulting. It devalues an artform I love. It devalues the effort I've put in. You are not a photographer nor an artist, you are someone who picked it up because it's fashionable at the moment, and because your parents bought you a dSLR for christmas. Shut your mouth until you understand what you're talking about.

Same deal with these GURLLLL GAM3R xDDD types. Having an Xbox and watching Big Bang Theory doesn't make you a gamer or a nerd. You don't understand what you're talking about, so shut your f****ng mouth. If you're a gamer, you play games because you like playing games, and your gender shouldn't have anything to do with it, so keep it to yourself.

This does not concern the photographers/gamers who are just starting out, but do it for the right reasons. They are more than okay, because they know their place, and know how to keep their mouths shut about things that have nothing to do with gaming/photography.

 

[wild0061]

I find Fake Nerd Girls annoying, just like I find Fake Anything Anyone annoying. Maybe a bit more even, since I'm a female gamer. And the reason for this is, because people like that are attention whores, that rarely give a shit about what actually interests you. I have met a few and all the encounters went something like this:

"Oh, you like video games!! Me too!!"

"That's nice. Fave genres? RPG, JRPG, RTS...."

*Blank stare*

"Oh all of them.. They're just so much fun!"

Then I tentitavely throw up a few well known recent or classic titles, to get a discussion started, since by then I assume that the person actually wants to talk video games. At best I get a recognition for titles only, sometimes even "Oh I saw my bf/brother/previous victim play it." Minutes after they change topics entirely and/or start talking about themselves. And at this point I lose all interest in this "nerd".

I just find stuff like this insulting, because it gives off an impression that gaming isn't a worthy hobby (or lifestyle for some lucky individuals) and those who enjoy it are just lesser minded people, ready to worship those who feign even the slightest interest. It's not ego stroking, it's the fact that the person blatantly lies to you for no other reasons that self assertion or whatever, and not because they genuinely care what you think.

Pretty much this, 'fake nerds' (either gender) are annoying, like any other fakers, the fakes obviously aren't gonna stop (or care less what anyone says/thinks), easiest thing to do is ignore them and don't give them any attention, as for the marketing of female/male nerd 'culture' or whatever, to get money, if you know its a con lol then don't fall for it by buying their stuff simple

Completely agree, can't believe Jim overlooked this.

If Jim reads his comments (in this case its doubtful given the whole 18 pages to look through oh well), would be interesting for him to look at the issue from a general perspective as opposed to just looking at the female 'fake nerds', even with just a write-up as opposed to a full Jimquisition vid, I'd read that if he posted it

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I'm allowed be angry at this for the same reason I can get mad at people who claim to be into electronica because they listened to a skryllex song. It's not that I don't want these girls to become gamers, but at this juncture, they are not. If one said "I'd like to get into gaming", not "lol I'm such a hardcore gamer lol", despite only having played casual games, that'd be a different story.

Nobody likes a poser.

Imagine, somebody goes to your favorite major sporting event's favorite team's championship game, dresses up in whatever crazy fan outfit/bodypaint and makes a noisy spectacle of themselves. You happen to sit next to this person, strike up a conversation and realize X person knows nothing at all about the sport or the team and does not even have any sincere emotional attachment to either. They're just an attention whore hoping people will take pictures of them and praise their 'hardcore fandom'. Is the contemptuous disgust you probably feel any different if X person has tits?

It's like a fake, "viral" advertising campaign trying to pass itself off as natural meme/song/whatever and no one's even getting paid to do it. A sellout, for free and no one even offered to buy.

Don't add tits and cry sexism.

Yes! Totally!

Is it me or are all the reasonable replies and arguments being ignored in favour of loud mouth or sexist people? Its sort of the mentality that led to this week's episode.


Hold a few of the worst up, and use them to smother valid complaints.

mostly agree to this.

alot of people have taken it wayyyy too far, they just topple oil onto that fire, but there are definitely "posers" all over the place, regardless of gender/*insert thing here* and flavor of the month just happens to be "fake nerd girl"

Unfortunately shit happens i guess...

Could add more 2 cents to it, but just will leave it at that for now.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Sorry Jim but you fucked up here. You're wrong. There is an issue and "fake nerd girls" is it. What you have to realise Jim is whether you like it or not; Video Games, Sci-Fi TV, Tabletop Roleplaying, Animé, Comics, and most other traditionally geeky hobbies are male focused, and male dominated. I don't like it but it's true. It's also a begrudging truth that geeks tend to lack the social graces that many others find so easy to practice, while not even close to socially inept as the media depicts us, many geeks are shy, insular people. It's these things that "fake geek girls" (nerd and geek are not the same Jim, you should know better), use to manipulate men. Look closer at the manipulation and consider Jim that the average geek lacks the confidence of you or I. You make videos on the internet, you choose to make yourself a public figure, you're hardly the stereotypical shy geek. The reason your female colleges get such mistrust is we feel manipulated and insulted. All too often women in this industry are paraded around in a desperate attempt to forge an association between the sexy women in skimpy clothes, and the product being hocked. The women aren't part of our social circle, and if they weren't being paid they wouldn't be there. The more irritating though is we all know that while the girls are happy to tease geeks for money, they would never actually date a geek. They think they're better than us, after all Jim, as you so rightly pointed out the masses bullied geeks for daring to have a hobby they disapproved of. No, those girls date meat-heads who's idea of manliness is watching sport and drinking beer, Homer Simpson with muscle tone basically. We all know this. We know the women are superficial, and the fact that they think we're so superficial also that we'll buy shit because they're dressed sexy is frankly offensive. Jim, step back and look at the industry online. The self-proclaimed gamer girls are just casual at best, but they know there are some shy, lonely men on the internet that they can exploit. Whether it's selling shit, gaining ad revenue from web hits, or some combination, it's still blatant manipulation and it's pathetic.

And those who aren't "at best casual" ? Hell, those of us who aren't shallow, scheming, maniacal human beings out to leech the resources from other human beings by whatever means necessary, while we're at it? Okay - that was a little flamey, sorry - back to the point.

I hope you recognize we exist. I'll grant you that there are a good number of posers (and I've even run into the occasional male poser trying to impress ME with video game knowledge he doesn't have because I'm pretty vocal about my passion on my campus and in my classrooms - and not horribly unattractive if I do say so myself, maybe a solid 6.5) , but grant me that women who are serious about video games exist - I won't even make us commit to a number, just that we are not mythical.

So what about us? Where do we fit into your views? That's what's got the ladies who are posting so aggressively here (even though most of us know this battle is lost before it is begun and has been time and time again both here and elsewhere) concerned. Most of us are not worried about how the inevitable posers are viewed - we are upset that we have been lumped in with them simply because we share a chromosomal configuration that gives us different sexy bits.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Am I the only one who sees the reason behind the hate for Fake Nerd Girls?

You're not supposed to pretend you like something just to attract attention. It's dishonest, disingenuous and makes you a sell-out.

It gets worse when it's a woman, trying or not, to get male attention, because it reignites the sexual debates all over again and then nothing gets solved.

It's attention whoring, basically. I only just now found out about this by watching the episode and I'm all in on the hate bandwagon because it's another one of those retarded marketing ploys that exploit the male demographic (yes, males are exploited too).