A Conversation with Chris about Nerds [[Reply]]
Perhaps my views weren’t articulated as fully as they could have been. In my defense, we were having this conversation on Google Chat, which is not exactly the easiest place to flesh out an entire argument.
For the record, it is not as though I do not believe there are female nerds, or I believe female nerds are somehow less than male nerds. In fact, I referenced a real female nerd toward the end of the conversation (about her not going to Dragon Con ever again.)
I think this “nerd chic” fad that has been chugging along for a few years is an equal opportunity fad that has picked up both male and female bandwagon riders, which was the point I was attempting to make about the reason for more girls at conventions like Dragon Con.
However, I still stand behind my statement that just because you vaguely remember the NES, have seen a couple of episodes of Dr. Who, or like to read, doesn’t mean you’re a nerd. It annoys me when clearly non-nerds try and jump on the nerd bandwagon just because it’s fashionable at the moment. And actually I’ll expand that point to say it annoys me when anyone jumps on any bandwagon because it’s the cool thing to do at the moment/week/month/year/etc.
xoxs:
Chris: I was a little surprised at the number of women there, to be honest.
Nick: Why’s that?
Chris: Just didn’t seem like there would be many there. I guess I underestimated the appeal of sci-fi across the genders.
Nick: I don’t think it’s just sci-fi. It seems like DragonCon is an all…
I dont think I like this Nick. it delegitimize any female nerdiness. it feels like your saying theres no such thing as an authentic female nerd which in turn suggests that females are just shallow in general. Im not sure I even see the point in 2 men discussing women. if you really want to know, why dont you just ask one?
