This week I review an article, Hot actresses: “We’re nerds just like you”, which raises an interesting question, “Do attractive women have to prove they are geeks?”
“What is a geek?” is a weekly column in which I try to rationally look at geek culture in an attempt to define what a geek is, and what geek culture is all about.
Do Attractive Geek Girls Need to Prove Themselves?
In an article by Mary Elizabeth Williams entitled, Hot actresses: “We’re nerds just like you”, Ms. Williams tries to make the point that actresses who have said they enjoy entertainment or activities typically associated with geeks or nerds (apparently they are the same in Ms. Williams’ eyes), are doing so to sell themselves to geek or nerd consumers.
Her article is rifled with problems and stereotypes, and some of them are kind of offensive.
First of all, is it possible that these actresses are saying they like geeky things to pander to their geek fans, or as Ms. Williams hypothesizes,
“So if you’ve got a project to promote — maybe one based on a comic and with a game tie-in, or you’re just shopping around for that next hundred-billion-dollar Michael Bay project inspired by an app, you’d best try to make the fans believe you are one of them.”
This is absolutely possible. Is it true that attractive male actors may also pander to the geek fans when their comic book based movie comes out? Absolutely. As Vince Mancini points out in an apology article for a humor article he had written for FilmDrunk called Hot Women Pandering to Nerds, he reminds readers that pandering is not the same as lying. He also points out,
“I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but there seems to be this need for attractive women (the women themselves and the men who want to project on them) to prove that they’re not some bitchy, Mean Girls cheerleader stereotype.”
Double Standards
I don’t think the real issue is if these attractive women are pandering by stating their love for video games, but the issue surrounds the sheer quizzical reaction people have of how an attractive woman can be nerdy or geeky. It seems we might as well be debating the existence of unicorns.
If these had been male actors who had said they were geeks and liked Star Wars would there be the same incredulity aimed at them? When has anyone asked Nathan Fillion to prove that he was a geek? Are we more likely to assume that attrative men who claim to be geeks are being more sincere than when attrative women do so? If so, what does that say about geek culture, or society in general?
Ms. Williams points out that Brittany Snow said she is a shy nerd, yet apparently, that can’t really be true
because she posed for the cover of Maxim. Why would Ms. Snow have to clarify her statement? Is it possible for shyness and an interest in academics or “nerdy things” be independent of physical attractivenesses? Is it possible that posing for Maxim is not an accurate personality measure for shyness?
It seems that old-timey stereotypes are at play here. Geeks seem to still be thought of as awkward social misfits, and attractive people are popular and social stars. Hence, why would an attractive person be a geek?
Megan Fox, in an article at MonstersandCritics, said she was the, “biggest nerd” and that she likes “comicbooks and stuff like that”. Yet, Ms. Williams derided Fox’s comments, snidely replying, “Stuff like that?” I’m convinced!” However, if you read the interview with Megan Fox, she also says she loves the X-Box, has mostly male friends and grew up a tom-boy. In context, doesn’t it seem plausible for her to actually like those things? Then again, why should she have to prove herself?
After listing several examples of actresses saying they were nerds, geeks or dorks, which are three different groups, but were all clumped together, Ms. Williams made the astonishing remark, “I’m sure they all look exactly like the Mathletes team in your home town.”
So apparently geek girls are supposed to look a certain way. Interesting.
Of course, it doesn’t help when Ms. Williams describes male geeks as hot-pocket eating, overweight, and living in their mom’s basement. But to be fair, I will just quote what Ms. Williams said,
“And I’m sorry to break it to you, obsessive, socially maladjusted guys everywhere, but Mila Kunis is never coming over to play “World of Warcraft” with you.”
It doesn’t matter if these actresses are actual nerds or geeks. There is no test, no criteria for being a geek. And to be honest, geek culture is poorly understood and hardly defined in any clear way, so any test would be invalid anyway. However, three points remain to be answered:
- Why do attractive women come under scrutiny for saying they are geeks?
- Does attractiveness have anything to do with being a geek or not?
- Do we hold two different standards of geek inclusion for men and women?
Maybe, just maybe, these attractive women are more comfortable talking about being a geek or nerd because the social stigma is no longer there. In fact, maybe those geeky tendencies that they always had, finally have a place in their personal and professional career. Finally, maybe enough geek girls have flown their geek flags forcing society to recognize that geek is not as gender typed as it might have been 20 years ago.
By the way, according to researchers, women who played Everquest 2 had a lower BMI score than the national average and reported exercising more. Men who played Everquest 2 tended to have about the national BMI. So much for the stereotype of gamer geeks being fat couch potatoes. You can catch more in my article on gaming and gender roles.
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Have a comment? What is your take on the subject? Let us know.
I think a lot of the hostility comes from some insecure and “typical” nerd or geek girls “defending their territory”. Girls who are social misfits can often feel better about themselves by socializing with people who are as much misfits as they are, for example nerds or geeks. A lot of girls get attention easily just for being girls around guys who don’t meet many girls, or at least not many who play WoW, read comics, like manga or play dungeons and dragons. And if these guys start thinking that maybe there are attractive geek girls out there and maybe they don’t have to “settle” for the social misfits, then the girls will lose their status and have to return to looking for people who see her as a likeable human being. I am definitely NOT talking about all girls or all geek girls or all nerds or geeks here, only the ones from which I think the hostility comes. I think the comment about Mila Kunis and WoW supports my theory, as it sounds like an attempt at bringing the guys back down to the low self esteem which makes them worship less attractive geek girls as well.
I also think that the clumping of nerd, geek and dork is a big mistake. Especially dork, that’s just something women say to sound likeable. Lot’s of actresses say that they’re dorks in women’s magazines, I assume it’s a way of telling other women that they’re relatable. I doubt it has anything to do with wanting geeks to pine for you.
I think I was exaggerating a bit saying that “a lot” of the hostility is based on the situations I explained. I really have no idea how common it really is or how much it has influenced the general view on geekiness and gender. I still think it’s an interesting phenomena worth mentioning, though.