No “Fake Geek Girl” Shall Escape His Sight (Apparently)

True story.

I’m lucky I’ve never had this problem. I must just hang out with cooler geek dudes than most. It was one of my guy friends who bought me my “1upcake” shirt, and there are quite a lot of geeky females in my usual social group.

I’m similarly blessed and it’s not until recently that I’ve realized this. Thank you, geeky men of my acquaintance, for being awesome!

I just don’t understand the “fake geek girl” concept. Do they really think there are just legions of desperate women out there vying for the attention of geek guys? Seriously?? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some nerd boy smart flirting but I’m pretty sure there are very few women that would go out of their way pretending to be something they’re not to get the attention of super trekkies and fan boys. Serious cognitive dissonance with this concept.

Likewise to previous posters. Me and my friends have never had this problem.

Granted if you wear a shirt with a thing on it. People are going to ask you about it, because they want to have a conversation with you. It’s a shared interest you are advertising. I could see this being considered being grilled on the topic, but I think they just want to talk.

When I do theatre stuff, people always ask me what plays I would like to play a part in. Or what my favorite plays are. It feels like a quiz. And one I fail often. I like to act, but don’t recreationally read plays. I think I disappoint them with my lack of an answer, and get shunned cause I’m not in the clique as much as they are.

I’d be disappointed brining up Capt Mal to a person with a firefly shirt on, and they didn’t know who he was. I wasn’t testing them. But the conversation might not last too much longer as I don’t know what to talk about with that stranger any more.

I agree although it seems to me that the whole idea there is they are trying be culturally relevant to this hot fad that is know as geek culture and get “internet famous” or something from it than trying to get the attention of actual geek guys or anything. They would probably still view an actual geek guy as the scum of the earth. ;)

“When geekdom seems to be askew,
know that she will always come through.
In times like this, what should you do?
Just follow her, The Mary Sue!”

Maybe change “she will” to “she’ll”? It scans a bit better than way.

The guys in the first panel are just bandwagon jumpers, anyway, considering the mass audience mostly ignored the character/legacy title until his resurgence in popularity just a few years ago, when Darwyn Cooke and Geoff Johns both had a go at GL. Rarely would you see GL T-shirts before then. The book itself was floundering immediately before then. The only times I can think prior to then that any mainstream buzz — outside of comics readers — surrounded the character was in the 70′s in the O’Neil/ Adams GL/Green Arrow and then much later when they replaced Hal with Kyle in the 90′s.

I’ve been going to conventions for decades and haven’t seen a SINGLE woman going geek in order to tease geek guys and dump them in the end.
This sounds like a way to justify treating women like crap as we’ve seen with recent cosplaying and harassment issues.

I don’t remember the last time I heard a guy compliment another guy about his shirt. Asking where he bought it? Yes.

I think the stigma about geek girls exist, because we’re talking about it, I just never see it by myself.

I’m lucky like you- Most of my geeky friends are other women, but the guys are fully supportive of me (and, quite frankly, turn to me on certain geeky subjects as I know more than them).
I knew sexism was a huge issue in the larger geek culture, but I had no idea it came in this form.

“Fake geek girl” bullshit bothers the hell out of me, particularly because of what’s illustrated above. I can’t tell you how many guys I see running around with faded GL/Superman/Venom/Batman/Flash logo t-shirts who clearly only bought them because they saw a movie that one time and ran across the shirt at Target, but no one ever says anything about it. But girls get treated like they’re all “infringing” on geekery? Bullshit.

And even if a guy doesn’t know much about the character, people give him the kudos for dipping his toe in comic geekery. But girls are just posers? Bunk, I say! BUNK!

“And even if [the person wearing the shirt] doesn’t know much about the character, WHO CARES??”

Fixed.

The “fake geek” thing bothers me for several reasons, not the least of which is that the label makes no sense. I see no reason why someone can’t like Star Wars AND designer purses, to use just one example, but liking designer purses makes a woman “not qualified” to be a “geek”? People like different things. Just because I like something from a specific genre, that doesn’t mean I must build my whole identity around it. I like stuff. You like stuff. We don’t have to label each other over it.

I just read an amusing take on this from my favorite webcomic author Aaron Diaz on all those darn Fake Geek Guys he keeps finding on his site. http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/post/35721129714/let-me-tell-you-about-fake-geek-guys

this whole phenomenon can be blamed solely on zooey deschanel

OK, but plenty of guys do that too.

If they wanted to be culturally relevant to hot fads, they sure as shit wouldn’t try to latch onto Green Lantern. Most fans of the character hang their heads in shame after that movie.

I’m glad this “geek hate’ has been outed. Sheesh. I’m a father of 3 daughters who enjoy going to Charlotte every year to dress up as characters. I have to admit, the first few times due to a limited budget, they dressed up as characters they didn’t know. It wasn’t the point for them. They wanted to show that they have an appreciation for comics/scifi/fantasy/anime/Doctor Who because of their dad who’s dragging them to this fun thing for Father’s Day. They really enjoy expressing themselves by bouncing around as different characters. I’m one of the old school nerds who grew up pre “Revenge of the Nerds” when having glasses and a love of D&D and Star Trek made you so outside that even John Hughes wouldn’t include your character type in the Breakfast Club. I’m sorry there are no dues to paid or knowledge that must be gathered for fans to be fans. My kids and wife are fans of the new Doctor Who shows but would shudder if they had to watch the older because of the difference in storytelling style. Does that make them not real Who fans? Wasn’t the whole point of the comic book movies to expand the audience and gain acceptance? Now that we have it, why are we being snobbish best case and at worst downright antagonistic? Geekdom is no longer a niche you get shoved into because you don’t fit anywhere else, it’s a fun place for fans to be fans and be accepting of everyone.

I say this as someone who is wearing a Firefly shirt right this minute, there’s a total difference in tone. Sure talk to me about Firefly. I love to talk, I love meeting people with similar interests and I love being treated as if my opinion is worth something. I will happy talk about Firefly with people and if the spirit so moves me go on to my numerous geek loves. I think shirts are a handy way of letting people know you like something, and that they can talk to you about it if they want too.

And then there is aggressively grilling me about the Serenity Role Playing Game (which I’d never played, because I don’t know anyone who does table top). And when I couldn’t answer the guy would walk triumphantly away like they’d provided something.

I was honestly relived to find out this was a thing, because it mystified me when it happened.

Some might do that… but why should we care? I mean, let them fake their way through it if they want to. MOST geeks, male and female, are really geeks. Sure, there probably are a few posers because it’s popular, but they might become actual geeks if we don’t exclude them, so we shouldn’t exclude them!

And yes, I’m assuming there are fake geek guys as well, because there probably are.

As I said though:
Most geek guys: really geeks.
Most geek girls: really geeks.
The posers? Let them pose, it’s not hurting anyone.

This whole phenomenon can be blamed solely on [jackasses who want to police female behavior]. Fixed it for you.

I have actually noticed the sexism in geek culture at my school. My high school has a thriving geek population and a good deal of them are female. I’ve tried making friends with some of the male geeks before, but every time I try to talk to them they seem to be cold and unaccepting of me.One even went as far to degrade me in front of my friends after refusing to go out with him. Even before I refused to date him he was constantly trying to dumb things down for me (like the storyline of batman or a particular song or video game) He acted as if because I was female, I was stupid. Even though he very clearly knew I’m in advanced and college level classes. It got so aggravating and humiliating that I couldn’t even hang out with some of my friends because he was always there. Always making me the scape goat.

You don’t pay attention to the whole DC Nation thing on Cartoon Network do you? The GL fandom has exploded because of this awesomely done kids show.

It doesn’t really matter if people are jumping on the bandwagon though, as others have said in previous replies why not be welcoming to everyone? I’m kind of glad being geeky is in right now because that means other people get to experiences the awesomeness of this group as a whole. I still hold to it that there are more good and awesome geeky guys and gal’s than jerky ones.
Personally I’m going to wear my Kyle Rayner GL shirts till they fall off my back, then I’ll probably buy a new set of them.

The entire point of the matter is that nobody is the gatekeeper for geek culture. Whether you bought a Golden Age Green Lantern shirt because Alan Scott has been “your” GL all of your life, or whether your first exposure to the character was watching the DC Nation block on DVR yesterday. Both are equally valid in fandom and don’t deserve judgment.

No,there isn’t. lol

That is as absurd as me complaining about people liking “The Princess Bride” who have never read the book. “Half of the fools think it was really written by S. Morgenstern! Bandwagon jumpers! They don’t even know about all the levels of pit of despair!” It is perfectly possible to like things without total emersion. I for instance, don’t like Marvel comics but think that the MCU is really spectacular bunch of movies. Also Coulson is the best.

Who cares if you like it via movie, novel, or comic book? I got into Batman and main stream comics via “The Dark Knight.” I’d never even seen the Tim Burton movies, the animated shows, or even “Batman Begins.” I began to see and read the other things and from there I discovered other incredible works from authors (Mark Weid and Neil Gaiman for instance), directors and artist. All because of a bandwagon.

I still don’t don’t have a t-shirt though. I’m just waiting for the right one.

The terrible movie isn’t the only option, though. I knew pretty much nothing about Green Lantern and got sucked into the really well done Green Lantern: the Animated Series. Now I still don’t know all the intricacies of the world, but I’m certainly intrigued. And annoyed, because naturally Cartoon Network randomly put the show on hiatus for months right after the new season started. ):

That was something that really chapped my ass about that latest creator rant (I can’t remember the guy’s name right now, and I’m far too lazy to look it up). He tried to say that the fake geek girls were desperate for nerd guy attention BUT that they also think nerd guys are pathetic. Um… the logic doesn’t jive there. If those so-called fake geek girls think nerds are pathetic, why the hell would they be so desperate for their attention?

I’m sure there are people (not just women) who cosplay just because they like the attention, but really, who cares? If they’re having fun doing it and everyone’s having fun in general at the con, what’s to complain about? IMO most of this crap about fake geek girls is the old “oh no, girls in my treehouse!” mentality of a subculture that’s been male-dominated for a very long time.

Good point. Thanks Sarah.

So, just out of curiosity, is there anybody here that this DOES happen to? Or is it something that people freak out about because they’re assuming it’s happening to somebody else.

*raises hand*

All my damn geekish life. Since I was in the sixth grade and I told a friend I was a Star Wars fan and a boy RAN across the classroom to shout “YOU ARE NOT” and demand to know what kind of engine the Millennium Falcon uses.

Since then, I have been pop-quizzed by random strangers on The Avengers, Star Trek, and Batman. I actually beat one damn Batman guy at his own game. He tested me on how many Robins there were. But HE forgot about Stephanie Brown and Carrie (GEE I WONDER WHY).

Keep being awesome geek Dad. <3

Sincerely,

geek lady

Haha that was brilliant!

Who in the hell knows what kind of engine the Millennium Falcon uses? My older brother’s a pretty big “SW” fan and I bet he couldn’t even answer that!

Kick him in the nuts. You only have to do it the one time …

I definitely tend to agree with this. If geek guys think that there are that many non-geeky girls who are just so attracted to them that they will feign an interest in something they don’t care about, they are seriously deluding themselves.

Also, cosplay specifically can be an extremely expensive hobby. Seems kind of weird that somebody would spend potentially hundreds of dollars just to get the attention of some geeky guys. Going to the local comic or gaming store will often elicit the same response for much cheaper. (said as somebody who frequents gaming stores)

Well said. Besides, everybody has a different background and other things that may have interested them before they became a more conventional sort of geek. Before I got into anime and cosplay, I was exclusively a classic literature and opera geek. I have since incorporated those things into my repertoire, but I don’t think it makes me less of a geek that I love to read Jane Austen. ;-)

Now I have to hit google to find out of it’s ever even mentioned…

So the Falcon has sublight engines, as mentioned in the film. Anything more specific than that and you’d have to have read the Del Rey books about Lando.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/comic-book-illustrator-tony-harris-hates-women-co

There are guys like that in every social circle. Next time he’s a little shit, tell him that his bad attitude and misogynistic tendencies are getting old, and he should really get some therapy for his issues. (Because really, shouldn’t he?)

I’m… not a fan of the show.

The thing is — as the cartoon at the beginning of the post points to — the “conversation” in this context varies rather significantly depending on the gender of the second conversant.

I wish I could find the quote — and, since I’m looking for it, of course I can’t, LOL — but I read a little mini-theory that there is a huge amount of this tied up in perceived sexual rejection that male geeks experienced at one time and this being their perceived “revenge” for it, the telling part of this being that they were/are so hyperfocused on outing conventionally attractive girls as that particular type of “fake”, the one you describe.

I have to find the quote. It explains the nuances so much better than I’m doing it here.

Why care if some ass-hat thinks you’re note really into something nerdy. You know you are. Your friends know you are. Guy or girl. Who cares. I just find that comic really cynical.

Wishing you were my father o.o

Agree! It’s about supporting the stories and the people, building a friendly community.

It happened to me. My RL last name is Gordon. I once had a really cool HS English teacher who called me “The Commissioner.” It actually piqued my interest in Batman and started a pretty much lifelong obsession. Last year I had a coworker (a loud, arrogant old super geek. He has Star Trek figurines on his desk) who made a Commissioner joke at me and he was SHOCKED that I actually got it. He pop quizzed me on Batman canon via email after that and I was like, “Lolwut? Are you for real? WE ARE AT WORK, DUDE. I need you to take your speculation elsewhere.”

“Wasn’t the whole point of the comic book movies to expand the audience and gain acceptance? Now that we have it, why are we being snobbish best case and at worst downright antagonistic?”

^^^ THIS ^^^
Comic book movies and TV cartoons are one reason why I finally began to own the geek label that I’d been carrying around in secret forever. When Sailor Moon first came to the U.S., I was considered “weird” for loving it as much as I did. Now things are different. I don’t get why people roll their eyes so hard about geek culture being “mainstream” now. It’s not just bringing new people into the fold, it’s making current fans more comfortable to be out and proud with their geekery. Everybody wins!

It’s not cynical. It’s reality. They aren’t mad about the person not knowing them. They are mad at the
fact that one is making assumptions about them based on their gender.
It’s the same as someone questioning somebody based on skin color or
ethnicity. For instance, if a white guy wheres a shirt for a famous rap
musician and gets told that he’s a poser or gets yelled at for not
staying within his own “culture.”

It’s discriminatory. Plan and simple. I run into it all the time.

One of the most wonderful comic book artists who I loved growing up is Wendy Pini. She was also a well-known cosplayer who used to dress as Red Sonja at conventions. I am not sure if it has been mentioned here, but I would be curious to hear her take on this discussion. This was in the before times when there was no internet.

What an interesting cycle the ‘geek’ label has been for me. Back in elementary school, I read a lot instead of watching TV or shopping, and I was rated ‘gifted’ and was good at math and science. Later, in high school, I got into Sailor Moon and Reboot and LucasArts adventure games and I wore things that may or may not have had something to do with whatever I’d just read at the time (I dressed like an urchin out of Oliver Twist for about 6 months after I found a newsboy cap in our theater department).

This was all before geek culture became a mainstream thing, so the few friends I had who didn’t mind that I was a weirdo still didn’t necessarily read or watch all the things I did. I felt quite unique, if not necessarily alone.

Then I got to university, where they had an anime club. I started going to cons, and cosplaying. I started reading indie comic books. I played the shit out of Ocarina of Time. I realized there were hundreds, thousands of people like me, who liked the things I liked, and weren’t ashamed of it. Here was a group of people I fit in with.

Now, I feel like I don’t fit in again. Maybe because I’m older, and I don’t go to cons much anymore. Maybe because I don’t play the games that everyone else is playing (mainly because I can’t afford them). Maybe because if I identify as a ‘geek’, as a female I may need to show my credentials to be let into the club, and they will not be enough. I’m lucky that all the guys I’ve met so far who could be considered geeks always treated me as equally geeky as they were. I’m still friends with many of them.

I don’t have to prove anything to you ‘geek guys’. I liked the things that you liked back when the word ‘geek’ was still an insult, and I’ll still like them in the future, hopefully when a girl can call herself a geek and not be told that she’s a poseur for saying so.

Under the current events, I don’t feel like much of a geek these days. However, now I know there are other women out there like me. The community might have gotten smaller, but there’s still a group of people I belong to.

I had never seen that “1upcake” shirt until I googled it after seeing your comment, I want it so bad.

Who said they all latched onto Green Lantern?

Yeah, some people are genuinely against “posers” (in this situation fake geeks who are there just for the money and the fame) though. I’m not saying I am but quite a few are.

No, the point of my post is sarcasm. I was pointing out the hypocrisy of the originally accusers, and making a point by demonstrating that a “girl” or more accurately, a woman can know more about a particular so-called “geek” subject beyond a neophyte interest, and can out pedant the supposed pedants.

I think a lot of people here are misunderstanding the whole “fake geek girl” phenomenon. It’s not about self centered nerd guys trying to bolster their confidence by thinking that these girls are pandering to them. It’s an attempt at poking fun at something that is currently going on: a very notable paradigm shift in what is considered “cool” among today’s youth, and people’s (not exclusively female) tendency to claim to be part of a group without actually BEING a part of it. When I was in high school, I watched Star Wars, played video games, and read Tolkien. But it was different then. I paid a price for my interests. I was labeled a nerd, ostracized, and made fun of. But I didn’t care, because those were my real interests. Fast forward 7-8 years, and now suddenly being a nerd is cool. Now we have all sorts of people (usually quite young) who pretend to be nerds because that’s the popular thing, while knowing very little about the actual culture. I have seen this phenomenon firsthand, and although it’s not exclusively female, young girls DO tend to be the sizeable (sp?) majority of the group. But since when were stereotypes ever 100% true? It’s just a little harmless fun, no different than the assumption that “all” nerd guys are awkward around the fairer sex and in general social situations. There’s no need to get all upset and turn this into some sort of women’s rights rally. Anyway, there’s my two cents, feel free to lambaste me for it.

Hey i have never had this happen to me and i am wondering if it is because i am not a comic book nerd but a d&d nerd and star trek nerd. I have never once had a man quiz me on my knowledge of either of my loves and i wear a star trek shirt almost once a week, hell i even have a giant star trek tattoo (tos) on the back of my leg because i love it so much. So i am wondering basically if this phenomenon is purely targeted to comic book nerds or if i have just been extremely lucky in the company i keep.

Not all geek girls are desperate for attention, no. But there are more than a few who’ve taken this route of ‘I can’t get a ‘normal’ guy so I’m gonna get a geek’. And they don’t take it well when – surprise! – it turns out geeks will turn them down, too.

Here’s the weird thing about your comment. Women feigning interest to get attention from men is something that happens in any social group or subculture; it happens all the time. Why do you think geek girls are somehow exempt?

Thanks for that anecdote. You’ve changed my mind about the whole concept.

There are also more than a few geek guys who creep around after women trying to get upskirt shots and shit. Should I say all geek guys are pathetic creepers who have to resort to sexual harassment to get their jollies?

Of course not, because those few guys are not representative of the subculture as a whole. So yeah, you’ve had girls panting after you because you’re a geek, but your experience is not the whole of the geek girl culture. Stop trying to prove that it is.

Is there any particular reason you’re trolling the comments on this post to try to prove us wrong? Because frankly, it lookalike you’re just trying to get attention. You’re not exempt, either.

More than a few, as I said above, does not mean all. I thought it was obvious my comment was ‘there are a few bad apples; I’m not saying they’re all bad but stop saying there are NO bad apples’ but clearly you didn’t get that. Frankly, I sense a bit of defensiveness on your part. And I’m not trying to prove that… I’m trying to say that there are some gals – not alot, but enough to be a problem… who seem to think nerd guys are dumbfucks who can be lead around by the nose and are good for a free lunch or two, and nerd guys need to know that when they themselves are the zit-faced dork, and she’s all ‘oh Ghod, you’re so SEXXXY, tiger!’ – that sometimes, guys? She’s lying.

You haven’t responded at all to the idea that there’s going to be a few manipulative sluts, in the larger group of nice women. So it’s not so much trolling as seeing if you’ll respond, or just get defensive because as a self-identified geek, as a self-identified social klutz and person just as damaged and screwed up as a geek guy, you OF COURSE think this is all about you: omega wolves are always going to be omega wolves no matter how eloquent they are.

…what the fuck does that even mean?

I’m sure all the geek guys out there appreciate your warning. In the meantime, those of us here who have been puttingr up with the kind of bullshit talked about in the comic above are defensive for exactly that reason, and if you can’t understand that, there’s nothing I can say to you.

Also, posting antagonistic bullshit “just to see if someone will respond” is trolling. So why don’t you go cry into your fedora about those girls who tried to use you for your geekiness and stop trolling a post that’s at least a week old?

Funny, I have a Green Lantern shirt I wear a lot, and this has NEVER happened to me. I always get told “Hey cool shirt!”

You are all fake geeks to me. UNTIL YOU PROVE OTHERWISE, POSEURS!

I always hear stories about these female posers who are just trying to get attention, but I don’t think I have ever met one in real life. I suspect that they might be imaginary.

Believe or not, here in Brazil same thing happens with gay guys. When I say, I love comic book heroes and action movies, people often says that I’m just triyng to look different from common gay guys ( They think I should be debating witch is the best pop diva in the world) or that I’m just interested in male bodies sweat and in action. This is so disgusting…