Subscribe by EmailNever Assume Anything About a Geek Girl
December 8, 2009 by Natania | 70 comments
By Natania Barron
Contributing Writer, [GaS]
Unfortunately, though the world might be getting more and more geek friendly by the minute, being a geek girl is still difficult. So I’m appealing to you, Geeks Are Sexy readers, to consider a few things when approaching us in the, um, wild. I’m drawing on real experience here, and while every geek girl is different, I think most of these tips are good to keep in mind. So it’s not exactly exhaustive, but a good place to start.
Don’t assume that she’s had “help” rolling up her character or that she’s only playing D&D for the RP aspect (or because of her significant other). Seriously, people. I know enough girl RPGers to know we can be as insane about min/maxing, tweaking, and speccing as anyone. Yeah, sure, maybe some of us are more dramatic than the dudes in the group on occasion. But the next time someone asks me if I just play D&D because my husband dragged me into it might get a sucker punch.
Don’t assume she’s buying comics for her significant other. Just because a woman is walking into a comics store doesn’t automatically mean she’s lost, looking for presents, for someone else, or is there on a dare. It also doesn’t mean she’s only interested in manga, Wonder Woman or Buffy comics. Take note. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Don’t assume she doesn’t like girly things. Sometimes there’s a sort of pendulum effect, treating geek girls like geek guys and assuming that we have turned against our entire gender just to get geek cred. Not so. Many of us are exceptionally girly, just not by standard definition perhaps.
Don’t assume she’s read and liked Twilight. Just don’t. Trust me on this one.
Don’t assume she only likes to read urban fantasy books with strong protagonists. And if we’re writers don’t assume we write that stuff. Many of us dig swords, guns, and classics, too.
Don’t assume we’re stupid about computers. Eternally annoying. It’s one thing to have sat and tried to fix your own computer for a few hours and resigning yourself to going to the Genuis Bar or Geek Squad, or whatever. But it’s another thing altogether to have to cope with techies talking to you about your computer as if it’s the first time you’ve ever laid eyes on this marvelous object. “Did you restart it?” “Wait, what? It restarts?”
Don’t assume we don’t like non-geeky things. Sports? Sure, I wouldn’t consider myself up on every team. But I love the Red Sox. The most insulting moment I can recall is when one of my husband’s friends would not believe I was an actual fan and quizzed me on the starting lineup. Guys, don’t be that guy.
While (I hope) many of you will laugh this off and say that you’d never presume such things, it’s still something that we geek gals deal with enough to warrant a friendly reminder.
Any geek gals out there with similar experiences to share? Any guys made some bad assumptions and want to fess up?
- Will the REAL Geek Girl Please Step Forward?
- How to Let Him Know
- GameCrush: Want to Play Halo with a REAL GIRL? Pay Up.
- Canon Boy Meets Nikon Girl : A Rap for Photo Geeks
As far as my geeky/girly self goes, I keep my Yu-Gi-Oh! deck on a Tiffany box and the card sleeves are of a turquoise blue that matches with the box.
I like sports even more than my boyfriend. I like baseball (Red Sox and Diablos Rojos fan), football (Steelers fan) and soccer (Pumas fan)
And yes, not all geeky girls like Twilight. I absolutely hate it.
I would like to add that playing WoW and dressing your poor child up as a WoW character for Halloween instead of something she chooses does not constitute you being a geek and posting this all over FaceBook. I do agree with most of the things above, however…
I love being a geeky girl, its great! I do get alot of attention because I can kick the guys ass in xbox. I love going to my local comic book store ( which is around the corner from work) i am a DC girl so I love my batman’s and superman’s, the owner of the store always chats me up, he knows I am married, but its a good feeling to know that not only your a geek but it makes to feel sexy too.
Oh, I hate twilight, dont read them.
I still do the girly things too, I wear make up, I fuss over my hair, and I do own 3 pairs of heels.
Being a Girl Geek ROCKS!
You got me with the “did you try re-starting your computer” thing. Oh my. Yes, and many years of gaming…since I’ve got a good 14 years on you my dear writer you know I was buckin’ that trend a long time ago.
Went to the dive shop one time to get my regulator re-certified and adjusted. While I was waiting, a new instructor arrived so I introduced myself and asked him what his specialty was. He informed me that I needed to get certified before I could take any specialties. I said, yeah, I know. So what specialties do you teach? He didn’t get it until Dave, the shop owner, came back up from the workshop with my custom regulator with the double second stage for my drysuit.
Ok so that’s probably more of a tomboy thing. But I have just upgraded my home wireless and successfully figured out that the connection issue was a bad cable between the modem and the router. And I like high heels, and swords. Just not usually together.
What’s wrong with high heels AND swords at the same time Valerie? I find that perfectly acceptable ;)
I might be biased on this though, I’m a guy ;)
High heels and swords? What is this, Avalice? Only a viera can get away with something like that.
*Ivalice, even.
“Did you restart it?” is the first question I ask when someone at work has a computer problem. It doesn’t matter if it is a male or female who is having the problem. And 9 times out of 10, the answer is something along the lines of, “No, should I try it?” And probably seven out of 10 times, that fixes the problem. So I have learned “Assume nothing.”
Being a geek girl is usually very funny. People staring at you when you enter a comic book store, go to a lan party or play some videogame that is not Sims is priceless.
Here in Spain, I guess we have more handicaps than in the US, because geeky culture is not as common here, even in guys.
I love comic books and I’ve been collecting them since I was 10 (I started with DC and I’m totally in love with Lobo), and everytime I enter a comic book everyone stares at me like I’m green or something like that. Also, I play RPG since I was 14, and I owned my first computer when I was 8 and made my first program at 10. I fix my own computer and all my friends and family ones.
I love make up, heels and girly stuff, there’s no war between being geek and girly, despite common believing.
Actually, I’m 31, graphic designer, programmer, geek and proud of it.
BTW, excuse my poor english, I hope everyone can understand what I’ve said :P
Your English is better than some native-speakers I know. :)
Oi, I’ve had these blog posts before. Are girly and geeky mutually exclusive? I’d say the answer is no, but we do seem to be forced to pick between the two of them quite a bit. Also assumptions about girl geeks who date guy geeks are umm…fun.
Folks might like the Geek Feminism blog and Geek Feminism wiki.
Oh oh to add to the list:
We do not attend conferences in hopes of attracting a geek to date. We attend for the same reason you do: to learn something new.
Ooooh, also, don’t assume we all like wearing men’s t-shirts. I’m going to try not to buy any geeky men’s t-shirts anymore, on the basis that it just reinforces the companies’ belief that they can ignore women.
And Cybernary, your English is great :)
Darn! One of the only reasons I’d care to go to conventions (on the rare occasions finances permit) it is to meet geek girls. So if the girls aren’t going to meet the guys, where does that leave me? :D
Loves this article. The first thing I did was tweet it. Well done, and more importantly thank you.
Same here Cibernary…I’m currently living in Argentina, and to be honest with you, I don’t know any geek girl here at all!
If you want to stop people assuming things about you as a female geek, you should probably stop calling yourself a “girl” and reconsider the title and header to this blog. Playing to misogyny is hardly the way to dismantle it.
Nice try, but this blog is owned by a man. Natania is just one of the MANY people who write for him.
Yes Mac, you tell him! :)
After linking the PGP article I wrote on here years ago on a mailing list, the subject changed to “is the woman in the header Mackenzie?” and then lots of the men giving their input on my appearance. There was a rather “well if you don’t want it discussed, don’t write for a site with a name like that” response to complaints about it.
Er, that’d be the guys who’ve met me in real life who were commenting on my appearance–not that they were commenting on the model’s appearance.
Wow, Mackenzie. That’s crap (and the kind of crap it can be so hard to get the “But we love geek girls!” guys to recognize). I’m sorry
THIS.
You = awesome.
This = abso-fucking-lutely correct.
Red Sox fan + Geek = EPIC WIN.
I think I love you, ya know, just a bit. :D
Even with the surplus of female anime fans, there’s a bias. I can’t tell you how many times a guy has just assumed that I only like shoujo, and–after I told them some of my favourite anime–that I only watch shounen to perv over the guys.
I also play MTG, and it’s so funny when a guy assumes that I don’t know anything about it, and that I’m only trying to attract a geek guy.
Twilight makes me throw-up. Who would want to date a stalker who wants to eat you?
High heels and swords are like triple the weapons if you can move in them.
Women, swords and heels? Gawd, I love ‘em. Try explaining that attraction to a non-geek (male OR female). ;-)
Elizabeth Gracen, anyone?
As Corfy says, “Did you restart it?” isn’t necessarily a sexist assumption. That happens to everybody, male or female (though it may be worse for women). If Steve Jobs walked up to the Genius Bar, their first question would be, “Did you restart it?” (Maybe after “When’s the tablet coming out?”) I just swallow my pride and dial up some patience.
Good article, tho. I’m a bit amazed that enough people still make these assumptions to warrant a reminder. Maybe they need to meet more girls.
(P.S. Laughingrat — I think she should call herself whatever she wants. And I’d expect someone who chooses a name like Laughingrat to grok that. ;) )
Damn it, Natania this is not your personal blog. So please don’t treat it as such.
Yhea, you get stereotyped, but so does everyone else. And you yourself assume things about other people.
Just because you put the word ‘geek’ into your article doesn’t mean its not a “bitching about guys” post, that really belongs on your own personal blog/livejournal. So keep it there.
They are assumptions made specifically because she is both a woman and a geek. And as another lady geek, I would be extremely surprised if these assumptions were only made by men. But hey, any time a woman raises an objection, that’s “bitching,” right?
Good lord, do people actually assume that stuff? I must be incredibly lucky to have the circle of friends I have.
To tell the truth, being a geek guy; at least locally, I always thought geek girls were a myth of legend. Frustration beyond extreme to find someone you can relate to that’s not online, and not a million miles away.
I mean, I try to talk to any girl I come across about topics regarding quality games or good movies or MST3K and such (note: NOT always the first thing I start with, of course. And this has been going on since elementary school), Dwarf Fortress (beyond quality), Classic Gaming and whatnot. In return, I either would get an obligatory/ignorant nod, or some bragging rights about owning a next-gen console/game (only owning a Wii, 360, or PS3, with 2 or 3 games doesn’t make you a gamer or a geek whatsoever). Not enough unique girls to qualify as a geek in my neighborhood. And the only times they would show any hint of geekiness would be when there’s nearly nobody around to notice. It’s like being a geek in town is taboo; especially if you’re a girl. Plus, I have too many drunk party girls in town, and it actually turns me off.
My preference, in fantasy style women/geeks, is more along the lines of a Steampunk girl. Victorian-style dress with a bomber jacket, goggles, and a coppper sawed-off shotgun piloting something that looks like it came directly from Jules Verne = win. Bonus points for having a pin-up painted on the side of the ship. I mean, those are freaking obligatory for added awesomeness.
As for reality; If you’re a girl, and you’re a qualified geek. You’re acceptable. Simply put. My standards in looks and personality went bye-bye long ago. Too many people acted just how they looked in my eyes. Not a pretty sight, no matter how attractive you may look; if appearing much like a total bitch, doubt was often relieved. I know from personal experience.
Any tips in flushing out geek girls from anywhere like worms from the ground with electricity; I am open ears to some.
Meh. Potentially you’ve met plenty of geeky women, but they’re interested in other areas of geekdom than you. I’m not a gamer, so I don’t fit your model. You didn’t say the word “Linux” once in that comment, so you don’t fit mine. We both identify as geeks though.
I dunno. I would definitely be able to identify a geek girl on the spot. Simply put, taking interest in anything of quality qualifies.
And BTW, that’s a bit rash of a response. My goodness. Does anything I say have to be taken completely out of context? I DO have other interests you know. I was just lending out simple examples.
Don’t prove the lower part of my statement true.
Rash? I’m just saying you can’t determine whether a person has geeky interests if you only go at it from one angle.
Congratulations, Damian, you fail. How do you fail? Well, let’s see.
Your first two paragraphs- fair enough. It’s frustrating to find people who share your interests, more so in some locations than others. I so sympathize- I would love to know more geeks, male and female, in person rather than online.
Your third paragraph: huh? This was a post about the life experiences of ~actual women~, not the male fantasy of geek girl or your idiosyncratic version thereof. And even if you have this awesome image of a steampunk chick, one wonders: why would she paint a pin-up on the side of her airship? I mean, certainly gay and bi girls exist, and this bi geek girl does appreciate the aesthetic of a really good retro pin-up, but only in moderation… and I certainly wouldn’t paint one on the side of my airship. You see what you just did there? Objectification plus the implication that images designed to appeal to straight men are somehow ~required~ for proper geek awesome, and therefore that geekiness is essentially male and we geek girls are only involved to provide more for you to look at and fantasize about. And you wonder why girls don’t come to your D&D games! (The ones with the chicks in metal bikinis on the books, remember?)
Your fourth paragraph: Let the fail begin! 1. “Well, I guess I’ll deign to call you girls ~acceptable~ to me.” 2. “Even though geek girls can’t possibly be pretty.” 3. “I mean, I’ll be desperate enough to sleep with you/pretend to be your friend, but god knows I’ll only want you because you fit a ~stereotype~. Screw actually liking you as a human being, for your personality. You’re not a ~person~, you’re a Geek Girl!” 4. “By the way, all pretty girls? Totally bitches. And by ‘bitch’ I mean wouldn’t sleep wtih me/didn’t share my interests. Whaddaya mean misogynistic? There’s nothing wrong with calling them bitches!”
Then, just to seal the deal, you close with the lovely worms image. Score!
I’m a sexy geek girl (though my geekiness may not be acceptable to you- I’m mostly a SF geek, and a strategy game nut but not a retro gamer, and I don’t like comic books…) but why would I want anything to do with a man who calls women bitches, writes me off for being good-looking, objectifies women, and admits he wouldn’t give a fuck about my personality so long as I’ll talk MST2k?
I would second “get thee to a con,” except I suspect you might be one of those guys who would spend the entire time looking for girls, being creepily inappropriate at them and not seeing them as people, and then getting rude when they didn’t fit exactly into your fantasies. So, you know, don’t go to a con.
It seems the common sense of context fails to be recognized once more.
The fantasy is just that, mere fantasy; and in regards to the pin-up it’s an aesthetic thing. It just seems to make ships cooler when you have something like a pinup on it. Sorta like a characterization of the ship itself.
I don’t objectify women; it’s just that the images being put out is getting a little ridiculous, like the straw feminism displayed as so with your response.
When I speak of acceptable women, I mean in a sense that you’re not a living steroetype. Simple enough.
Lovely worms? I never mentioned them as lovely. I only used it as a metaphor. Trust me, it’s a guaranteed method of getting bait for fishing; seen it work, it was neat. And it seems asking for surefire ways of getting a response from women is frowned upon these days.
And believe me when I say that pretty girls are oft bitchy (IE- extremely hostile; not a bitch for a pimp). Let’s just say, respect is not common when it comes to women near me, any degree, any caste, hell; just nickname me Johnny Bravo. The responses I’ve been getting lately is proving my point.
As for my walls of text, I tend to answer multiple responses in the same one response.
If I offended anyone with my remarks, I do apologize; but for God’s sake, don’t you dare mark me down as bitter or misogynistic. But I would have to say, experienced is beginning to be more of a relevant term to use. This crap is more common an experience than you can believe.
Oh yeah, I’m not looking to get laid anytime soon. I’m not counting on it ever happening in this lifetime. However, someone to bullshit and have a drink with, or simply put, a good companion that isn’t male, is all I really seek.
Don’t assume Everything about a Geek Guy.
Damian, to quote you: “And believe me when I say that pretty girls are oft bitchy”
You know, you really have a narrow vision on life. I know tons of pretty girls, and very few of them are bitchy. In fact, I’ve been happily married with one for the past 12 years. And to say she’s only “pretty” is really an understatement. ;)
You’re not bitter?
ha
haha
/me stops holding it in
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
I take it you’ve never been on the ass end of an asskicking (more like consistent bullying that makes internet trolls look tame) once in your life before then? That IS my life. My ass is none more than a callous. Ironically, a majority of the bullies that I’ve encountered/endured were in fact female. Much worse, I was the innocent party the whole time. I know the very definition of a complete bitch through and through.
Narrow vision huh? Of course it is, because I look forward. Going on, and getting over my life is my goal. Screw the past. Plus, when you have pain for life, like I illustrated, you eventually get blind towards hope of anything good in due time. Not a side-effect; it’s life. Real life.
I’m happy that you’re one of the ’1 in a million’ of guys across the world that can win the heart of a woman. Treasure it, and help others out; and I mean really help. None of that bullshit that plagues the advisories of every person spanning the world and generations.
Examples including “Love is blind” “Nice guys finish last.” etc.. We need that crap removed, and more honest things to be made like “Love is like making a diamond, it takes a ton of pressure and alot of heat.”, or “If love is blind, then judgment is deaf.”, “Nice guys finish last… ALWAYS. Reason? We’re too damn nice to choose First, Second, or Third, apparently; because people tend to say ‘Please? :bats eyes:’ too often.”; you know, something useful that can be applied and have above a 10% chance of working.
On that note, for you to have a pretty, non-bitchy, woman; are you sure you’re a nice guy that finished first for once? If so, what’s your secret? And like I said, I’ve heard it all, no bullshit please. Last thing I need is advice from a whipped husband. That is not my goal. And before women get the wrong message, and go on a tirade, I don’t seek to be abusive either. I just want a balanced person for once.
Well, NOW I’m bitter. Thanks for letting it out.
Thank you Mackenzie for being the perfect example of what I am talking about.
Damn man… Come ‘on. 1 in a billion guys to win the heart of a woman…???!!!! Really? Geez…. You are not a geek, you are quite moronic. And I can understand you now that I just read you were bullied by pretty “bitchy” girls. Your attitude is misogynistic.
Seriously. Girls are girls no matter how geek they are. You can win the hear of a fine lady. Everyone can and that’s a fact. Probably you haven’t met with the one for you but chances are you won’t see her if you think on stereotypes.
Ok, the “bitches” from your past are gone, you look forward and move on. Move to the recycle bin your misconceptions of pretty/geeky/bitchy girls and start from scratch.
Hope that helps but if you are as geeky as you presume maybe you’ve though about that.
I know I claimed silence earlier, but I just need to make some things clear (then I’ll shut it):
MST3K = Mystery Science Theater 3000 (a comedic audience that riffs bad movies. JFGI.)
MST2K = Non-existent; and for those who are not familiar with it (MST3K); watch an episode of that show, and feel shame from within for missing out on such a gem. Unless what you mean to say is Rifftrax, then what do you know? It’s the same people from MST3K!!!
And also:
1 Million = 1,000,000
1 Billion = 1,000,000,000
Any questions?
Those have nagged me for a bit. I love how people habitually blow EVERYTHING out of proportion to make themselves look like the good guy. If you truly are geeks, you’d be much less moronic with your responses. Unless you are supposed to be Trolls, in such case, what a pathetic display. That’s not how you’re supposed to troll. Take a good look, and identify who the real troll in this comment war is.
And one last thing I noticed. How am I a moron if I have proper grammar and have clear, and concise, context within my statements? I’ll admit, my judgment has been tarnished as time passes, but I’m no moron. Think rationally next time before you respond. This is getting boring. Too damn predictable.
Well, it was fun while it lasted. Later suckers.
The definition of “1 billion” is variable. You gave the definition used west of the Atlantic Ocean. East of the Atlantic Ocean, 1 billion = 1,000,000,000,000 ie 1 million million (not 1 thousand million). Since there are not 1 million million (what we call trillion in America) people on Earth, your writing could have been misinterpretted to something unreasonable.
Gosh, Eric! Thanks for laying your dick on the table so we can all measure it. But I feel I should warn you: a lot of people carry hammers these days. You might want to put it away before — oh, dear. Here they come.
Damian: Get thee to a con. You didn’t say where you were, but there’s probably one you can find your way to.
Yeah, I’m not exactly the type that goes to a con. Can’t really afford, nor stand to go to them. I have my reasons as to not telling my location (town specifically); I guess the most I can say is more a caution. Don’t expect much from Florida.
Retirement/drunk moron central. Unless you feel like being an annoying socialite, this is the place for you. Like I stated, geek girls are a myth here.
Really, now where would I find the mythic Florida geek girl? Let’s see, *looks down* oh, wait, there’s one right here!
Don’t just write off a place because you don’t go to enough places to find a girl. And there’s plenty of cons in Florida. I would know, I go to enough of them. And there are free cons too, you just need to look harder.
To weigh in a moment. I should point out that many women, actually, react very weirdly to my geeky tendencies. So it’s not just men, no. And I’ve heard these same complaints from many other geeky women (see the many affirmative comments). Since I’ve got a platform, I thought I’d share.
Regarding the “restart it” issue. This has happened to me after I explained the lengths to which I’d gone to work try and fix the problem. There’s nothing quite so irritating as having taken the time to explain something and find out they really didn’t care what you did and weren’t listening anyway (because I’d said I’d restarted it… etc.)
My hope was, bringing some of these still very real issues that face geeky women (and in some cases, all women in general) might serve to make people aware this this still happens, every single day. There are a dozen other issues I could go into, but my hope was to be lighthearted. And as I said in the article, there’s no way I could include everyone and every kind of geek and woman in the article. My hope is that geek guys won’t perpetuate these assumptions. But the sad part is, lots of the discrimination comes from geek guys themselves who just can’t deal with us on their turf.
Anyone, of any gender, is lucky to land a geek girl. Just sayin’.
Sorry about my behavior.
None of it had anything to do with turf whatsoever. In fact, I welcome any geek girl into the realm of geekdom. My issue has been finding them. There is no right answer to finding or obtaining one.
As the quarrel above shows; it had nothing to do with geekdom near the end. It wasn’t even a turf war. It was utter nonsense. I’m not pointing fingers on who started it though.
Being the bigger man; I’m ceasing my responses here.
Fantastic article. The “don’t assume she’s read Twilight” one made me giggle (Minefield! Danger! heh)
And yes- This does come from geek guys more often than others, but there are plenty out there who get it. Thanks!
One of the best moments of my life was walking into the Halo: ODST round of the Omegathon at PAX, the “girl killer” FPS round, and not only did my team double and triple the other teams scores, but my personal score beat out 3/4 of the guys. It was a good feeling destroying the term “girl killer” that year.
Okay, I admit that I once misjudged a girl and assumed that she might need help setting up a wireless network, Result: I had my ass handed to me twice at a game that should remain nameless.
It was an honest mistake, I don’t know what a geek looks like in broad day light anymore.
On the sports front, a few years ago I went on a blind date (first mistake) set up by a co-worker. Guy picked me up at my apartment and said, “I thought Genny said you lived by yourself.” “Yup, I do.” “Oh. Well, whose Sports Illustrated is that?” “Um, mine. I’ve had a subscription for over 10 years.”
That turned out to be all the guy could talk about on the date, the fact that he’d never met a girl who liked sports and had a subscription to SI. *sigh*
i’ve never seen any geek girls.
so i dont have any assumption about them
Please marry me? Pretty please with sugar on top?
Yep – my main problem is going into games stores to buy the latest PS3 game and having the guy behind the counter asking me if it’s for my boyfriend and then looking incredibly shocked when I tell him it’s for me :/
I once into a Games Workshop to buy myself some model paint. I was asked by staff if I was shopping for my boyrfriend.
I’m probably considered extremely girly (more girly than geeky) but I do have geeky tendencies. I program and have built(or take apart, put back together) my own computers, and absolutely HATE it when tech-school/tech-major guys talk to me like I know nothing about science. So so so annoying.
I sometime act dumb (i.e. “what, [computer] restarts?”) for my own amusement…
You forgot, don’t assume that we are not attractive =] because I know a lot of geek girls who are far prettier than most of the “girly” girls I know.
OMG I love this! About time we got our recognition!!! Also, another thing that people don’t need to assume is that we are shy and introverted. I’m just as loud and obnoxious as the guy gamers there.
And I love hockey!!! :D
I have to say that it always insults me a little every time I watch tv and a girl walks into a comic book store and every male in the room stares like they’ve never seen a girl in there before. I go to comic book stores all the time. I’ve never been stared at like that.
In recent years I’ve become aware that most people think geek girls don’t exist and that confuses me. I’ve always been around geek girls all my life and yet I was told by one of my male friends that I was the first geek girl he ever met. He’s 19 years old and just met me a few months ago.
I love being a geek girl. Nothing gives me greater joy. It most certainly gives me an automatic advantage when meeting my boyfriend’s friends and family. I just don’t understand how the rest of the world thinks we don’t exist. I’ve never had problems finding fellow geek girls. In fact, in high school I just to carry around my comic books and leave them on my desk just so other geeks could find and befriend me. Oh well.
a few months ago i went to my local apple store because my ipod appeared to have a serious hard disk error. the guy at the genius bar (an incredibly nerdy but because of that very cute guy in his early twenties) was very polite but obviously very confused because of the detailed description i gave him about my problem (and i may have made one or two geeky jokes about apple…) – i guess he didn’t expect this accuracy from a girl. very amusing!
and i love mini skirts, make up, shoes, chocolate and a decent girl’s night out with lots of glitter and filthy stories about men!
i had to tell all the boys in my class how to compleat AC2, and then explain the whole aliens/gods thing. they now see me in a diffrent light. that and the fact i can win a ps3 vs xbox 360 fight every time
Here are a few for the geek girls that MMO or RPG…
Never assume that I want to be the healer *OR* am only the healer because it’s the only thing I’m good at. I can pick up a dagger, stealth, strafe and stab you in your back before you’ll be able to realize you’re smelling my perfume. I can also just as easily pick up a mace and bludgeon you to death. And trust me, I *KNOW* when to sword and board and when to stick the prick. More than likely I’m playing the healer because YOU’LL eff it up and it needs to be done right for this dungeon. /smirk
Just because I have boobs doesn’t mean I do not have enough cunning to organize and lead a raid *WELL*, be it PVP or PVE – and furthermore just because I have them doesn’t mean I prefer PVE over PVP. Personally I’ve been MMOing for 13 years now and have been the GM of one of the largest guilds on the server of choice for nearly every MMO I’ve played. You don’t get that just by giggling cutely. Which leads me to..
Just because I like to laugh doesn’t mean I am feeble minded! I originally wrote a longer paragraph for this and then realized that it really needs no explanation. I love to laugh. I am intelligent. Period.
And lastly just because I’m a girl playing an MMO doesn’t mean I want your lame ass trying to pick me up. I’ve met some of my best IRL friends in MMOs, even met my husband in one (yes, I was HIS GL) but you’re missing out on some awesome baked goodness being sent to you during the holiday season if all you’re going to do is talk about how you want to stick your giant sword into my sheath.
Deshi: In my area, there is only 1 comic book store, and it’s all stereotypical live at home types that ALL look like “comic book guy” or “captain swear pants”, except for the one skinny goth boy that smells abit off. If a girl walks in, they all stop and stare the whole time. … When a guy walks in, they just ignore him. … They don’t do alot of business, but everytime the forget to pay for their storage buildings, I get a ton of cheap product :).
Everyone: All you geek girls are awesome, I wish more were in my area. I have a bachelor’s degree, own a toy store, and collect manuals for video games as a hobby (I almost have a complete instruction manual collection of ALL Microprose and Bullfrog games). Sadly, nothing but ‘hick’ girls in the area. I’m thinking of moving to Oklahoma as I sell alot of vintage video games to women in that area… …
There’s a question? Where is highest population of geek girls? I want to go there!
Actually, I haven’t ever assumed something like that, but then, I haven’t MET a geek girl, but then, I don’t go out and meet a lot of people anywhere. I’m a stay at home type.
ack, I submitted before editing out that run-on sentence.
I have Lizardmen Warhammer models painted pink and purple. All the guys in the model shop assume I have them because my partner is a big player….does it never occur to people that maybe that’s how we met! Idiots!!
Also the guys at work hate it when they’re in a middle of a phone call to the tech department reporting an IT problem and I pick up one of the other phones and tell IT not to worry coz I’ve fixed it already….again! hehe XD
i think theres a game where the main characters high heal shoes have swords in them shes hardcore ha i think its called WET ? she love lolly pops and lipstick :)
I consider myself a minor geek.
I have wonderful intelligent mildly nerdy girlfriends, who aren’t really into evrything i am.
we all love shoes and dresses, they love twilight, i liked the first book but not enough to read the others, the movies arent bad… give me a regular bloodsucker anyday though.
they dont understand that i love computers and internet and japanese culture and RPG and FPS.
just like my very geeky boyfriend doesnt understand that when out shopping for pokemon cards with him i wouldn’t mind looking at that shoe shop, or those shiny, shiny earrings.
i Find as a Girl and a Geek that i live a life halved. i try to keep my personality split, to minimize the eyeglaze over affect. but it just cant be helped. i luagh at different things, like when my friend asked “would you kindly” she didn’t get why that was so funny, and he has no-idea why i can get distracted in the middle of Dr. who by the companions jacket.
he does get that nathan fillion is super sexy. which is disturbing. but eh, my friends finally got who he was.
so yeah Girl geeks being slightly rarer on the ground means socail situation are personality squishing.
I have mixed feelings about this article. For the most part I agree with it. I know computers and I know them well. In fact, I used to work for my college’s tech support. It pisses me off when I occasionally have a problem beyond my abilities and guys start talking the computer version of baby talk to me. However, I feel like the tone of this article sort of lessons geeky girls that do fall into some of the stereotypes mentioned. Like they’re less of a geek for liking/doing those things.
First off- I am so freaking pissed off every time someone judges me for liking Twilight. I read the series before it was popular (before it was even a series, really), and you know what? I enjoyed them. Were they the best books I ever read? Hell, no. But I still enjoyed them nonetheless. Sure, the movies are s***, but I liked the books. Get over it. There are plenty of guy movies/comics that are complete viewer/reader indulgence in the same vein as Twilight, but guys never get crap for it (*cough*Transformersmovies*cough*). I will, however, concede that the fans brought in by the movies are completely obnoxious and I’ve left the fandom because of them. Grr.
Anyway, when I go into a comic store, yes, I do generally head straight to the manga and Buffy comics, but I shouldn’t be considered any less a geek because of it! I know my Batman comics pretty well, as well as various Marvel series, but I generally feel so overwhelmed by the male-ness of them that they aren’t my comics of choice. What I mean by that, is that I get tired of reading comics in which all the women have ridiculously large breasts and various other details that just irritate me. For instance, I once got into a pretty heated debate at a comic con with an artist over Supergirl wearing shorts underneath her skirt. She’s flying around in a miniskirt! What girl would fly around and fight in a miniskirt without some sort of underwear cover-up underneath? That’s just stupid.
Gah…
*takes deep breath*
*steps off soapbox*
But yeah, I’m really into fashion (including, but definitely not limited to Japanese fashion), and it’s always kind of hilarious when I go to cons. At my local one, most of the girls there are either in cosplay or jeans and t-shirts. I don’t have the time/resources for cosplay (though I would do it if I could) and I rarely ever wear jeans and t-shirts. It’s just not my personal style. So I’ll go to cons wearing my “normal” clothes, and end up looking really out of place. I’ll never forget the time I won a Star Wars trivia contest wearing Rodarte. XD
(P.S. I apologize for this over-long ranty post. ありがとうございます。 ^_^)
Another geeky-girl (if I can still call myself that now I’m over 30) chiming in.
Loves: Science, sci-fi, fantasy, Joss Whedon and his alumni, comics (admittedly Buffy, Runaways, and Alan Moore-Marvel/DC universes are so developed I would have trouble just jumping in any old place), sports (football(soccer) and MotoGP).
London’s a bit of a funny place. Since being (technically) an adult, I haven’t had much notice taken of my geekiness. It’s got me a bit of cred from the engineers in my current job but other than that, most people just realise (from talking to me) that I’m well informed, smart and not afraid to venture an opinion. And that I get stupidly excited for new stuff that’s about to come out (Kick-Ass/TGAW/Iron Man2 etc).
I am quite girly, and love watching fashion shows, but often can’t be bothered dressing girly, and I do own more than a healthy number of geeky t-shirts, so people might be forgiven for thinking I’m not into fashion or other girly things. I’m actually a little embarrassed at how much I love clothes – although it does all come back to design and aesthetics, so I give myself a pass.
On the subject of cons – Firefly/Serenity introduced me to that world, and I go because I want to meet other people who have similar interests and who I don’t have to constantly explain/introduce stuff to. Also people who understand my obsession with collecting things. I don’t know why my brain can’t overcome that.
Funnily enough, I’m the bigger geek in our house. My bloke loves gaming, computers and science, but comics, sci-fi and fantasy leave him cold.
And I hate Twilight. I started reading the first one out of curiosity and really couldn’t continue. That’s rare for me. I can usually at least make it halfway through a book even if it’s boring or the characters are unengaging, but there was nothing in there to keep me reading, and the quality of the writing was…nearly Dan Brown…is the only real way I can describe it. Dan Brown is like my measure of badness in writing. Twilight makes a strong attempt to reach DB level of badness.
Yes, female geeks are becoming more known. But, the assumption is that these girls and women are very young. I’m 44, and my kids tell their friends that their Mom is a geek, and all you can hear is silence.
In my day, it was arcades (including foosball) and my neighbor’s Atari.
There were stereotypes back then too. I was the only girl in the first ever computer programming class in high school. (I typed in “RUN” so many times.)
When I entered foosball competitions, guys laughed at me. I didn’t win a competition, but I came close many times.
And the thing about getting a computer fixed–that ticks me off. At my age with my gender, pimply-faced kids think I’m stupid about computers too.