Jimquisition: Fake Nerd Girls

[WOPR]

I rarely agree this much with him. Seriously, why would anyone get upset over a person being so desperate for your attention that she pretends to like what you do just to get attention? It seems like a strange thing to get upset over, but I don't know.

I'm sure people have replied but let me throw my 2 cents in. I don't get "angry" per-say, I just get really annoyed with them... I've never had much problem with the Cosplayers that Jim was talking about though, but I will say nintendo's commercials as of late have been getting under my skin with the whole "With nintendo, I'm NOT a gamer, I'm a " because to me at least, that feels like nintendo is trying to say gaming is a bad thing and they're trying to rename it.

As for the "fake nerd girls" that actually do bug me, I don't "hate" them, they're just annoying... It's like shoving a republican in a room full of democrats, almost every person in there will see this guy and think "Ugh he has no idea what he's talking about and we really wish he would just shut up and leave". At least that's what the fake nerd girls here are like...

 

[WOPR]

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).

This couldn't have been said better. I tried and failed, well done sir. xD

 

[yeti585]

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).

I agree with you on some level. I don't know how much though.

Jim sort have missed the forest for the trees here as he usually does. Jim is thinking about an idealized woman dressing/acting like she is into video games so she can get attention from the unattractive nerds. Blatant stereotypes aside, this probably wouldn't happen.

 

[Bullfrog1983]

This has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Are you sure you're not making this up? If not I could use a bit of trickery now and again if you know what I mean.

 

[likalaruku]

Fake Gamer Girl? Never really noticed an issue with such thing, the closest thing I can think of is the hipster with fake glasses that go like "Lol I'm such a nerd!" on facebook. I wanna slap them in the back of the head and go "No, you're not".

That is the closest I can get to hating fake nerd girls..

Same here. Maybe it's just guys who've been shot down by booth babes.

 

[Tombfyre]

Actually, the games individuals obsess over are made by people who look like any other geek on the internet, working 16 hour days FOR those suit wearing pricks who don't appear to represent the medium in the slightest.

But that's an entirely different kettle of fish.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

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.

Well, I've been a photographer for about 25 years. And what do I think of those people? Not much. How does it "devalue the artform"? How does it devalue the efforts you've put in?

The answer is that it doesn't. How does somebody else pretending to be something take away the skills you've learned? How does it have any impact on the art form? Your photographs or your skills don't lose any of their worth just because somebody else might say they have more skill or passion than they actually do.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Um, is english not your first language or something? Or did you chose not to read what was actually written & just assume what was there?

This is not about me judging people, its about the long standing tradition of all geeks to judge all other geeks & the lively discussion that crops up around it: Always has, always will, it is after all the natrual state of being for ALL human beings.

What does English have to do with it? I understood what I read, and if you meant to say something else, then maybe you should think about expressing yourself better, because I don't think my interpretation was wrong.

You even go on to reiterate that your intent was to judge people, because this is a "long standing tradition of all geeks." It's not. There are plenty of geeks and nerds who don't go around constantly trying to judge people. My point is that if that is what's important to you about nerd/gamer/geek culture, then you should probably stop, because it's damn stupid. That's not what's valuable about those "cultures," if you can even call them that.

 

[Yopaz]

I rarely agree this much with him. Seriously, why would anyone get upset over a person being so desperate for your attention that she pretends to like what you do just to get attention? It seems like a strange thing to get upset over, but I don't know.

I'm sure people have replied but let me throw my 2 cents in. I don't get "angry" per-say, I just get really annoyed with them.


As for the "fake nerd girls" that actually do bug me, I don't "hate" them, they're just annoying... It's like shoving a republican in a room full of democrats, almost every person in there will see this guy and think "Ugh he has no idea what he's talking about and we really wish he would just shut up and leave". At least that's what the fake nerd girls here are like...

Terrible analogy there, that's an example of fundamental disagreement. A better example would be to put someone who's never studied any science besides what he learned in high school while thinking he understand it in a room of scientists. I have had several discussions trying to explain evolution to someone who's misunderstood the basic concepts of it and refusing to believe that he is wrong.

Now that wasn't the topic on hand so let's get back on track. I have never seen Nintendo commercials because it's illegal to run advertisement directed towards kids here (which means almost no game commercials at all) so I wont comment on that. For the rest of it though I agree. It's annoying and there's no way around it. I just don't see a reason to hate it and to get upset over it. They want to think of themselves as nerds, OK I don't see a problem with that. They want to discuss something they wouldn't know existed if it wasn't for The Big Bang Theory? OK, now we're talking annoying.

No matter how hard I try, I can't bring myself to disagree with your statement. They are annoying and that's final. The problem though is those who feel so much pride in being a nerd that they force anyone who calls themselves a gamer or a nerd to prove themselves like it's a protected title. This is the path towards becoming a misogynist.

Now you're right that you're not the first one to quote me, but you are the first one who isn't a misogynist who uses every negative stereotype about both nerds and girls so I feel refreshed by your post. Thank you for being reasonable.

 

[Drake_Dercon]

Jim raised some interesting points here, but I think he may be looking at it from the wrong angle.

The issue (at least in my case) is people overstating their interest in and appreciation of something in order to get attention, and make no mistake, there are both men and women who do this.

I'm going to cite a friend of mine. She's a massive Sonic fan. I am the only person I know who even comes anywhere near her appreciation of Sonic the Hedgehog, and barely at that. One of the most annoying things for her is when someone comes up to her and declares themselves a "massive Sonic fan", while having never heard of the Freedom Fighters or even played a Sonic game. I'm told that this has happened more than once.

And that's what it is. Annoying. Someone's cosplay might imply that you have something to connect over. It's fairly disappointing to find someone who might potentially become a friend (or, let's be honest about internet people -- someone to hopelessly pine after and secretly masturbate to), but, in truth, have found someone who shares very little with you besides a preliminary knowledge of something you really like. It feels cruel when you've poured countless hours into video games, sacrificed what social life you had watching cartoons (time well spent in my books), and made innumerable screen prints of Gurren Lagaan fan art to earn your fandom, while this girl in front of you follows maybe a blog or two. What did she do for her Yoko cosplay? Airbrush some flames on a bikini? You've poured your life into this.

That's probably a bad example. Most Gurren Lagaan fans would give their left arm to see a Yoko cosplay.

The point: I tend to be pretty bothered to see someone call themselves a huge fan of something without having the knowledge commonly associated with being a huge fan. It makes everything about your own fandom feel that much cheaper. It's not *rage to the whole internet* annoying, but it is pretty irritating nonetheless.

On the other hand, it's also my opinion that these people are just beginners. You could connect over introducing them to the finer points of something you think is really cool. Of course, if they respond with "no, I think that's too..." or something along those lines, feel free to get a little irritated. They just turned down that thing they just said they were big into. Their "grand interest" is a straight-up lie.

 

[Speksi]

Well, I've been a photographer for about 25 years. And what do I think of those people? Not much. How does it "devalue the artform"? How does it devalue the efforts you've put in?

The answer is that it doesn't. How does somebody else pretending to be something take away the skills you've learned? How does it have any impact on the art form? Your photographs or your skills don't lose any of their worth just because somebody else might say they have more skill or passion than they actually do.

In the eyes of the general public, it devalues the artform. People don't see photography as something that could have as much meaning as paintings, but instead it's just teenage girls taking pictures of their Converses, and nothing to be taken seriously. Not an artform, just something quick and easy that anyone can do, is the general way of thinking.

And more than anything, it's insulting to me. You don't become a photographer overnight, much like you don't become an artist or a professional anything overnight. You pay the dues, you WORK your way up, and once you've done the work you can claim the rewards, and call yourself whatever.

You don't become a gamer by getting an Xbox and playing Halo for an hour here and there. Moreover, if you're a gamer, then your sex shouldn't have any bearing on anything, so why do GURLLLL GAM3RS feel the need to shout their gender from the rooftops? It's attention whoring, and it's bloody annoying.

"YES I'M A GURLLL YES I OWN U IN COD SO STOP HITTING ON ME SILLY BOYS xoxoxo xXP1NkSn1P4HlADy69Xx"

 

[Hagi]

Overall I agree most definitely, as long as it's in turn not taken too far itself where any halfway negative comment about a female gamer is somehow a grave sin.

Rampant commercialism and advertising based on attaching boobs to EVERYTHING are annoying. I reserve the right to sigh at commercials featuring actors there purely to display their cleavage (as I would likewise sigh at many commercials featuring male actors purely there to display their abs). Although I'd be the first to point out that this is the fault of the advertisers and not the actors in question.

Same for some of the youtube shows you get occasionally where women with their breasts spilling out 'report' on minor gaming news from two weeks ago. Just to stress, I'm talking about sighing in annoyance and likewise reactions. Even writing a comment to insult that person in any way or form would be, imho, going too far. But there's nothing wrong about disliking such pandering, as long as you don't go out of your way to hate on it.

 

[ShadowKirby]

If the last 19 pages are what gaming "culture" is about, horrible elitism, mistrust, crass barely hidden misogyny, then maybe it's not worth saving at all from whatever imaginary threat it is facing. Let's burn it to the ground and salt the earth. Let people enjoy games like they enjoy movies or books. Let's stop pretending like we know what a REAL gamer or a REAL geek is. It's a pathetic attempt to reduce people around you and yourself to your hobbies.

If other people enjoying games but not knowing as much about them, or hell, even the what, 0.5% who mat be faking it, is so threatening to you because gaming is the sole thing that you can identify by, maybe YOU are the problem. People don't fit in little boxes. There is no one definition of a gamer. It's a term so outdated that it is bound to vanish, and the sooner the better. Everybody play games. People have been playing games for thousands of years.

Someone who plays a couple of hours of Halo a week, someone who plays Farmville with a strategy to maximize profit, someone who plays chest with his friends every weeks, someone who plays Angry Bird on the bus on the way to his/her 9-5 job, someone who plays real complex PC strategy games and someone who plays Dark Soul. They all have a thing in common, they all play games. Let's not even try to figure out who amongst them is more of a gamer than the other.

 

[Speksi]

SO what is the final, hard and fast, once and for all, objective and agreed upon standard for being able to call yourself a "gamer"? What are the required hours and accomplishments?

I'm seriously going to be writing my congressman for an official liscensure system so that we can SHUT UP about this for good, but I need a bar to set.

Let's say 20 years, at least 5 different platforms, at least two titles competitively and at least three different MMORPG's since they were in alpha.

Seriously though, it's more about the pathetic "Gamer Girl" image. There are no gamer girls or gamer guys, just people who enjoy gaming, which is why I find it incomprehensible why one's gender would be in any way relevant if you only play games for the sake of playing games. If you feel the need to talk about or bring up your gender, chances are you're not a gamer, but a pathetic attention whore, only in it for the sake of feeling wanted.

I was trying to look for an image I've seen before with GAM3R GURLLLL profiles from Steam community to further illustrate my point, but I was unable to, but what I found instead was http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg55/SamSlothel/GurlGamer-GamerGirl.jpg which is also good.

While I'm only talking about gamer gurlllz, you can of course apply similar logic to fake nerdy girls. One good example of such a woman was one particular attractice female, with whom I watched Transformers 3 a couple of days ago. After the movie, I went to IMDB to see how much money the movie had made (because I'm interested in trivia like that), and afterwards commented on how movies like this that have huge fanbases since they've been around for so long always make a ton of money. To which she replied: "Well the first one came in 2007.."

Now, I'm not a fan of Transformers, or any space and/or robot stuff in general, but even I knew Transformers have been around for FAR longer than that. Ignorance in itself is fine, I mean nobody can know everything about everything, but she called herself a nerd who just looooves Transformers. How much can you love something if you don't know the first thing about it?

Mind you, I think nerds, both real and fake, are sad, but I can at least respect the real nerds for being themselves, and not putting on a front for attention/acceptance. Attention whores I can't stand