The problem with posers is that
actual nerds and geeks are still ostracized and treated like crap by "mainstream" society, so it is rather painful to watch people co-opt and dilute the positive identity they have created through being a pariah.
Go figure that people might be upset about that.
Gaming/anime/manga/scifi shows are becoming more popular among the wider culture, but the actual nerds and geeks that created the initial base for those things are not. That is why the typical stereotype is still a fat, basement dwelling, neckbeard or heroin skinny, glasses wearing, bucktoothed, egghead. That is why their is push back and "gate keeping". The pariah knows what they have helped create is accepted or enjoyed, they also know the poser has not accepted the actual nerds/geeks who have helped create it.
Then, as numerous people have pointed out, posers actually do take attention away from the real nerds and geeks. Nerds and geeks, who have worthwhile comments on the culture and it various mediums get passed over for someone who looks hot but contributes nothing worthy of discussion. Yeah, that can be rather irritating.
And make no mistake, male posers are attacked too. Usually a man who is found to be a poser is quickly rousted out if they try to speak for an area of geekdom they are pretending in.
Phasmal said:
Eh, it pisses me off.
Never seen a dude be accused of being fake.
So, only females can be fake?
UberNoodle said:
EDIT: Oh and people likening this to 'weeding out the posers', why is it girls getting the weeding but for a male, one's nerdiness is seldom called into question?
Bull**** you've never seen a guy being accused of being a fake. Guys get called fakes all the time. Guys get called fakes more than girls/women/females. Ever heard the term "Bro" gamer? Or guys being called out on being CoD fratboys? The entirety of the CoD not being real gamers mentality is entirely aimed at males for liking their Total Heterosexual Kill Fest games. The entirety of the PC Gaming Master Race vs Dirty Console Peasants was almost entirely male centric when gender came into it as well, with male gamers being blamed for yet another watered down shooter/reskinned sports game.
It is common, insanely common, for Bro gamers to be dismissed as not real gamers. Just mentioning you like CoD or Halo in some gaming circles will instantly get you thrown out if you are a guy.
And in table top gaming simply liking the wrong RPG system can get you tossed out. Just revealing you are a Brony (Bronie? I always forget the spelling) can get you tossed out of some nerd circles for not being a true Scotsman.
The difference is no one cares when a guy gets called a fake/poser and chased off or isolated; at best disinterested parties call it penis waving, or just lump them into different sub-cultures within geekdom. Another difference is this curious social difference in that guys rarely make being a guy their declared defining trait in the realms of geekdom. They are gamers, nerds, or geeks first, and guys second, sometimes guys third or fourth depending on how specific their set of interests is, if they even think about being male/gender at all.
On top of disinterest in what guys actually face, guys get the double whammy of also being the sexist, misogynist pigs who alternatively only think of bewbs when they see an attractive women, then get accused of Idunnowhat, double reverse misogny, in threads like this for not instantly being accepting of attractive women in geekdom and instead being so audacious as to actually try to establish that it is not an attempted exploitation of the stereotype of nerds and geeks being little better than sex-starved teens.
Being called misogynist, being subject to a form of misandry, and marginalized creates backlack, go figure. Being exposed constantly to the same kind of attitude that made shirts that say "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them" acceptable, but "Girls are stupid, pull their hair" unacceptable creates a group suspicious of outsiders, go figure. It does not engender feelings of peace and acceptance among nerds and geeks.
Big surprise some guys who are part of a group of men who have largely been viewed as emasculated and ostracized by the larger portion of society might be a bit defensive of their space and therefore suspicious of outsiders trying to exploit them or insult their intelligence. And what guys have to go through in geekdom and mainstream society is largely ignored, or pushed to the side, and this in turn ignores why guys might be suspicious of girls coming into geekdom ?or part of a different sphere of geekdom? who are possibly only trying to humiliate, exploit, or marginalize them.
Even look at this debate, look at Jim's video, talking about the suspicion women face, as if no man/boy has ever had to deal with it. Anyone who has witnessed an Edition war knows that guys face the challenge of being authentic all the friggin time, inside geekdom as well as in mainstream society. It is not unique to women.
Even looking like the stereotypical nerd or geek male can still get your credentials double checked because you said you like 4th ed. and were not a fan of 3.5. If you are a gaming geek and dare walk into the realm of table top expect to be put through a ringer of tests to show you can RP or wargame properly, else you be labelled as That Guy.
The entirety of geekdom is built upon the testing of credentials and establishing a sub-culture within the culture. This actually makes sense when examining what a nerd or geek actually is, a person who is obsessively knowledgeable and conscientious about particular interests that are widely looked down upon or misunderstood by mainstream society.
Women are not the only ones who 'suffer' the woes of being accused of not being authentic, but, predictably, women are the only ones whose suffering we care about or bother to notice.
Will no one think of the Bro gamer?
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