OPINION 6
THE STINGER
OPINION
February 2014
YO U R T H O U G H T S , O U R S . . . I N O N E B I T E - S I Z E PA C K A G E M A N AG I N G E D I T O R S AVA N N A H P U K A N E C Z S E C T I O N E D I T O R D AV I D H E I N E Y
Geek girls have nothing to prove
By Savannah Pukanecz
Teenage Wasteland
fits, the weirdos, women be treated is imbued with the same? Why oppressive must women be and sexist atdenied their own titudes taken identities time after directly from time? the mainstream. Just ask the All this also in heads of comic, spite of the idea film, and video that nerds are game corporasmarter-thantions. Since their thou. Blame dawn, comic Angie Stein it not only on books have been internalized Opinion Contributer male-dominated, misogyny, both inside and but the insecurity of everyout. But funnily enough, in one from typical nerd guys the 40’s and 50’s, more girls to the big bosses of Marvel, read comics than boys. ToDC, Microsoft, and other day, superhero movies make corporations. strides in the box office, but Simply put, the idea of guess who still doesn’t have a strong, real-deal geek her own blockbuster film? girl is scary to a geek guy, Wonder Woman, perhaps the much like a female boss is most iconic female hero in scary to a male employee, history. The issue of repreand a woman for president sentation has been a struggle is scary to a congressman. for women since the dawn It’s not just scary in the of nerd kind, but it continues cliché “wow, a real live girl, to get brushed off in favor of I’ve never even kissed one the classic patriarchal white before” way; it’s threatening guy trope. to their position. Video games, in the All people love to be industry and the fandom, validated. We crave that might be the most notorious sense of belonging, that idea of all. Early video games that we are secure and have always had women in side power over who we are. But roles, depending on the male in our current society, the protagonist. One only needs male need to be validated to look at Princess Peach, almost always takes priorwhose first role in the Mario ity over female and nonfranchise was to be kidbinary needs, in the form of napped and rescued, over privilege and oppression. and over again. And that’s exactly why the Nowadays, while the geek girl specimen is such number of female player a threat to guys. They’re characters and roles has afraid of the idea that a girl increased, few are truly can challenge them for once, independent and wellthat a girl can read more designed, with their outfits comic books than them or often saying “all flesh and beat them in Call of Duty, no function.” In 2012, that a girl can be part of Yohei Shimbori, director of their secret little club. the popular Dead or Alive That’s how the “Fake series, said, “We actually Geek Girl” phenomena got a lot of feedback from came to be. The idea is people who were playing that any girl, especially a [Dead or Alive 5], saying, conventionally attractive ‘We want bigger breasts. one, who thinks she’s a Make the characters more geek is nothing more than like that.’ That was kind of a poser, an attention seeker, surprising.” It’s all about or any variety of more colorful names. With that, nerdy guys fall back into their comfortable, femaledismissive ways. A cry of “you’re just a wannabe,” a few rounds of “name all the original Avengers, then!” and poof, the “problem” is all gone. Geek guys are back in power, and geek girls draw back into the shadows, too scared or fed up to express themselves and revel in what they love. What nerds (and everyone) should learn is that women have nothing more to prove than men. If men are never questioned, always given pats on the back, always included, always accepted, why shouldn’t
what men want, and since money often comes before representation, that’s how it continues to be. And still, women can’t even try to enjoy these biased games in peace. They suffer threats and harassment while playing MMO, and endure scenes of violence against women in many games. Women even get body image issues from the large-breasted, long-legged, extra-skinny “ideal women” presented in games. So, geek girls are unfairly marginalized, harassed, mocked, dismissed, and underrepresented. What role do you play in it? Are you a nerd? Have you ever thought about what you read about geek girls, what your friends say about them, what you say about them? Do you have sisters, nieces, cousins, friends, or girlfriends who share your interests? Have you ever considered what they might face? Are you a geek girl yourself? No matter what you’ve been doing up till now, what you need to understand is that all nerds are created equal. Equally obsessed with their respective interests, equally united at conventions and gatherings, equally good at gaming and obscure trivia, equally worthy to wear their uniforms (read: cosplays and cheesy T-shirts) with pride. We equally deserve respect in the community. And if women and girls don’t get that overdue respect soon enough, you can bet your limited edition Battlestar Galactica 8-inch figure collection that we’ll fight for it. Geek girls are real, their feelings and voices are real, and we won’t be denied any longer. In the wise words of The Doubleclicks, from their song “Nothing to Prove”: “You can stop - never say “fake geek” again Our club needs no bouncers - all who want in get in But go ahead, if you want, to own that role fully I ain’t got nothing to prove to a bully!”
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Everyone remembers their first comic. Whether it was the daring, heroic escapades of Superman, the kid-friendly wit of Calvin and Hobbes, or the classic charm of Peanuts that first drew them in, kids, teens, and adults worldwide have always been captivated by comic books. Whether mentioning Archie makes you sigh with nostalgia or hype about the upcoming Avengers title makes you jump for joy, comics are an increasingly influential part of media and an essential part of modern culture. Comics have come a long way since their first baby steps. A few simple 4-panel strips from way back when have blossomed into genres upon genres of creative, widely-read media with a diverse audience. But despite said diverse audience and the major advancements comics have made, they’re still lacking in one area: equal respect and representation for all. Unfortunately, in the world of super powers, make-believe creatures, and fantastic journeys, not all is perfect. In the pages of comics, female characters exist as damsels in distress, air-headed teenagers, scantily clad sex objects, or weaker, inferior heroes. Outside of them, female fans are treated as all those things and worse. Exclusion from their interests, insults and jeers, even sexual harassment and death threats are all things women are likely to face, not only in comics, but in video game, sci-fi, and fantasy franchises. In our day and age, “nerdy” interests are becoming more prominent. Forty years ago, the most attention Star Trek-loving, Batman-reading, cardtrading kids got was getting shut in lockers and called names. Nowadays, everyone can get behind the latest Spider-Man movie, book series such as A Song of Ice and Fire, and new episodes of The Walking Dead. Geek is chic, cool, the new sexy; whatever you want to call it, it’s definitely in. The stereotype that a nerd is “an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person,” as the Merriam-Webster definition reads, has been smashed, at least by the mainstream’s idea of it. Why, then, can’t longstanding stereotypes about female nerds be erased as well? Delicious irony it is that the nerd subculture, which first sprung from the socially awkward, the mis-
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Gandhi was once quoted as saying, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him… We need not wait to see what others do.” This is more commonly interpreted as, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” All Gandhi wanted and could hope for was peace and change within his world, this world. And all I can hope for is the same; however, I cannot say the same for the rest of my generation. We live in a time where “man’s best friend” is no longer a furry companion with a waggly tail, but a piece of plastic with a circuit board that can give you the location of the nearest fast food restaurant, and allow you to peer into the lives of friends, loved ones, and complete strangers on a daily basis. We live in a time where our thoughts and our feelings are accessible and on display to anyone and everyone by the use of social media, and where, more often than not, we have virtual conversations rather than conversing face to face. And although we appear genetically similar to our ancestors...there appears to be one recurrent mutation somewhere along the strands of our DNA. Laziness. For we, myself included, are a deadbeat generation. We sit in class and debate about current social issues with faces growing redder by the minute, and panties twisting tighter with every word we spit out of our mouths. And this is because for the life of us, we can not possibly fathom why everyone else in that very classroom does not think the same way that we do. How they can possibly dare to have an opposing opinion, when clearly we’re the ones that are right. But the bell rings, our panties slowly untwist, and all previous qualms are forgotten because our heads are swimming with the anticipation of what selection we’ll make on Netflix for our after-school entertainment, or how many bowls of ramen noodles we’ll be able to eat before dinner. We just spent the last 6 hours in school whining, complaining and arguing about the government. How they do nothing, how they can’t come up with a budget, and how they won’t pass the new bills that would shape the face of our nation. But we should turn around and look in the mirror, because now, we’re hypocrites. We love to blame adults and the leaders of this nation for all of our problems, but it’s not like we’re trying to do anything to remedy these problems, or draw attention to our complaints. So as I see it, we are equally guilty. Because just like the ones we accuse, we do nothing. If we want anything done, it’s become obvious (by the government’s recent budget deficit) that we’re going to have to do it ourselves, but someone needs to light a fire under our cheeks. America is slowly turning into a teenage wasteland. We have all these ideas and dreams, yet we do nothing to pursue them. Unfortunately, for the current leaders of our country, we hold the future of America in the palm of our hands, and they have little to no say about the decisions we are going to make. We need to shape up and get our act togetheror else our country will continue into the downward spiral in which it has already accelerated. So for the love of Gandhi, connect with people-- or even with man’s true best friend-- instead of with Wi-Fi. Cut the chord to your cellular device and let your opinions and ideas guide your thoughts, as well as your actions.
A Battle for Equality Amongst Nerds
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