Pop quiz, which of the below pictures are not of “geeks”?
The first two pictures are of actors who portray Geeks and/or Nerds. I have no idea if the cast of the 80’s movie, Revenge of the Nerds, or the cast of the hit television show, Big Bang Theory, consider themselves geeks or not. But the newly crowned Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella, does consider herself a geek.
One of my favorite bloggers/ writers on geekdom, Jill Pantozzi, has an article about Alyssa Campanella’s declaration that she is a geek. You can check out Jill’s blog, Has Boobs, Reads Comics, and read her post: Are you questioning Miss USA’s geek cred? Here is what Miss Campanella has to say about herself when questioned at the Miss USA pageant, “I watch Game of Thrones, I watched Camelot…I know those are fantasy but I also watch the Tudors, so I’m a huge history geek.”
Some in the geek community are assuming that Miss USA could not be a “real” geek because she is too pretty. Are you kidding me? Since when does looks factor into what you like and dislike?
I have been a geek all of my life. My father collected comic books and spurred my love for this great entertainment source. At age seven, I went to see Star Wars (AKA- A New Hope) at the Drive In and feel in love with Sci Fi. Of course I received some ridicule at a young age because of my love of geeky things but kids will tease you for anything. In high school, I dated a bunch (and I do mean bunch) of girls my age. I was very comfortable with my geeky side and never hid it from the young ladies I dated. Should my geek “cred” be questioned because I was a ladies man in high school?
I have a ten year old daughter. She is a real girly-girl and a very pretty young lady (I am looking at shotguns when the guys start beating down the door). She loves cheerleading, gymnastics, doing her nails, and she still plays with Barbie Dolls. She also loves reading comic books. She watches geeky shows with me like Dr. Who. She goes to opening night to see movies like Thor, X-Men, and most geeky movies that I am comfortable with her going to at her age. Will she get rejected from part of the geek community for being pretty and a girly-girl geek?
I see a split in philosophy in the geek community at large. One group desires for geekdom to be a part of society as a whole and to share our love and passion of geeky things with those around us. They hope others will learn to appreciate our obsessions and may introduce some people to their geeky side. I refer to these people as the Xavier Geeks, where geeks and non-geeks can live in unity. After all we are all humans and should be able to live together.
The second group is the Magneto group. They have been hurt by the non-geeky community. They seem to believe they are superior because of their geekiness. They believe that one should have to prove their geek cred before declaring themselves a geek. Many have a litmus test of geekhood and if you do not pass the test, then you are seen as sub-geek.
As a member of the Xavier group, I am always happy to see others embrace their geek-side. There were way too many people still in the geek closet. Let people accept their geekdom at the level they are at. After all, not all geeks are into every geeky area. Some geeks are going to be hot beauty queens and some are not but it does not change their love for geeky things.
These have been a few geeky thoughts of my complex mind.
One of my favorite bloggers/ writers on geekdom, Jill Pantozzi, has an article about Alyssa Campanella’s declaration that she is a geek. You can check out Jill’s blog, Has Boobs, Reads Comics, and read her post: Are you questioning Miss USA’s geek cred? Here is what Miss Campanella has to say about herself when questioned at the Miss USA pageant, “I watch Game of Thrones, I watched Camelot…I know those are fantasy but I also watch the Tudors, so I’m a huge history geek.”
Some in the geek community are assuming that Miss USA could not be a “real” geek because she is too pretty. Are you kidding me? Since when does looks factor into what you like and dislike?
I have been a geek all of my life. My father collected comic books and spurred my love for this great entertainment source. At age seven, I went to see Star Wars (AKA- A New Hope) at the Drive In and feel in love with Sci Fi. Of course I received some ridicule at a young age because of my love of geeky things but kids will tease you for anything. In high school, I dated a bunch (and I do mean bunch) of girls my age. I was very comfortable with my geeky side and never hid it from the young ladies I dated. Should my geek “cred” be questioned because I was a ladies man in high school?
I have a ten year old daughter. She is a real girly-girl and a very pretty young lady (I am looking at shotguns when the guys start beating down the door). She loves cheerleading, gymnastics, doing her nails, and she still plays with Barbie Dolls. She also loves reading comic books. She watches geeky shows with me like Dr. Who. She goes to opening night to see movies like Thor, X-Men, and most geeky movies that I am comfortable with her going to at her age. Will she get rejected from part of the geek community for being pretty and a girly-girl geek?
I see a split in philosophy in the geek community at large. One group desires for geekdom to be a part of society as a whole and to share our love and passion of geeky things with those around us. They hope others will learn to appreciate our obsessions and may introduce some people to their geeky side. I refer to these people as the Xavier Geeks, where geeks and non-geeks can live in unity. After all we are all humans and should be able to live together.
The second group is the Magneto group. They have been hurt by the non-geeky community. They seem to believe they are superior because of their geekiness. They believe that one should have to prove their geek cred before declaring themselves a geek. Many have a litmus test of geekhood and if you do not pass the test, then you are seen as sub-geek.
As a member of the Xavier group, I am always happy to see others embrace their geek-side. There were way too many people still in the geek closet. Let people accept their geekdom at the level they are at. After all, not all geeks are into every geeky area. Some geeks are going to be hot beauty queens and some are not but it does not change their love for geeky things.
These have been a few geeky thoughts of my complex mind.
