This is why I hate "Fake Geek/Gamer Girls"

[EvilRoy]

snip

Snip

I think I better understand what you mean, but I can't really see what you would expect to be done about the points you raised.

It is entirely reasonable for someone to dislike being lied to by advertisements, I find that my slap chop is far from infallible and kaboom rarely solves all my bathroom stain related problems, but people tend to object to how the advertisements are presented rather than to the fact that they exist at all. They don't resist change or extra attention, they resist the fact that it connects things they consider to be negative to them by proxy. Not wanting to have games sold to you by sex and so forth is entirely reasonable, but it ignores the rather painful point that the only reason companies do this is because it works. If a marketing executive found out the best way to get people to buy their product was to slap a large blue duck on the side of it, you can bet your ass that there would be a blue duck adorning every single game box, and some no doubt unfortunate attempts to make that same blue duck sexy for a double wammy.

As to the question of how a subculture should react, beyond simply disliking how advertisements are portrayed, what reactions are really to be had? If the subculture was based around bonzai maintenance, or tibetan singing bowl meditation it would be reasonable to find the introduction of commercialism, advertisement, or consumerism to be disturbing, but in the case of gaming can we really claim to have the same problem? This subculture started out based on these things, having more of them, more effective versions of them, or more honest versions of them might not be the most pleasant thing, but whether or not gaming was picked up by popular culture expecting there to be less of these things over time is akin to expecting your hair to stop growing or start retracting once you found a comfortable length.

Having thought about it, I suppose the only reaction besides distaste would be to actively attempt to bend the normal buying practices of members of the subculture to exclude products that employ the distasteful practices. But if it was that easy, not all cleaning product commercials would feature females performing housework, and not all as-seen-on-tv products would feature a series of brick stupid people failing at day to day tasks.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Gamer girls on the other hand (I mean real ones) because most of them have inferiority complexes the size of f-ing Everest, feel threatened by the fgg and hence dislike them. Them luscious boobies make them feel even more inferior, and insecure.

Come on, I agree with most of your statement but this is needlessly hostile. I don't know most gamer girls and neither do you, you're making grand assumptions with nothing to base it on other than possible personal experience. It's similar to saying that most gamer guys have inferiority complexes toward sport jocks. Not only does it imply that most crave to be that type of person (or at least their body type), it also implies that merely having gaming as a hobby means most represent the negative stereotype of a gamer. That's rather sad too.

Okay, okay, fair enough. You're right, it is based on personal xp, but it is a possibility. Envy is a common human trait, more common than you think. And it's normal, I'm not saying it's not. What I'm saying is that it's sad to try and justify that envy, or any other purely emotional response to the issue, and to try and rationalize it through weak, non-arguments and statements. And maybe i was a bit callas in saying that gamer girls specifically exhibit envy towards those better-endowed. In fact that applies to most human beings, not just girls. And yes, most people desire that kind of body-type, regardless of whether you're a gamer or not. Everyone wants to be fit, good-looking, etc. So yeah, I guess I should have just expanded the spectrum and phrased my argument better. And though it may be offensive - it's true. Not for everyone, but for most.

I was rather lazy in my reply as well, I meant to go on about natural human habits but ended short. I really only had an issue with singling out gamer girls as people who exhibit those characteristics to a more unnatural degree. At least I read it that way, seemed pointless to write a phrase that singles out a group of people just to say they have tendencies like everyone else.

 

[Calibanbutcher]

How exactly do you be a fake gamer?

If you want to play games...and you play games...

Whatever maybe I just missed all the rigorous qualification standards.

Ah must have been a clerical error on our part.

Excuse me Ill get the forms ready.

How many ten sided die do you own?

Have you ever completed Luigi's Purple coin challenge?

Can you complete the sentence "A man chooses x x x"?

Can you tell me what stat is commonly tied to ranged dmg?

Have you ever been a member of a raiding guild?

Can you point out who of these 2 world leaders poses the greatest threat to you?
Montezuma
Augustus Caesar

Can you mention 3 different characters from Street Fighter?

Please list videogames you own:

Please list videogames you have finished (continual progression games excluded):

You mail me the forms and ill let you know if you applicable for a Basic Geeking Licence. Your BGL should arrive in the post in 2-3 days.

Should you want to wear costumes you will have to apply for an Advanced Geeking Licence afterwards and or I can send you the advanced forms, thou you will have to provide your own 3rd party witness for the all night gaming session.

- GSA -
Geek Standard Association

1. None.

2. Never, dislike most Mario games.

3. "A man chooses, a slave obeys", Andrew Ryan, Bioshock.

4. Dexterity

5. Never played a MMORPG.

6. Caesar.

7. Ryu, M.Bison, Chun Li.

8. A lot.

9. All of them.

 

[a ginger491]

The video is making a solid argument about the commodification of geek and nerd culture and how it is being usurped by people who think proclaiming themselves as geeks or nerds makes them smart or quirky, all the while not realizing that they are using epithets that once were very hurtful (I know it's extreme but just roll with me on this.) Playing and enjoying games used to be intertwined with being a geek or nerd, but no longer. Gaming has erupted into mainstream culture, and it's going to stay that way for a long time. I think "Gamer" is just a word similar to that of "movie buff" or "bookworm," they can be used to tease someone, but for the most part I see them as compliments or recognition to a person's immersion in a topic.
However, I believe the words "nerd" and "geek" should only be allowed to be used by those of us who were outcasts because they love books, video games, anime, robotics, are in varsity chess, dream to become a statistician one day, or whatever other thing they do that deviates from the norm. What I mean is a popular kid calling themselves a geek just because they don thick rimmed glasses, start playing video games on weekends, and use Reddit is like a white man greeting people by saying "What's up? my n***a?" when they sag their pants, wear a snap back sideways, and start listening to hip-hop. I know it's an extreme comparison but I couldn't think of anything else that would get my point across.

Think about it for a second. Nobody has ever been able to enforce rules on word usage. The closest thing we have to that is grammar and spelling, and these two concepts shift all the time. Culturally, saying we're the only ones worthy of calling ourselves nerds is a pretty destructive attitude. It stratifies and crystallizes word usage and freezes the perception of the word in one very specific direction. It's as if I said Neo-Impressionists are usurping Claude Monet's school, when Neo-Impressionism was basically a stepping stone for people like Picasso. You're condemning something that has no real bearing on your life.

As it's not destructive. These people you'll catch calling themselves nerds on Facebook because they binged on a social network's selection of games are as worthy of using the term as we are. The word "nerd" refers, at least in its modern incarnation, to people who have a very narrow band of interests. People who border on obsessive behaviour about one or two things. As for the supposedly important part about being socially maladjusted? That's changed irrevocably.

The gawky teens of yesteryear grew up into professional thirtysomethings. They have families of their own, they're probably successful and don't adhere to the idea we entertain of the average nerd anymore. Of course, the younger ones are always going to discriminate against their betters. It's human nature. There's always going to be a new batch of marginals waiting around the bend to claim an insult and turn it into a badge of pride or to reuse an older icon.

If they end up re-purposing the word "Nerd", then its intrisic meaning will have changed.

Trying to police that by saying that our group or some other group has exclusive rights to a word is like trying to stop a tsunami with a beaver's dam of sticks and branches. Good luck with that, man.

Yeah you're probably right. I never really looked at it as a description of someone who is very passionate about something, but that seems a lot more likely than what I suggested in my stupid rant. I have no qualms with others joining the culture, and having a death grip on to my geek badge and telling others we're all out of them is pretty childish.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Because this is starting to feel like a requirement...

How many ten sided die do you own?

Have you ever completed Luigi's Purple coin challenge?

Can you complete the sentence "A man chooses x x x"?

Can you tell me what stat is commonly tied to ranged dmg?

Have you ever been a member of a raiding guild?

Can you point out who of these 2 world leaders poses the greatest threat to you?
Montezuma
Augustus Caesar

Can you mention 3 different characters from Street Fighter?

Please list videogames you own:

Please list videogames you have finished (continual progression games excluded):

You mail me the forms and ill let you know if you applicable for a Basic Geeking Licence. Your BGL should arrive in the post in 2-3 days.

Should you want to wear costumes you will have to apply for an Advanced Geeking Licence afterwards and or I can send you the advanced forms, thou you will have to provide your own 3rd party witness for the all night gaming session.

- GSA -
Geek Standard Association

1. I own none. Or, to be more precise, I own a theoretical infinite number of complex dice. It's called having dice-roll apps on an iPod touch. It's a lot more portable than lugging around a bag of the things. Less scuffing of freshly varnished tables, too.

2. Dafuq? Lolwhut, no.

3. A slave obeys and quotes audiovisual Objectivist masterclasses despite not having read Ayn Rand before in his life.

4. Depends on the game, but it's usually Dexterity. Other games get fancy and make it depend on the type of weapon being used or some exotic other stat - like Perception in the SPECIAL system.

5. Not a raiding guild per se, but I was a part of the Debt Junkies Supergroup for City of Heroes/Villains for about two years.

6. Both can be pretty destructive - assuming you're referring to Civilization. I could have old Jules develop fission technology or make sure Montezuma is the first world leader to develop Howitzers. Whatever, man.

7. E. Honda, Dhalsim, Chun Li, M. Bison, Cammy, Ryu, Ken, Akuma... Y'want more?

8. Dafuq? Lolwhut, no. It's Christmas Eve, I have better things to do. Check me up on Steam for a partial answer.

9. Linear games excluded? Eh, not a lot. I'm a compulsive restarter and a perfectionist.

A basic license will do, I'm not much of a cosplayer.

 

[Dogstile]

What pisses me off about the fake gamer girl thing is not the people themselves, I mean fuck, it was started because of the "omg i'm wearing glasses and a zelda shirt i'm such a nerd ^_^" people, who are annoying by nature and easily ignored. What pisses me off about it is how people assume when I say I don't like fake "gamers" or "gamer girls" they assume I mean any girl/guy who doesn't know everything about a fandom ever, which isn't the case. I hate people who know one thing and assume that makes them a nerd like its a big thing.

In fact, i'm going to extend that to everything. I do not play football and assume i'm a footballer and make a big deal out of it. I don't cook a meal and assume i'm a chef and make a big deal out of it. Fuck, I think I just hate it when people make a big deal out of it.

Of course, nobody is going to realise because its been turned into a gender thing rather than people just hating a certain type of person (because everyone knows the stereotype that its mocking) people are just gonna piss bile at eachother because sexism topics blind people.

 

[Savagezion]

Nerds and Gamers. They were doing the asanine "I liked it before you did!" bullshit before the hipsters.

Awesome, we beat the hipsters at doing something first for once. Take that hipsters!

Captcha: Blue Ribbon, awesomerz.

 

[Dr. Doomsduck]

Getting into this discussion a bit late, but I have a question, and I really, REALLY want an answer, so please help me: Why do I get the feeling that most people have an issue with 'fake nerd girls' because they are attractive, but chose to dress in a manner that is traditionally worn by 'ugly' people (i.e what people call 'nerds')? Why do X person get to decide who is a 'nerd' and who is not? Especially given that I never hear this 'fake nerd girl'-crap aimed at someone even remotely ugly (and by 'ugly' I mean 'not meeting the traditional requirements of beauty')?
How often do you even ask these people what their interests are? If you rage at some girl who wears big glasses and have written 'nerd' on her palm, how on earth would you know what she is or is not?
You can look at my profile. I have a picture. Do I meet the requirements? Am I 'nerd' enough to be a 'nerd', just by you judging my appearance?

Well, the problem is different for everyone it seems. Some guys just don't want girls in their treehouse. Others don't like the 'boothbabes' who only dress up but don't play the games. Some (guys and girls) feel that posers are annoying and/or dissapointing to talk to. Another group, which I think is relevant to your question, feel that being a nerd was a safe group where they didn't have to deal with people who bullied them for their looks/hobbies/lifestyle choices. They feel that attractive people would have an easier time belonging in any crowd, whereas the 'nerd' crowd is the only place where they fit in. Maybe in an unconsious fear of being driven out of their own club, people are making a pre-emptive strike.

You're right in saying no-one should get to decide what a nerd means and if people are genuinely interested in something, well, then the more the merrier, I guess. Also, the general consensus seems to be that an active member on this site has enough nerd credibility.

At its core, it's not about looks but about what interests you. Sadly, people being people tend to judge on looks and that's when problems generally start.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Really? This stupid shit again?

I watched that video. All 11 minutes of it.
What a load of pretentious hipster bullshit.

I'm sorry, but I'll take the removal of stigma from Geek/Nerd Culture over pining for the days of being bullied over my interests.

He had me rolling the aisles at "Big Bang Theory is damaging our culture".
OK, so we all know who the pretenders are, and we all know that they're annoying.

But really. Is this worth getting upset over?
Comparing Geek/Nerd culture to the Native American Commodification isn't fair, because the real culture was essentially dead well before that even began.
Punk Rock sold out? Yeah. It went back to being niche when the public moved on.

Cultural significance goes in cycles. Commodification is annoying, but not "destructive". It's a byproduct of the process, not the process itself.
In order to actually destroy culture, you have to pressure it with more relevant, practical cultures.

A more proper comparison would be Gaelic culture, which is in the process of dying out.
Is it because of Riverdance? Celtic Woman? Bagpipes?
No, it's because their cultural borders now occupy those with a much greater practical influence.

Knowing that, how geek/nerd culture is based on material luxury, and how widespread it was to begin with, I don't think we have to worry about its destruction. At least, not as long as society remains stable.

The worst that can happen is pandering, which to the "trueblood nerds", is realistically nothing more than a nuisance. It isn't going to change you or your culture and it certainly cannot hurt you any more than that.
I understand that pandering is obnoxious and offensive, but can we stop ragging on this?

 

[newfoundsky]

I don't buy the whole geek girl thing. That's nothing to get angry over, girls wanting to get in on the culture in larger numbers, no matter what the reason. In fact, I think EVERYONE should embrace gaming culture, no matter what their reason. It is a huge step in advancing the medium into an art form, which we can all agree (I hope) that it is. But in order for it to be defended as art, it needs widespread acceptance, and now that it is FINALLY growing in popularity at a very rapid rate among more than just young men, it is getting that.

I do take issue with anyone "liking" something to be "ironic" or "cute". It is my personal opinion that you should like something based on its own merit, not to achieve some sort of goal. Guy or girl, don't say you like something if you don't. But don't assume people are saying they like something to be ironic, because that makes you a bag of cocks.

EDIT:

Let me clarify, I have never ever ever ever ever met a fake geek anything. So it's not a problem. I was just describing something I WOULD take a very very small issue with (to the point I wouldn't complain about it, really). Everyone even remotely embracing any part of the gaming culture can only be seen as a good thing.

 

[Smeggs]

Did anyone leave this here yet?

I'll just leave this here now.


wut

 

[Nghtgnt]

To the OP, thanks for posting this. Whenever this subject comes up I keep wanting to post something about how the issue isn't whether or not a girl is a "geek/gamer", but the commodification of a culture/playing on it for profit SPECIFICALLY BY CORPORATIONS. I'm not articulate enough to express the idea well, so the video, especially the "cultural commodification" bit is helpful.

 

[PhiMed]

I blame big bang theory.

this is a much more meaningful post than I think the poster realises.

The Big Bang Theory is a great example of what people are talking about when they say they're upset at "fake" gamers. BBT is a by-the-numbers college sitcom draped in the superficial trappings of nerd culture, in a fairly shallow attempt at appealing to that demographic without actually sharings its interests or even really understanding what it's talking about. Instead, they just go over stale sitcom plots and occasionally name-drop Green Lantern or Jean-Luc Picard.

BBT is cultural appropriation, and the reason why nerdy people like me find it a terribly offensive show is that most of the time, the joke is on us - BBT ridicules the subculture it pretends to be a part of. Its target audience isn't geeks; it's people who want to make fun of geeks. Almost all of its jokes are based around some permutation of the concept that gamers and nerds are borderline autistic loners with no social skills and an obsessive mind for useless pop trivia or incomprehensible scientific jargon.

We're at this weird stage where gamer culture is sufficiently mainstream that a "geek sitcom" would get made, but not yet at the stage where the media can actually treat gamer culture with anything approaching maturity or respect. So we get these half-assed attempts at cashing in on our interests without actually engaging with them. We get the Big Bang Theory.

If you're like Archer666, and all you hear is "I'm a misogynistic elitist!" when someone says "I don't like fake gamers," look at the Big Bang Theory. That's what those people are talking about. It's hardly elitism to get upset at a shitty sitcom that appropriates the trappings of your subculture for the sole purpose of making fun of you.

It also shouldn't have anything to do with gender, but everyone acts like it does, and frankly that obscures the core issue.

All sitcoms are shitty.

All subcultures which have reached a critical mass have shitty sitcoms that reference them.

The media approaches nothing with respect or maturity. Ever.

Getting upset about this show is like getting upset about That 70's Show, because "not everybody dressed that way back then!"

On a malice scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being an unintentional shoulder bump in a crowded club without the obligatory apology, and 10 being stabbing someone in the face with the femur of their freshly murdered loved one, this show is a -5, max.

You are overreacting, and kind of making your opposition's points for you. If you can't laugh at yourself, or at least ignore things which you do not enjoy, then their assertion that you are socially awkward and can't take a joke carries much more weight.

Gay people weren't treated with respect or dignity in most of the sitcoms based on their subculture during the 90's, but they laughed along, and we went from a world where DOMA seemed matter of course, inevitable, to a world where the supreme court is going to hear a case to decide whether denial of marriage rights to homosexuals is even Constitutional at all.

And that took, what? 15 years? Centuries of persecution to the threshold of acceptance in 15 years, and all because they embraced their "in" status, rather than complaining about it. And keep in mind that they are actually a persecuted group, who have a single, quantifiable unifying characteristic which is inherent to them, rather than "geek culture" or "nerd culture", who are little more than a heterogeneous group of intentionally or unintentionally socially isolated individuals whose sole unifying characteristic is that they take what is supposed to be unserious, diversionary, and inconsequential and turn it into the most important thing in the world. No one has ever been arrested for being a geek. Playing Magic the Gathering has never been a felony in any state.

I know that this post will do absolutely nothing to change your mind, but think about how an outside observer sees your behavior for a second. You're actually upset about a Chuck Lorre sitcom. That's like being mad about mallomars.

 

[bug_of_war]

They didn't demand a new ending from "scratch" nor was this about "art."

If you're going to tell people to grow up, at least try addressing the issue with honesty and maturity.

Ah, yeah they did. They still are demanding that DLC be made that changes the ending, all because they don't like where the game ended. While not ALL demanded an ending ade from scratch, many did, and that was the idea of the "Retake Mass Effect" agenda. I believe I have adressed this issue with honesty because I have seen LOTS of gamers on this site and others turn into huge babies all over a games ending. I was not saying it was about art, I was saying that it was horrifying to see an entire culture demand that a piece of art (Whether yoy liked it or not) be changed. YOU JUST DON'T DO THAT. That's like demanding Metallica to change Master of Puppets because they don't like a section of the song. It's like someone asking Tony Kaye to change the ending of American History X because they wanted a more upbeat ending.

My whole point was that gamers seem to act entitled to things they really aren't entitled to. If you don't like the ending, you don't like the ending. I'm not trying to tell people that they have to like or love the ending no matter what, what I am saying is that Gamer's need to learn some humility and accept that there are going to be dud ends to some games. Instead of crying like children and starting a fundraiser to change a story lines end, share your thoughts, say why you didn't like it, and then leave it. I hate the Twilight films, but I don't feel the need to start a fundraiser to retake vampires, I just choose to ignore them. THAT was my point dude, Gamer's seem to need to learn a thing or two about humility, and the Mass Effect 3 explosion is recent proof of Gamer's immaturity.

 

[Simonism451]

snip

Yeah, please stop projecting your problems in high-school onto everything you like and then paint your associations as the only possible way to read a certain piece of entertainment; I'm sorry but no, Star Trek isn't about you not being able to get a girl to go out with you because you're basically the Socially Awkward Penguin. Also, fun fact right here, feelings of alienation and extreme awkwardness aren't nerd-exclusive, they're pretty much an essential part of being a teenager.

PS: That said, I hate fake readers: Oh, so you've read Lord of the Rings and act like you're some sort of genius? Proust or GTFO!

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

My problem with it is that women are assumed to be fake as default. I have known guys to make fun of women for not knowing who Lady Deathstrike is then when I enthused about marvel comics they say 'I don't really read comics.'...

A lot of the time lately I am coming across things like a jokey end of the world pic with Galactus raising up over the landscape and at least 90% of the men on the comments have no idea who it is. Another time I mentioned the Borg amongst some 'nerdy' (lol) guys and no one knew what I was on about. As yet I have seen no one call these guys out as 'fake' it just gets ignored. It's assumed because they are guys that they have some innate geekiness.

It's complete and utter bullshit.