Fake geek girls-male insecurity or icky fandom ruiners?

[Neo Art]

Honestly, hearing (someone who sounds like) Sauruman yell out "magical unicorn pussy" has got to be one of the greatest things that's happened on the internet.

[L Ron Cupboard]

Whereas telling lies in a bar like saying you are an airline pilot, doctor, in a band, in the special forces, a cage fighter etc. - that is still all okay isn't it?

[Destiny Island]

To me a nerd is just a very smart geek. You can be a geek and still be a total slacker.

[Zepplien]

I can't say I have ever met a girl pretending to be a geek/nerd/preferred nomenclature

In fact the majority of nerdy/geeky people I know are female.
My girlfriend loves comics (A lot more than me)
My best friend growing up can't get enough of her xbox
Another good friend (female) of mine plays Resident Evil.... Just.... too much
Another female friend of mine can beat you in CoD or Halo, or any other video game you want.

I personally think guys are a little too 'Oh god, females, they can't do the things we can!' rather than girls pretending to do this stuff.

[Chinese Regions]

What is a geek anyways? The definition has changed so much.

Is it an:

Intellectual or Academic?
Someone with thick glasses?
Someone who enjoys reading?
Someone who not very social?
Someone who is not athletic?
Someone who has an interest in computers and technology?
Someone who plays a lot of video games?

A Geek is someone who takes a lot of interest in something, sometimes near to the point of obsession which is what an Otaku is (hence it is a bad idea to call yourself an Otaku in Japan). Interest in a genre of fiction, a medium of entertainment, and/or a specific show, book or game. Interest in a particular subject such as Physics or Mathematics, it's possible to be multiple.

[Reploid Productions]

Frankly, any woman pretending to be a 'geek' just to sucker hapless male geeks is far more pathetic (and far less common a thing as some seem to think) than any so-called nerd or geek ever could be.

I haven't run into any of that sort of thing at the anime cons I go to, but I'm sure if ever faced with an asshole trying to do a 'fake geek girl test,' I could easily counter with an impromptu Gundam trivia quiz and see how well he does.

[Hexhamshire]

Whereas telling lies in a bar like saying you are an airline pilot, doctor, in a band, in the special forces, a cage fighter etc. - that is still all okay isn't it?

Those are occupations with required skill sets which have a tangible value. For the most part those occupations have lives depending on them or may be called upon to protect or defend, being found out as a fake doctor or airline pilot or as not really being in the special forces or a fake cage fighter can have actual consequences.

To be a geek is to have a hobby or express an interest in something, there are no real consequences in not knowing a certain level of minutiae in some fandom or other and it's no big deal to go educate yourself in that fandom.

There is a massive difference in saying you're a fan of the work of Gerry Anderson and having never watched anything other than Thunderbirds, a more knowledgeable fan can refer further viewing ("Check out UFO!" "Check out Doppelganger!") pretending to be a doctor and being absolutely useless should someone around you drop down with a heart attack, resulting in them dying, is a little more serious.

[Dyakovo]

There is a massive difference in saying you're a fan of the work of Gerry Anderson and having never watched anything other than Thunderbirds, a more knowledgeable fan can refer further viewing ("Check out UFO!" "Check out Doppelganger!") pretending to be a doctor and being absolutely useless should someone around you drop down with a heart attack, resulting in them dying, is a little more serious.

Nah... Pretending to be a geek is totally more serious.
*nods*

[Hurdegaryp]

There is a massive difference in saying you're a fan of the work of Gerry Anderson and having never watched anything other than Thunderbirds, a more knowledgeable fan can refer further viewing ("Check out UFO!" "Check out Doppelganger!") pretending to be a doctor and being absolutely useless should someone around you drop down with a heart attack, resulting in them dying, is a little more serious.

Nah... Pretending to be a geek is totally more serious.
*nods*

Geekdom is a hardcore lifestyle. You better show respect, otherwise they'll cap your ass!

[Reploid Productions]

Nah... Pretending to be a geek is totally more serious.
*nods*

Geekdom is a hardcore lifestyle. You better show respect, otherwise they'll cap your ass!

Cosplay battle scars, man. Serious shit.

(Says one of the few cosplayers who can claim cosplay related injury involving an oxy-acetylene welding torch.)

[Dakini]

Whereas telling lies in a bar like saying you are an airline pilot, doctor, in a band, in the special forces, a cage fighter etc. - that is still all okay isn't it?

Clearly it's okay for men to lie to women they're trying to pick up. I mean, they're just women so who cares what those gullible broads think. Just like it's always been "fine" for men to lie about having common interests with women they want to bang.

When women lie to pick up men or lie to spend hundreds of dollars on convention entrance fees and paraphernalia pretending to be interested in the same stuff as them, it's the devil's work. *nods*

[Dyakovo]

Geekdom is a hardcore lifestyle. You better show respect, otherwise they'll cap your ass!

Cosplay battle scars, man. Serious shit.

(Says one of the few cosplayers who can claim cosplay related injury involving an oxy-acetylene welding torch.)

While wearing the costume?

[DesAnges]

Geekdom is a hardcore lifestyle. You better show respect, otherwise they'll cap your ass!

Cosplay battle scars, man. Serious shit.

(Says one of the few cosplayers who can claim cosplay related injury involving an oxy-acetylene welding torch.)

This sounds like an intriguing tale. Do tell, Reppy.

[Reploid Productions]

Cosplay battle scars, man. Serious shit.

(Says one of the few cosplayers who can claim cosplay related injury involving an oxy-acetylene welding torch.)

While wearing the costume?

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

Hell, it ain't a cosplay project until somebody's burned mishandling a glue gun.

EDIT TO ADD:

This sounds like an intriguing tale. Do tell, Reppy.

Not much to tell. The Gundam costume had a welded steel frame, I was the one doing the welding, and a spark got up underneath my safety glove and burned the back of my hand. Honestly, I had a worse glue gun burn from that project, but the whole "OMG WELDING TORCH!" sounds more serious.

[Hurdegaryp]

While wearing the costume?

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

Hell, it ain't a cosplay project until somebody's burned mishandling a glue gun.

EDIT TO ADD:

This sounds like an intriguing tale. Do tell, Reppy.

Not much to tell. The Gundam costume had a welded steel frame, I was the one doing the welding, and a spark got up underneath my safety glove and burned the back of my hand. Honestly, I had a worse glue gun burn from that project, but the hole "OMG WELDING TORCH!" sounds more serious.

Creativity is not without dangers. Remember kids: keep an eye on your beloved ones if they happen to cosplay, otherwise they might hurt themselves. And that's your job!

[DesAnges]

While wearing the costume?

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

Hell, it ain't a cosplay project until somebody's burned mishandling a glue gun.

EDIT TO ADD:

This sounds like an intriguing tale. Do tell, Reppy.

Not much to tell. The Gundam costume had a welded steel frame, I was the one doing the welding, and a spark got up underneath my safety glove and burned the back of my hand. Honestly, I had a worse glue gun burn from that project, but the whole "OMG WELDING TORCH!" sounds more serious.

I was anticipating some kind of blowtorch on kitana battle at a convention. I'm highly disappointed, now.

[Dyakovo]

While wearing the costume?

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

While wearing it would have been so much more hardcore...

[Reploid Productions]

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

While wearing it would have been so much more hardcore...

Yeah, but convention centers tend to frown on attendees hauling around tanks full of explosive and/or flammable gas...

[Dyakovo]

While wearing it would have been so much more hardcore...

Yeah, but convention centers tend to frown on attendees hauling around tanks full of explosive and/or flammable gas...

Spoilsports...

[Chinese Regions]

While wearing the costume?

While building it. XD Most "while wearing it" injuries tend to be more of the "ogod my feet are killing me after 4 days in these shoes!"

Hell, it ain't a cosplay project until somebody's burned mishandling a glue gun.

EDIT TO ADD:

This sounds like an intriguing tale. Do tell, Reppy.

Not much to tell. The Gundam costume had a welded steel frame, I was the one doing the welding, and a spark got up underneath my safety glove and burned the back of my hand. Honestly, I had a worse glue gun burn from that project, but the whole "OMG WELDING TORCH!" sounds more serious.

lol wut I'm glad I used cardboard and plastic.

[Andy Biersack]

posers annoy me, but i dont hate them. how they act is what annoys me.
They aren't as bad as emo posers tho.... ha ha

[Cannot think of a name]

I haven't run into any of that sort of thing at the anime cons I go to, but I'm sure if ever faced with an asshole trying to do a 'fake geek girl test,' I could easily counter with an impromptu Gundam trivia quiz and see how well he does.

This is 'geek culture' as I've always known it, right here. Ready for the trivia throwdown at the drop of the hat.

I was trying to think of what personifies the problem the best and I realized that The Simpsons did it, when the 'hip' comic book store opened across the street from The Android's Dungeon. Because there's a reason why everyone thinks that Comic Book Guy is based on their comic book store, because for a long time that was just about everyone's comic book store owner. When the Jack Black voiced 'hip' comic book store owner moves in, with his real life girlfriend and non-aggressive enthusiasm, it's an affront to poor Jeffery Albertson. I think that episode is probably the best illustration of the conflict separated from the general sexism inherent in geek culture as possible.

I have never actually considered myself a 'geek.'

I attended a gaming (pen and paper style) convention for a solid decade.

In junior high I had a patch for the Terrain Overlord Government from the game Renegade Legion on my jacket.

My primary social interaction was with a gaming group through high school.

I came within a few issues of a complete collection of the original run of Ghost Rider.

I've been to a Doctor Who convention back during the 'old series' to meet John Pertwee and walk on a Tardis set.

I used to make biweekly visits to the comic store to buy up first issues of independent comics as they came out including what was my prize possession, the first five issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the knock off Radioactive Adolescent Black Belt Hamsters as well as Fat Ninja and Samurai and other weirdness. Mage, I loved Mage. And Crash Ryan (something my sweet girlfriend replaced for me recently, which is awesome).

I had a Flash t-shirt in the damn eighties, back when it was a reference to The Flash and not a tv show about nerds. (And a Mage t-shirt, requisite Batman t-shirt, bunch of Spiderman t-shirts.)

My first college job was to dress up as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and go to kids birthday parties. I argue that I got the job because of my Spiderman tie tack.

All that and more and I never would self identify as a geek. Firstly, because that was at the beginning (as far as I can tell) where self identifying as a geek was a thing, and it felt weird to me as it felt self-deprecating and I already had a problem with doing that too much. But mostly because I just dug that stuff, I was never able to absorb the details. I knew who Chris Claremont was because he was the Big Deal when I was reading comics. But who wrote Mage or the Ghost Rider runs that I liked, I don't remember. I'd read the names because the self-identifying geeks I'd meet, they'd know that shit. Pre-internet they'd know the 'inside baseball' shit on those guys. They knew episode numbers, they knew changes in the behind the scenes people. They marked the minor changes in shit that I would never be hip to until they laid it on me, often with that Comic Book Guy air of superiority.

I was never a geek because I could never pass the tests. And I'm not a pretty girl or even attractive man.

This is really my sticking point in complaining about the 'fake geek girl' backlash. That they are 'challenged' in this way. Being challenged is being treated like male geeks. The rest of the stuff, the assumption that a geek girl is present for the male geek's gaze that fuels the underlying narrative of the 'fake geek girl', etc., that there is some legit misogyny that has also been ever present and is long overdue being called out.

[Nailed to the Perch]

This is really my sticking point in complaining about the 'fake geek girl' backlash. That they are 'challenged' in this way. Being challenged is being treated like male geeks.

I don't disagree that "challenges" are part of geek culture, but I think it's different for men and women in two key ways. First, male geeks are usually "challenged" under circumstances slightly more specific than "existing." If a male geek says, "Oh, thus-and-such comic book is the best," he'll likely get challenged. A female geek will get challenged (and glared at, and insulted) for walking into the comic book store at all. Not that long ago, I walked into GameStop and was asked immediately if I was "shopping for my boyfriend," based on literally nothing other than me having boobs and being in a game store. That shit is very much exclusive to women.

Second, at some point, a male geek can pass the challenge. To go back to the example posted a couple of times in this thread of the woman in incredibly badass Duela Dent cosplay, a guy in a similarly elaborate costume that obviously required serious dedication to put together would likely get asked, "Ooh, who are you dressed as?" She, on the other hand, immediately gets accused of being a fake-geek poser who tries too hard, despite the fact that she clearly put massive amounts of effort into looking like a minor comic book character, something that by any reasonable standard ought to qualify as passing the "knows shit about comics" test. A female acquaintance who worked in a game store for a while literally ended up putting up a sign on the counter saying something like, "YES I DO PLAY VIDEO GAMES, I WORK IN A DAMN GAME STORE, YOU NIMRODS" because she got so tired of nearly every male customer demanding she prove her geek cred, while her male coworkers would just get asked things like, "Hey, have you played the new COD yet? Is it worth the money?"

I mean, I think the entire phenomenon of "geekier than thou" challenges is stupid and ought to be yanked out of geek culture by the roots, but there really is a difference between the sort of stupid challenges male geeks get and the sort of ludicrously stupid challenges female geeks get.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

While wearing it would have been so much more hardcore...

Yeah, but convention centers tend to frown on attendees hauling around tanks full of explosive and/or flammable gas...

I've been to Comic Con. If the smell in the dealers' room is any indication, then you just described most of the people there...though not the cosplayers.

[Reploid Productions]

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that fandom should be fun. The only time I would bust out the trivia throwdown is to show some confrontational ass that it's stupid. For instance, I know fuckall about Marvel and DC, or really comics in general, and somebody trying to quiz me to prove me as some sort of 'phony' might use that to claim my fakeness; but somebody who's a big comics geek might know fuckall about Gundam, which I get geeky about. It's stupid to assume being geeky is some homogenous state of being, when it's not.

It's not like being geeky is (or should be) some sort of exclusive fanclub; I've got no business telling somebody who's not as into Gundam as I am that they aren't really a Gundam fan (or an anime geek) because they don't know how many people died in the first week of UC Gundam's One Year War. Likewise, nobody has any business claiming I'm not "a geek" because I don't read comics- being geeky is about being into something, excited about it, and unashamed of expressing that enthusiasm. You can be geeky about anything- comics, games, books, sports, stamp collecting, a TV series, a particular band or style of music.... etc etc.