A Call for Change in Geek Culture

[vc_row][vc_column][title type="subtitle-h6"]Lauren Gonitzke[/title][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="11/12"][vc_column_text]Any girl who has dabbled in nerd culture has probably heard phrases like “fake gamer girl,” “fake geek girl,” among other variations.The accusation in these misogynistic terms is that girls only fake interest in said nerdy things to impress or attract the attention of nerdy boys – that they are not “true” fans. The implication is that the only reason that girls would be participating these communities would be because of men.In the words of [tooltip position="top" text="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ggK9-TBVY"]Youtuber albinwonderland[/tooltip], “There is no thing as fake geek girls, there are only girls who are at different varying levels of falling in love with something that society generically considers to fall under the ‘nerd culture category.’ We all started somewhere. And elitists are elitists whether they’re wearing thick framed prescription glasses or Gucci suits”. This attitude reminds me one of The Berenstain Bears series of children’s books, titled No Girls Allowed, in which Brother Bear creates a secret club with his friends and prohibits Sister Bear and her friends from joining. It’s juvenile and ridiculous.Albinwonderland’s video was in response to some comments a comic book artist made in 2012. He accused the “hot girls” at Comic Con of being “fake cosplayers” only there to prey on “naïve, unsuspecting geek boys.” Again, the logic of the geek community is that they cannot fathom women having interests in these hobbies without it being in relationship to men somehow. I find that demeaning and frankly, insulting. Women should not have to “prove” their knowledge of certain series to men, and men should stop making up arbitrary guidelines and playing gatekeepers to the geek community.Along a similar vein, there is often a double-standard for women in cosplay. For example, it’s difficult for women to become “popular” in cosplay unless they fit a certain idealized body type: fit, large breasts, and butt. This is clearly because of the objectification of women, and the desire for men to see attractive women cosplay their favorite female characters. One perfect example of this is the popular cosplayer, Jessica Nigri. She came from modeling and then made a career and more money in cosplay. Whether their following takes off because of their looks alone, their skill in the craft and art-form of cosplay, or a combination is up for debate. If one is not an attractive woman, it can be difficult to be welcomed, accepted, or become successful as a cosplayer in the community.Conversely, a lot of attractive cosplayers who are women most often get the accusation of being “fake” fans who are faking interest and doing cosplay, video games, etc. just “for the attention.” Therefore, a lot of women might shy away from doing a sexy version of a character or characters with default or iconic and revealing clothing designs. They might feel conflicted in wanting to get more recognition and being recognized for their art, rather than just being an attractive woman cosplayer.As the demographics of geek communities are generally white cisgender, heterosexual men, discrimination and exclusivity does not end with sexism. It’s not only a boys club, but a white cishet club as well. The result is that a niche community united by a love for a series whether it be a TV show, video game franchise, movie, or anime, ends up reproducing the same oppressive environment as the mainstream in regards to sexism, racism, classism, cissexism, etc. It’s ironic because many geeks will claim that they suffered from bullying for their interests in middle and high school. One would think they would be more welcoming to new fans and fellow fans, whomever they may be. But sadly and ironically this community that has been historically pushed to the margins of society as niche, ends up elitist and exclusive, pushing women and people of color away.Again using the example of cosplay, the geek community is not the most welcoming environment for people of color. Like when non-white actors are cast for typically white roles in movies, fans react in a similar and hostile way to people of color who do the same in cosplay. Racebending beloved characters has been criticized under the guise of “accuracy.”Unfortunately, there still exists a lot of anti-black racism in the cosplay community. The first barrier is naturally representation, that there aren’t enough “[tooltip position="top" text="http://cosplay.kotaku.com/the-struggles-and-triumphs-of-black-cosplay-1757730742"]’compelling black characters in the source material’[/tooltip]”. The second barrier is the community that does not shame racists who troll, ridicule, and even send death threats to those who cosplay characters not “originally” black in the series. There is even a [tooltip position="top" text="http://cosplayingwhileblack.tumblr.com"]Tumblr just for archiving black cosplayers’ work[/tooltip]. In an already niche community, black fans have been forced into another niche community within it because of their race.On the other hand, the controversy of blackface and yellow face has come up in the cosplay community. On the opposite end of this issue, painting one’s skin darker or taping one’s eyes to look more “Asian” under the excuse of “accuracy” is equally racist and problematic. (Protip: If you’re trying to look like a certain race then it’s probably racist.)The geek communities are united by a love of a series and in other communities such as cosplay, a passion for the series and contributing their talents to make art in homage to it. A subculture like that should be welcoming of all who share this love and passion, and actively work against reproducing the marginalization in mainstream society.There is no excuse.The geek community is long overdue for change.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]