Fake Geek Girls: Dumbest Argument of 2012
Last year, there has been quite a bit of sensation in the geek world concerning how “Fake Geek Girls” are ruining fandom and also how geek girls are new to the geek scene As a biological female, I am here to say we have been here all along and we’re not going away.
Personally, I have never been called out on whether or not I’m actually a geek. I was lucky enough to have always been accepted by my male counterparts. They loved that there was a female among them that enjoyed comic books as much as they did. They even brought me to my very first convention. So imagine my surprise when I found that my fellow women were being challenged on their geek credentials. Don’t get me wrong, I get it to a point. Are there some women that may pretend to like something to get someone to like them? Of course there is, but there are men that do it too. And honestly, why would a woman that has put a number of hours into making a cosplay or spent a significant amount of money to get to a convention, be there to prey on men? Maybe, just maybe she does it because she wants to and because she likes to! This type of woman is the vast majority that attend conventions.
I feel that challenging a woman on her geekiness is a form of bullying. Didn’t we all face enough of this growing up? I know I did. And as much as none of us will ever fully grow up, I think it’s time that we grow past making each other prove their geekiness. Let’s look at this in a different light. There’s a girl across the convention hall dressed as your all time favorite character from your favorite anime/game/comic. Approach her. Compliment her costume. Strike up a conversation about her cosplay and the character she’s portraying. You just may find out that you have a lot in common and that you’ve made a new friend.
The second thing I don’t understand about all this; I don’t get the part of this “preying on men” that comes from how skimpy and sexy the cosplays are. Honestly, myself and others are dumbfounded by this. There is wonderment on whether the people that use this excuse have ever actually looked at what their watching and reading. Women in anime and comics tend to be drawn in tight and/or skimpy clothing. This is often the case in movies and television as well. It’s one of the reasons, Joss Whedon’s programs are a breathe of fresh air, the women in his shows are fully clothed but still maintain their femininity and sexiness. So the next time, the almighty Nerd Judge makes an appearance, remind him that its an accurate portrayal of the costume and that she is not the one that designed the character’s costume.
Which leads to the next issue; stop leaving comments on photos of cosplaying women that belittle them, describe what one would like to do to her or about certain parts of her anatomy. It is not a compliment. It is disgusting, degrading and violating. I realize part of this is that male and female brains work and see things differently and that quite a few males would find this type of commentary flattering, however women do not. So keep this in mind, if it’s not something one would say to another’s face or in front of your grandmother then don’t say it online. Instead tell her how beautiful she is or how well she portrays the character. Not only will you compliment her correctly but it will make her feel good about herself.
My last point is the odd thing I keep hearing over that if a woman is too attractive that she can’t be a geek. Really? Do we have to show you embarrassing photos from middle school to prove our geekiness? No one in this world is a mythical creature that has never had acne, braces or glasses that were too big for their face. Many are lucky and once they shed the braces, out grow the acne and discover contacts well they are quite attractive. There are quite a few geek men this applies to as well.
Below is a video by Patrick Willems that shows how dumb this argument truly is in a very funny way.
