Caitlin: I am happy this exists and wish I could go. GeekGirlCon http://www.geekgirlcon.com/
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Jacqueline: This might be a cool girls only trip for next year.....
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Dan: Yay, exclusion!
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Caitlin: Oh stop it, Dan, it's not exclusion. If you bothered to read the stuff on their site instead of making assumptions you'd see that it's about celebrating geeky girls and everyone's welcome. It's not a Girls Only Club or anything.
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Sean: Looks cool, they should come to the east coast.
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Dan: If you'd bothered to read the posts on your own thread, you would have seen "This might be a cool girls only trip for next year." Having said that and having read the stuff on their site, while I know that the con isn't actively anti-male (I doubt that they'd give so much attention to Joss Whedon, if they were), any organization that describes itself as "a coming together unapologetically in celebration and sisterhood", whether "of the female geek" or not, has the stink of closet sexism upon it. A group that explicitly defines itself as being by and/or for one gender/race/religion/sex/class/etc. is limiting their own scope and potential while alienating those that would otherwise want to participate. It's particularly sad to see this happen in "geek culture" because we should be smarter/better than that. We are, largely, comprised of intelligent people and we have the benefit both of living in the social age that we do and of being able to look at history and choose not to breathe new life into divisiveness. Even if geek culture had been exclusionary/divided in the past (which, in the instances that it was, seems to have been more due to mainstream/outside influences than the subculture itself), it's not anymore, so why the need to overtly focus attention on those without penises over those that do? I'd have the same reaction, if there were a ManGeekCon or a WhiteGeekCon- "a coming together in unapologetic celebration of whiteyhood... but everyone is welcome to attend!" In a time when what is called for is humanism, a GeekGirlCon is as unnecessary as radical feminism or Men's Rights Activists (both, with few exceptions). As a humanist who hates humans, I already have a hard enough time in trying to /not/ want to murder my own faction... there's no need to add nerds to the list.
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Caitlin: Dan, I would love to have this discussion with you as I THOROUGHLY disagree, but I think I'll do it in person instead of on facebook if that's alright.
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Dan: Okee dokee. I would like to add that I'm sure that it was not GGC's /intent/ to create a divide (though, in situations like this, intent is irrelevant).
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Caitlin: Ok, I'm just gong to say right now that they did not CREATE the divide. Gamers created the divide, the group as a culture created the divide, female gamers have been made their own "thing" but the assumption that it is somehow strange or ou...t of the norm for a girl to BE a geek, that it is somehow a MALE "thing" GGC is about going "yes, I'm a girl and I'm a geek. And?" It's about making girls feel good about BEING a geek because I promise you it is not something that is encouraged or really supported by the geek community at large. Unless, of course, you're a HOT girl geek trapsing around half naked in something akin to a Slave Leia costume. Then it's like "GO YOU AND YOUR GEEKINESS"
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Paul: Did somebody mention half naked girl geeks?
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Caitlin: Paul, with all due respect, shut up.
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Adrienne: I'd like to thank Paul for giving us an example of why girls who enjoy traditionally geeky things might want a convention of their own but would like to extend an invitiation for him to join me and my friends at the next bridal expo in the spirit of inclusion for traditionally gendered pastimes. : )
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Jacqueline: This might be a cool girls only trip for next year.....
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Dan: Yay, exclusion!
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Caitlin: Oh stop it, Dan, it's not exclusion. If you bothered to read the stuff on their site instead of making assumptions you'd see that it's about celebrating geeky girls and everyone's welcome. It's not a Girls Only Club or anything.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sean: Looks cool, they should come to the east coast.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dan: If you'd bothered to read the posts on your own thread, you would have seen "This might be a cool girls only trip for next year." Having said that and having read the stuff on their site, while I know that the con isn't actively anti-male (I doubt that they'd give so much attention to Joss Whedon, if they were), any organization that describes itself as "a coming together unapologetically in celebration and sisterhood", whether "of the female geek" or not, has the stink of closet sexism upon it. A group that explicitly defines itself as being by and/or for one gender/race/religion/sex/class/etc. is limiting their own scope and potential while alienating those that would otherwise want to participate. It's particularly sad to see this happen in "geek culture" because we should be smarter/better than that. We are, largely, comprised of intelligent people and we have the benefit both of living in the social age that we do and of being able to look at history and choose not to breathe new life into divisiveness. Even if geek culture had been exclusionary/divided in the past (which, in the instances that it was, seems to have been more due to mainstream/outside influences than the subculture itself), it's not anymore, so why the need to overtly focus attention on those without penises over those that do? I'd have the same reaction, if there were a ManGeekCon or a WhiteGeekCon- "a coming together in unapologetic celebration of whiteyhood... but everyone is welcome to attend!" In a time when what is called for is humanism, a GeekGirlCon is as unnecessary as radical feminism or Men's Rights Activists (both, with few exceptions). As a humanist who hates humans, I already have a hard enough time in trying to /not/ want to murder my own faction... there's no need to add nerds to the list.
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Caitlin: Dan, I would love to have this discussion with you as I THOROUGHLY disagree, but I think I'll do it in person instead of on facebook if that's alright.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dan: Okee dokee. I would like to add that I'm sure that it was not GGC's /intent/ to create a divide (though, in situations like this, intent is irrelevant).
----------------------------------------------------------------
Caitlin: Ok, I'm just gong to say right now that they did not CREATE the divide. Gamers created the divide, the group as a culture created the divide, female gamers have been made their own "thing" but the assumption that it is somehow strange or ou...t of the norm for a girl to BE a geek, that it is somehow a MALE "thing" GGC is about going "yes, I'm a girl and I'm a geek. And?" It's about making girls feel good about BEING a geek because I promise you it is not something that is encouraged or really supported by the geek community at large. Unless, of course, you're a HOT girl geek trapsing around half naked in something akin to a Slave Leia costume. Then it's like "GO YOU AND YOUR GEEKINESS"
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Paul: Did somebody mention half naked girl geeks?
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Caitlin: Paul, with all due respect, shut up.
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Adrienne: I'd like to thank Paul for giving us an example of why girls who enjoy traditionally geeky things might want a convention of their own but would like to extend an invitiation for him to join me and my friends at the next bridal expo in the spirit of inclusion for traditionally gendered pastimes. : )
