Oh boy, this thread again! Yes, but I'm narrowing it down a bit more, so chill out. If you don't want to read through my explanation/rant, then just look for the bolded stuff to get the gist of it.
As all these debates about the "fake geek girl" have swirled, I've noticed two separate discussions that are constantly getting mixed up. The discussion of whether or not "fake geek girls" exist, and the discussion of what we should do about them. For the sake of this thread, I want to isolate these two and focus on the latter subject.
Because the way these discussions go, seems to be a weird assumption that occurs. It's assumed that when a person believes these fakes exist, they also believe that it's alright to persecute anybody who even looks sort of like one of these typical "fakes" for the sake of persecuting fakes. I think that's a bit of an unfair assessment, and detracts from the most important question in this whole debate: What do we do about the fakes? So, without further ado:
FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, WHETHER OR NOT "FAKE GEEK GIRLS" EXIST DOES NOT MATTER. THAT IS NOT A POINT OF DEBATE IN THIS THREAD. IF YOU MUST ASSUME SOMETHING ABOUT THEM, THEN SIMPLY ASSUME FOR THE SAKE OF THIS DISCUSSION THAT THEY ARE REAL.
The real discussion I want to have is, what do we do about them? So they've crossed our borders and have begun to traverse our lands. What now? What do we do? Vilify them? Seek them out? Burn them at the stake? And another big question, is it alright to assume someone is fake even though they may not be, just so we can be sure we vilify ALL the fakes? Or to put it another way, is offending and isolating certain members of our group by "checking" their authenticity as a geek acceptable collateral damage in this fight against fakes?
Those are my questions to you, Escapists. Enough of this talk of whether or not they exist. The only thing that really matters is, if we happen to encounter these "fakes" or someone who might look like one, what do we do about it? What should be our approach? Our actions are what define our community, so in this discussion I think the most important thing we can figure out is what actions we should take in these situations. My opinion on this matter is enclosed within the following spoiler box, if you're curious or want to "call me out" on anything.
As all these debates about the "fake geek girl" have swirled, I've noticed two separate discussions that are constantly getting mixed up. The discussion of whether or not "fake geek girls" exist, and the discussion of what we should do about them. For the sake of this thread, I want to isolate these two and focus on the latter subject.
Because the way these discussions go, seems to be a weird assumption that occurs. It's assumed that when a person believes these fakes exist, they also believe that it's alright to persecute anybody who even looks sort of like one of these typical "fakes" for the sake of persecuting fakes. I think that's a bit of an unfair assessment, and detracts from the most important question in this whole debate: What do we do about the fakes? So, without further ado:
FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, WHETHER OR NOT "FAKE GEEK GIRLS" EXIST DOES NOT MATTER. THAT IS NOT A POINT OF DEBATE IN THIS THREAD. IF YOU MUST ASSUME SOMETHING ABOUT THEM, THEN SIMPLY ASSUME FOR THE SAKE OF THIS DISCUSSION THAT THEY ARE REAL.
The real discussion I want to have is, what do we do about them? So they've crossed our borders and have begun to traverse our lands. What now? What do we do? Vilify them? Seek them out? Burn them at the stake? And another big question, is it alright to assume someone is fake even though they may not be, just so we can be sure we vilify ALL the fakes? Or to put it another way, is offending and isolating certain members of our group by "checking" their authenticity as a geek acceptable collateral damage in this fight against fakes?
Those are my questions to you, Escapists. Enough of this talk of whether or not they exist. The only thing that really matters is, if we happen to encounter these "fakes" or someone who might look like one, what do we do about it? What should be our approach? Our actions are what define our community, so in this discussion I think the most important thing we can figure out is what actions we should take in these situations. My opinion on this matter is enclosed within the following spoiler box, if you're curious or want to "call me out" on anything.
I think an acceptable way to address any "fakes" you might feel hostility toward is passively ignoring them. All they want is attention, so by not giving them that attention you've already punished them enough. And not only that, by simply ignoring them the collateral damage against those who aren't actually "fake" is minimal. At best you've starved an attention whore of attention and at worst you've ignored one of THOUSANDS of random strangers at a convention, or wherever you might be.
Though I think the BEST way to address these "fakes" is to simply go on treating them like an equal. If you learn they are ignorant about something--even if they lied and previously claimed they knew all about it--just respond with "Oh, really? Well let me tell you about it, I think you'll really like it!" The point of going to conventions is to share our passions with others, correct? So why should that welcoming hand only be extended to those who are already game? I don't think these "fakes" are any sort of a threat to our community. Though I think a HUGE threat to our community is the threat of us becoming so insular and hostile to outsiders that eventually we collapse in on ourselves, and become the same sort of exclusive jerks that we claim vilified us as children.
And if they back off at that point then just let them. They're at a convention, and you're the majority. If they are a bit weirded out by your enthusiasm, then at least you're secure in the knowledge that THEY are the weird one, not you. With this approach, at worst you were kind to a random stranger, and at best you've possibly gotten someone interested in something they weren't interested in before. Passively ignoring them is neutral and outright hostility is GUARANTEEING they never become truly interested in geek culture, but the most positive results can be gleaned by the most positive approach.
Just forgive and forget, and treat them like any other person you're trying to introduce to a fandom. It's not like we've never done stupid things to make ourselves look and feel better.
Though I think the BEST way to address these "fakes" is to simply go on treating them like an equal. If you learn they are ignorant about something--even if they lied and previously claimed they knew all about it--just respond with "Oh, really? Well let me tell you about it, I think you'll really like it!" The point of going to conventions is to share our passions with others, correct? So why should that welcoming hand only be extended to those who are already game? I don't think these "fakes" are any sort of a threat to our community. Though I think a HUGE threat to our community is the threat of us becoming so insular and hostile to outsiders that eventually we collapse in on ourselves, and become the same sort of exclusive jerks that we claim vilified us as children.
And if they back off at that point then just let them. They're at a convention, and you're the majority. If they are a bit weirded out by your enthusiasm, then at least you're secure in the knowledge that THEY are the weird one, not you. With this approach, at worst you were kind to a random stranger, and at best you've possibly gotten someone interested in something they weren't interested in before. Passively ignoring them is neutral and outright hostility is GUARANTEEING they never become truly interested in geek culture, but the most positive results can be gleaned by the most positive approach.
Just forgive and forget, and treat them like any other person you're trying to introduce to a fandom. It's not like we've never done stupid things to make ourselves look and feel better.
