A little over a week ago, I saw a copy of an e-mail sent to geek writer, Jill Pantozzi. She shared this email with her Facebook fans. The email writer commented that Jill is a beautiful lady. Because of Jill’s attractiveness, this guy was unsure if Jill could be a real comic book geek. He asked her to take a picture of her comic book collection to prove that she was a real comic book geek and not just a journalist using comic books to further her career.
Here is another example of a geek feeling the need for others to prove their “geek cred”. It is a crazy idea that geeks have come far enough to be exclusive. Right now, “geeks are Chic” but this will not last forever. We need to have a big tent mentality and include others with us that maybe newbies or even attractive ladies (like that is a bad thing).
There is something humorous about this email. This guy did not do his research. Anyone who has read Jill’s articles on The Mary Sue, Newsarama (she is no longer with them), or The Nerdy Bird, can tell right away that she is a genuine fan. She writes her articles with the heart of a fan.
If her writing is not enough to convince someone, then check out her podcast with Alan Kistler, Crazy Sexy Geeks. Jill and Alan’s show is full of geek talk. There is no way she could fake the knowledge or energy that she brings to this weekly podcast.
My eleven year old daughter is growing up to be a geek. She loves Doctor Who and some comic books. She is into Harry Potter and Superhero movies. She doesn’t share all of my geeky interests but several of them. She will probably develop more as she grows up. Because is a very attractive young lady (I will soon be beating the boys off with a stick), she will probably have her geek cred challenged and she should not have to go through that.
I understand that geeks and nerds have been treated poorly. I was teased and made fun as a child for my geekiness. I was the kindergartener that brought a towel/cape with him to school. I would transform from Larry to Captain Marvel by saying the magic word, SHAZAM! My childhood was full of people making fun of my unique tastes in entertainment and fun.
Just because we have been teased and made fun of, doesn’t give us a right to put others through the gauntlet. There is no geek litmus test. If a person refers to themselves as geek or nerd, then I am sure they know themselves better than I do. Heck, Nathan Fillion, self proclaimed Nerd, was recently on Jay Leno discussing how everyone is a “Nerd” about something. I couldn’t agree more with Captain Tightpants.
I will let Gilbert (below) talk about being a “Nerd” or a geek.
**CORRECTION** As one of our readers pointed out, it was not Nathan Fillion on Jay Leno but rather Zac Levi from “Chuck”. I know Nathan has stated similar things. Reader SS gets the Correct a Geek Award. (Just a heart thank you from the Staff) Thank you SS for keeping us accurate and on our toes.
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