Jimquisition: Fake Nerd Girls

LiquidGrape

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Thanks Jim. Sincerely. This tendency of demanding women to legitimise themselves and their interest is absolutely asinine. Not least because the very model to which they are expected to adhere is often frowned upon to begin with.
 

Soak

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Sep 21, 2010
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Honestly, i don't know if this realy is "a thing".
However, i can understand it in one way, being about pretentious people for the sake of questionable social constructs, i.e. thinking that attention by itself is actually something important and even important enough to put up an act to receive it (at least i would call it that way). But this of course is neither bound to "girls", nor to "games" or "nerd-culture". And another thing would be people being hypocritical about that, blaming others for being pretentious while acting in similar ways, maybe in other topics. Fuck, i could be pretending right now i actually know anything about this stuff!

But, whatever, most of the other parts you already said: Why act all cracked up about it? Are they actually doing any harm? Well, on the other hand you could compare them to "booth babes" and ask: What are they good for? Should we support them in any possible way, considering they might represent/ be the product of a questionable social norm, like objectification of women or something.

Then again, is this realy a thing? And why should i care?
 

ThriKreen

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I recall the storm around this opinion article [http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/24/booth-babes-need-not-apply/] and his followup [http://joethepeacock.blogspot.ca/2012/07/the-response-to-response-to-my-booth.html#!/2012/07/the-response-to-response-to-my-booth.html]. A lot of the backlash was raised against his post, but I've noticed, many seem to miss the point of his article and attack the writer about his attempt at gatekeeping for the nerd culture, while they themselves are doing the same thing. The gist I got from Peacock's article was that any level of interest is fine - it's those that show none that are the problem, and he was calling them out.

I recall various comments on a reddit thread of said article of posters verifying there are types of both genders that do this preying of attention - the handsome underwear model that goes in as Superman just to get girls to fawn over him, the girl who goes to parties with Spock ears for free food, the cosplaying model that was at a comic convention that was handing out business cards for her webcam show (but she herself doesn't cosplay in said show). Problems that can occur are things like limited tickets for a convention (PAX, ComicCon) where these fakers are like sport game scalpers, reducing the amount for their own gain.

To use another analogy, it's like allowing the first thousand in line to get a Harry Potter book signed by JK Rowling, only to have some people in that line turn around and immediately Ebay it for an outrageous price - they have no interest in literature and are preying on the fanbase.

Or to use my own experience, going to GDC and seeing pretty girls (aka strippers) on the corners handing out cards for their strip club. They (most likely) have no interest in game development, compared to the thousands that are there for the convention, but are trying to prey on the male nerd stereotype. And chances are, they do this for every con that is being held there.

I'm also friends with some cosplayers who've complained about people wearing skimpier and skimpier clothing, taking attention from others simply because they're showing skin and cleavage.

Admittedly, seeing as I don't know of these fakers, chances are they're much smaller in population than the hype is, but they're there.
 
Nov 5, 2007
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Ashoten said:
Seriously Jim? Fuck you on this one. This a far more complex issue of social interaction that relates to all male/female interaction(Including transgender and homosexuals of course) and not just gamers in particular. Why do think those movies about 3 buddies that get broken up by a random set of breasts appearing keep getting made?

A lot of male nerds have toiled to establish the nerd culture(just as you said) specifically or indirectly because they didn't have female companionship to distract them. So now that The nerd culture is bigger and more acceptable it is only natural for old timers to be suspicious of any new comers. The poser knows no gender but in my own credulity I have witnessed what happens when a random poser usually a girl enters the scene.
Groups break up,feeling are hurt, and friends no longer speak to each other. Maybe this isn't the girls fault maybe the guys in the group let their testosterone take control. I have had legitimate nerd girls in my circles of friends and it was cool but the painful times when things went bad are the ones that stick out in our memories.

What you are seeing is real concern and fear that is always exhibited when previously unknowns are introduced. Interactions between men and women are real chemical reactions because they are different some very distinctive ways. Of course since I am a Fat chud white heterosexual male neck beard in his early 30's you can dismiss my opinion as short sighted egotistical rantings.

And for the record men don't get off judgement free Jim. You always have to worry about weather you are perceived as an alpha who leads or a beta who follows or risk being outcast because you don't have a defined role.
URHG! Nerd culture (whatever that is) was also founded by nerdy women like Roberta Williams, Carol Shaw, Dona Bailey, Anne Westfall, Jane Jensen, Brenda Laurel, Brenda Brathwaite, Janet Murray, Amy Briggs, Danielle Bunten Berry, etc...

If little boys cannot control themselves when a girl is around it is THEIR fault, not hers. There are no gatekeepers no geekdom. There is no test one has to pass to be accepted. Someone likes the same thing you like, that's cool. They don't need to know everything about every other subject you care about to be accepted as a TRUE geek.

Seriously, am I a real geek guy? Are you? Who knows! And more importantly, who cares! If your little boy club implodes because you a *gasp* girl into it, maybe it wasn't that much of a cool club to begin with.


As for those talking about hypocrisy. Get over it. It sucks you were bullied in high school or whatever because of what you liked, but becoming the bullies to people who are now showing interest to what you like is not some kind of sweet justice, it's just acting like an ass.
 

jmarquiso

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Nov 21, 2009
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Sylveria said:
So a few weeks ago Jim was decrying the occupation of Booth Babe... and today he's defending what is essentially the same thing, just less likely to be pulling a pay-check for it?
One is a marketing practice done by the companies that hire said women, and the other is a bunch of women expressing fandom. Entirely different things.
 

Callate

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Taunta said:
But taking that to its logical conclusion, it gets very conspiracy theorist. "Fake girl gamers" are all evil, cruel women who just want to use your interests to manipulate you into getting attention from them! THE HORROR, THE HORROR!

...When in reality, these "fake girl gamers" are either a) Not "fake" or b) not very knowledgeable about the subject, but are interested. That should be an opportunity to teach them, not to shun them out of your secret club.
I tend to agree, but I do want to leave an "out" for those who feel manipulated by the use of sexuality in the medium as a whole as opposed to those who just want an excuse to mistreat actual individual women (that is, immature jerks.)
 

hermes

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I think Jim misses the point. Its not about girls having to prove they are "gamers" (a word that sounds pretty ridiculous itself), its not about being bother by people saying they are into something they are not just to fit in... its about female posers, people craving for male attention and going to such length to get it that it makes me suspicious of almost every instance I see someone (not even a woman) attractive being into a side of nerd culture.

I am not about getting the high ground and claiming I don't appreciate a good looking woman, but one that dresses up as a male fetish to have others oozing at them does insult my intelligence. It does because she (or the people that paid her) assumes that being a male gamer automatically makes me a loner that can't get his eyes out of anyone slightly attractive that makes so much as bat an eye to me. It insults my intelligence because she (or the people that paid her) assumes I am part of an audience that only needs a pretty face and boobs to get my attention. It insults my intelligence because it stereotypes me.
 

Rabidkitten

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Sep 23, 2010
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People are mad cause cute girls are cosplaying and wearing Mario Shirts? Why? It sounds like a win win situation.
 

GLo Jones

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Feb 13, 2010
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A wild counter argument has appeared!

I'd say that women in the gaming community are often seen as a personification of this kind of culture shift. It's not necessarily their fault, but they're simply an easy target for people to take out their frustrations.
 

jmarquiso

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Nov 21, 2009
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Smilomaniac said:
Lying to peoples faces isn't bad behaviour? Thinking that the people they're lying to are so stupid that they'd actually believe it?
Sure, I could just placate them or avoid them, but I'd rather show how pissed off that makes me feel and let them know that it isn't alright. In fact, I think that's a bigger sign of respect than any other response.
Who's lying? They took the time to find a costume related to gaming, learn enough to portray that person, and immediately they're looked upon as if they're fake. Whether they are or not. What's dishonest is looking at them that way in the first place.



Remember, even Felicia Day was recently called out on this (by a Destructoid contributor no less), a woman who built her entire career and production company around a show based on an MMO guild. She was asked to produce her "credentials" so to speak. Whereas Jim, Angry Joe, Total Biscuit have never been asked.
What does this have to do with any of the things I've said?
This is about people POSING to be something they're not, or at least that's the people I'm talking about.
What do you want me to say about it? That it sucks?
That's just how it is, prejudice goes both ways in all sorts of subjects. I have no problem with honest people.[/quote]

The point is that they don't get the third degree, but even someone who's long established her nerd cred does. You know why people are poseurs? To belong. Why do they want to belong? Because they're genuinely interested.
 

MB202

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Sep 14, 2008
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Anyone watch Andrea the Black Nerd? He basically says the same thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp4RqySm0iA
 

Icehearted

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Just guessing, and feel free to disagree with mere here, but maybe there's an element of hypocrisy on the part of the women that do go to conventions dressed like pikachu in a miniskirt. The idea that they can essentially pander, even totally whore themselves out for attention, then criticize or even badger men for being attracted to that sort of thing. It's like the old joke about showing cleavage then being shitty to men for looking. I'm just guessing here.

Or maybe enough men have been derided for being shiftless video gamers by women and this is some sort of backlash?

Or maybe men are tired of watching other men get all saccharine or turn into creepy stalkers because women attract this kind of attention deliberately and shift the conversation away from games and too how hot she looks dressed in that cheerleader outfit? Even I admit frustration when I wanted to talk about a game and women turned themselves into big sexy game related ornaments to divert the conversation to themselves (No I'm sure they don't dress in skimpy outfits for attention and to feel attractive, who the hell wants that, right?)

There's a reason for everything, even if said reason is trivial, so I'm sure there's a reason for this.
 

jmarquiso

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GLo Jones said:
A wild counter argument has appeared!

I'd say that women in the gaming community are often seen as a personification of this kind of culture shift. It's not necessarily their fault, but they're simply an easy target for people to take out their frustrations.
Words change. In the same breath as saying that nerd means something to be derided, but someone also needs to go through that sort of dirision to have pride in the name, well, that's hypocracy.

Nerd and geek culture have been commodified and is the popular thing right now. We should be revelling in it.

I was one of those who suffered through it, and it offends me that one must go through that to be accepted these days.
 

Dire Sloth

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Jun 23, 2012
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I used to hate these Mega64 bits, but then I realized this is them making fun of the extreme and often twisted views some guys have of girls as gamers.
Enjoy!
 

Jimothy Sterling

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Well it seems pretty obvious.. I don't have an issue with videogame hot girls. Or hot non videogames girls, or hot videogame dudes.. or any combination of likenesses..
But FAKE is something that is understandably annoying.

As lots of other people, I have a problem with phoneyness in general. I've met some very attactive men/women that are into videogames, and you can tell their love for the subject, on the other hand I've met insecure people pretending to love videogames that etray themselves and sound like some stereotype just to fit into a group. And there lies the problem... why pretend to be something that you are not? what purpose does it serve? Is it insecurity that makes you show yourself in a certain way just to be accepted?
It's honestly sadenning to see people like that, and personally I find that it can also get extremely annoying when people bastardize the things you love as a fashionable product.

In general when someone has a deep personal understanding / love for something, and he/she sees someone else capitalizing on the commercial / superficial aspects of that something... it is annoying.

So.. duh... pretty weak episode.. I suppose you're tired jim.
 

irmasterlol

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Apr 11, 2012
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Taunta said:
The problem is, what are people gonna do about it? Why do girls 1,3, and 4 need to be tested in the first place?

OT: Because the point of the video is this leads to some sort of witch hunt which only affects women, which is fucking stupid. If you're a man, and you say you play video games, people take you at face value. If you're a woman, you have to prove that you have a right to exist. What are the requirements for being a "genuine" gamer girl? Do you have to own X number of video games? Must have a certain level of unattractiveness? Must play X Y Z genres?

I'm sorry, I must have missed the part where we went back to third grade. When did trying to share someone's interest in order to get their attention become a bad thing? When did video games become a secret elitist club? Why, instead of being excited that they're interested, and showing them more, is the response "EWWW, GIRLS ARE ICKY"?
How paranoid do you have to be to think talking to someone is a test? If someone is wearing a damn pikachu shirt and I happen to really like pokemon, then of course I'm going to want to talk to her about pokemon and of course if she doesn't know, it's going to be disappointing. When that happens over and over, and every attempt and video game discussion with a pretty lady ends the same way, people are going to start getting fucking irritable.

So no, not every attempt at conversation over a t-shit/costume/keychain etc. is a fucking pop quiz. Sometimes we're just excited to see someone with think shares an interest with us and want to talk about it.
 

RandV80

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Combustion Kevin said:
isn't this just an extention of the booth babe thing?

you know, girls dressing up to pretend to like a game they're promoting.

otherwise, I got nothin'.
I've never attended a gaming convention so I don't really know where all this stuff comes from, but booth babes would be different because they are promo models. They'll act like their interested in the game/games while in costume because it's their jobs. Tomorrow they might be modeling in a bikini at a car show acting interested in muscle cars. You will find out who the real person is if you see or know them in between the jobs.