Unicorns vs Creepers: The Ongoing Battle for Geek Culture
Perception is everything. When I was the kid balancing my plastic Bill & Ted bank on the glass counter of my local comic book shop and fumbling with crumpled bills to pay for the latest copy of Amazing Spider-Man, I sure felt like the only geek in the world. Years later, when a few classmates would call me names for reading Anne Rice books in study hall, I came to a similar conclusion. Not to mention the time I told a date about my love for Transmetropolitan, only to have her laugh at the concept of a comic book about a journalist. Despite those unpleasant memories, I managed to find something powerful enough to help me gain confidence and strength from self-identifying as a geek. I found all of you.
People, female or male, should be free to identify themselves however they like without being persecuted or looked down upon. Someone being proud of who they are or what they enjoy should be applauded.
- Jill Pantozzi, I’m a Geek, Girl (& You Can Too!)
Acceptance isn’t a passive action. It can take years for geeks and nerds to cast off the stigma that society often thrusts onto our community, which, in turn, can lead to a reluctance to interact with other geeks. That lack of exposure to our culture only feeds the cycle further, as isolation breeds doubt. Without adequate experience to disprove our own misconceptions, some of us defer to the portrayal of geeks in mainstream media or stereotypes to form opinions about what it means to be ourselves. Although our community is evolving, the remnants of that old but popular perception can influence future geek interaction, reinforcing the belief that things will never change. Therefore, it’s up to us to do something about that.
A basic profile of geeks shows that they are predominantly white male, who do well in school especially in mathematics and sciences, have high IQs, collect technical products, and are science fiction fans, but are socially inept. Geeks possess traditional masculine characteristics such as fascination with technology, but lack traditional feminine characteristics such as social skills.
- Roli Varma, Women in Computing: The Role of Geek Culture [PDF]
For starters, we can take it upon ourselves to dispel a fair amount of prejudice in the community by chucking out some apocryphal conventions. Two particular stereotypes have been derived from a popular misconception of the past — that geeks are socially inadequate boys, incapable of broadening their focus beyond a modest set of limited interests. An obvious error that arises from such an outdated observation is that all geeks are male, an omission that lead to the creation of the “unicorn”. The other implied fallacy is that all male geeks are mouth-breathing, basement-dwelling trolls, a sort of “creeper” that weirds everyone out wherever he goes. Neither represents our culture truthfully, yet we still allow such stereotypes to mar our interactions and expectations.
To a casual observer, a label like unicorn must seem laughable. The idea of an elusive but vibrant lady geek bouncing about town like a social butterfly on speed, clad in her superheroine costume and designer glasses, sounds like something closer to an adolescent fantasy than reality. However, it’s a stereotype that stuck somehow, after it was foisted onto our community by pop culture and our own misconceptions. Although female geeks are as prominent as ever, some of us still cling to the notion that women don’t play video games, read comic books, or enjoy the media men love. Worse still, there’s this pervasive fear that many prominent ladies are simply pandering to male geeks for attention. All told, it seems like a bad joke we’ll grow out of over time.
However, there remains the everlasting problem that male geeks are all too often perceived as the polar opposite of the unicorn — an unkempt schmuck so introverted that he fails at every chance of social interaction. While every unicorn must be an Olivia Munn clone, the creeper comes off like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. The two stereotypes even have a sort of symbiotic relationship, as the unicorn craves attention while the creeper provides it, often to an embarrassing degree. Although the creeper and unicorn have a lot in common, such as their love for Joss Whedon, there will never be any chance that they’ll be able to have a real human relationship, what with the creeper being forever alone and the unicorn being a mass hallucination. Needless to say, the whole thing is pretty offensive. Luckily, we don’t all buy into this stuff, right?
I was on the subway this morning and there was this huge geek explaining to a friend what the “Han shot first” debate is and how it’s actually a bit of a misnomer.
Can you picture the scene? What does it look like? Is the geek a guy or a girl? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most likely, you’re picturing a guy. Heck, I’m even picturing a guy, and I’ve had this conversation myself in a public place. My point is that males are widely perceived as the “default” for geeks.
- Eleni, Default Geek
In order to test Eleni’s theory, I constructed an informal survey consisting of ten questions related to geek culture. After asking for a few bits of innocuous data, I polled respondents on their perception of the gender of two hypothetical geeks. Using gender-ambiguous language, I described a creeper, Geek A, and a unicorn, Geek B. Although almost all of the respondents agreed with the idea that geek is a gender-neutral label, the majority, male and female, described both of the hypothetical geeks as male. Geek A, the pale and unkempt creeper, was chosen to be male 89% of the time. Geek B, the slender unicorn with nice hair, was also a man, according to half of the respondents. As it turns out, Eleni is unfortunately right; male still seems to be the default setting for geek.
Even though we’re aware of the insidious nature of these stereotypes and misconceptions, we geeks can have trouble differentiating fallacy and reality. Despite our best intentions, our preconceived notions about the geek community may end up getting us into a lot of trouble. We may say things that draw the ire of opposite gender geeks. We may choose to define ourselves in a way other geeks find offensive. We could even end up writing articles that unintentionally upset geeks of both genders due to the sensitive nature of this topic and the fact that we could all do to treat each other a bit better, but I digress.
The truth here is that we’re a community made up of all types, brought together because of our love for the same fantastic stuff. We’re not a bunch of socially-inept introverts. In fact, it’s never been easier to connect with other geeks via forums, social media, and sites like the one you’re reading right now. The experience gained from that exposure to the geek community will, in time, dispel any doubt that lady geeks exist, even if we do have a bit of trouble understanding geek to be a gender neutral label. Our active participation in the community will bring us all, men and women, out into the light of day, up out of our parents’ basements and away from ugly stereotypes. It’s time we cast off the preconceived notions of the past and redefine what it means to be a geek, not only in the public eye, but to ourselves.
Being a ‘geek’ in high school – a label that in the past would position girls on the fringes of peer culture – was an identity that some girls embraced and actively cultivated. As 18-year-old Stephanie exclaimed: ‘We called ourselves ‘‘geeks.’’ We thought it was good.’ Nineteen-year-old Myra added: ‘Like we called each other geeks. And I don’t mind being called a ‘‘geek.’’ We even got our physics teacher to make buttons that said ‘‘The geeks shall inherit the earth!’’’
- Dawn H. Currie, Deirdre M. Kelly and Shauna Pomerantz, ‘The geeks shall inherit the earth’: Girls’ Agency, Subjectivity and Empowerment
Really amazing article. You really put out a strong argument with good support. I would also put out there the groups that are reclaiming those labels and making them into a positive. It’s all of our jobs to spread the awareness to work towards Geek acceptance.
Thanks, Jason.
I feel like we’ve all got something to contribute to any group trying to legitimize geek culture – what we were isn’t what we are now. With a rapidly growing community like this one, there’s always something that needs to be done to welcome in newcomers. At times, my article may sound vain as I worry about what people might think about me as a male geek, but the truth is that I’m far more worried about what everyone thinks about new geeks.
Being a part of geek culture has helped me. I can only hope it can help others as well.
I am not so involved in geek culture, I suppose, that I was even aware this was a major issue before you started discussing it here. Sure, I’ve lamented the lack of fellow girl gamers in my area amongst my friends, but to be honest most of my guy friends aren’t as big of gamers as I am either.
I took your survey a few weeks ago, and the only thing that really bothered me was when it got to the very end, and we were asked to identify Geek A and Geek B as either male or female. I’m not going to lie, Geek A seemed like the stereotypical Simpson’s Comic Book Guy, and I didn’t really hesitate to mark the male box. But when it came to Geek B, I hesitated. It bothered me that there was no option to say “either”. Not a single one of my female geek friends would dress up as a superhero. For that matter, neither would any of my male geek friends, although you’d find both with messenger bag and glasses. In a way, I understand your lack of an option – you can’t get an honest answer without forcing people to pick one. But on the other hand, it’s perpetuating the divide, forcing us to see the described geek as one or the other. I wanted to pick either, because I could see either in my head.
I ended up picking female, simply because I felt that was what you had in mind when writing the quiz.
I’ve certainly known geek girls in my life who would be a perfect fit for Geek A, too.
It’s an interesting topic you’ve picked to write about, and I’ve been following it for the past month or so to see what you and your commentators have to say. I feel as if I must be in some sort of twilight zone, because in my circle I am the geekiest one of the lot, and no one blinks an eye at the fact that I’m a girl. I hadn’t even realized this was such a huge issue in the geek world until now. I don’t know if that makes me sheltered or just lucky, but it’s nice not to feel like a Unicorn or a Creeper just because I’ve cosplayed as Captain Janeway, play Assassin’s Creed and God of War, and can rant ad nauseum about the Batman family.
Thanks for the great comment, Remy.
I might do another survey that aims for a larger sample size, something that would be more representative of how the geek community feels. If I do, you can be sure that I’m going to get some help to word my questions and options better. I’m not a sociologist, so next time, I’m going to send my survey to a few friends to give me some pointers.
And to me, you’re really not in any sort of twilight zone – you’re in reality. Lots of lady geeks exist, some of them more into geek culture than me or even you. I’m glad you’ve never had to put up with any of this mess. It bothers me because I’ve seen it happen with a few of my female friends, so I figured I’d write about it. I’m glad that you’ve felt connected to my words in some way, so thank you for reading.
I think the general population’s image of geeks is becoming more positive over time as a greater number of niche social groups start to embrace the term. A “geek” as I interpret the word no longer simply refers to people who are interested in computers and comic books. Now you have cycling enthusiasts who call themselves bike geeks, young actors and actresses who consider themselves theater geeks, and so on. It seems like as the definition of what a geek is expands, the image of the “traditional” geek improves with it.
I had to cut that last quote for length, but the extended version is a pretty telling look about how we label ourselves – the girls felt it was important to own being a geek because it kept them away from other labels thrown around in high school like “slut.” Basically, the girls would rather be known as social outcasts than sluts. That bugged the hell out of me and that’s why I said the whole thing is about acceptance above all else.
People are quick to lob prejudice when it comes to labels. The definition of geek is expanding, but the improvement of the image is lagging behind. It bugs me, so I write about it. I hope the future brings the change you talk about.
Genius sir. I cant say I ever felt i fit the criteria for the sterotypical “nerd or “geek”
but I was quick to label myself as such at a young age. I have no idea what my IQ is or if im considered smart by others but i always saw myself as a geek.
Now i dont know what others out there have expereinced in school but being a geek never hindered my social life. I went to a school that is in a rural area with a wide range of people like farmers, exchange students, jocks, geeks, preps, sluts, gang members and wannabes. Pretty much you name a social label and we had it. Never once did these differences stop me from having friends of other titles. I always found it quite easy to strike up a civilized conversation among most of my piers. I will admit there were a few out there with a large stick rammed where the sun don’t shine that refused to accept me but they had friends alot of times that did.
I always thought the barriers between social groups were breaking down due to my observations during my time in school. Lately Ive been reading things that make me think what i experienced is rare. I certaintly hope this is not the care.
Hmm. I think this article makes for a really good starting point, but I’m a little bit uncomfortable with your last paragraph. You’re right that it’s important to realize these stereotypes are out there, that they’re inaccurate, and something that the world at large needs to get over. But I feel like this post rather optimistically glosses over a lot of other problems with changing the default perception of geeks to something more inclusive.
It isn’t just that there’s not a lot of representation of female geeks around, or awareness that they do, in fact, exist. It’s that a lot of geek culture is *actively sexist*. Ideas like Our active participation in the community will bring us all, men and women, out into the light of day, up out of our parents’ basements and away from ugly stereotypes are lovely, but don’t take into account why women may not want to actively participate.
There are many spaces where women get harassed. There’s a reason “show us your boobs” is an infamous phrase. Why would I want to participate in a space where I’m going to be made to feel uncomfortable?
Wanting women to participate actively is great, but in order to facilitate that, there are pieces of the fabric of geek culture that need to realize they have a problem and actually work on fixing it, so that women are able to participate actively.
(And while it’s outside the scope of what you’re discussing here, if you want to get into widening the idea of what geeks are, in your own poll… What race or ethnicity did you picture Geeks A and B as? What sexual orientation? Etc. There are many, many areas in which the idea of the default geek needs to be expanded and redefined.)
The reason my article optimistically glosses over that is because while I really wish I had the answer, but I don’t. I’ve been flipping back and forth constantly between taking the offensive and defensive on this issue, which has left me feeling like I’ve got not only more questions than answers, but more questions than when I started writing about geek culture.
It truly bothers me that women get harassed. In the most selfish way to think about it, that sort of behavior stops me from getting to talk with people like you, something I enjoy. Even if I never took it farther than that, it’s enough of a reason for me write articles like these, pleading with people to think about how we can treat each other better. It’s why I wanted to start this article off by explaining that acceptance is something we have to work towards, not ignore until it magically happens… I don’t know – I’m looking for the right words to respond to you and they just aren’t coming right now.
Part of me wants to say that there’s always going to be someone yelling, “show me your boobs.” No matter what I say or do, I can’t protect anyone from that. I can’t even convince that guy to not do that. He wants to see a naked woman. He doesn’t care what I have to say. Another part of me says that’s a really simplistic way to look at people, a potentially harmful opinion.
My next article is going to be about how geeks interact online. In the survey, there was an overwhelming response for freedom of speech when people had to choose between civility and freedom of speech. When I first started researching it, I found a lot of literature about how women preferred to keep their gender hidden in order to maintain the civility they wished for, whereas men had no problem with expressing their opinions, regardless of who they offended. I figured that maybe people just needed to be more thick-skinned. You know, there’s a lot of people who get offended too easily. But then, after talking to a few lady geeks about it and trying to put myself in their shoes as I browsed reddit and similar geek-oriented sites, I came to the conclusion that maybe there’s no way around censorship on a large scale.
As far as I know, we don’t know each other. I’ve never met you and I only see what you’ve written here as a way to gauge you as a person. But that’s upsetting to me – I’m open to your opinions and I want to know more about you. You’re clearly passionate about the same stuff. You’ve put forth a really great comment. And you took the time out of your busy day to read something that I wrote. At the very least, thank you. Knowing nothing else about you, your words make me feel guilty that I don’t know the answer and for that, I’m sorry.
Yet, from my limited perspective, that’s not how the Internet works. I’m not required to give you an honest answer or any sort of respect. For all I know, you could respond with “LOL stupid” and move on. And because it’s easy and quick, people fire off snappy remarks like that instead of adding to a civil, constructive conversation. Anonymity and a lack of social influence seems to breed those sorts of actively sexist geeks.
So, maybe we’re not supposed to worry about how we interact on a macro-level, but on a micro-level. That seems to be working here. Maybe that’s how things should be – smaller communities built one person at a time, so that social influence keeps things on an even keel. Increase the level of overall tolerance and acceptance while keeping the mean people at bay. (That’s how I tend to build my social circles, for better or worse.) In the end, it still excludes some people and in a way, censors their opinions.
I don’t know the silver bullet to stop the needlessly offensive sections of geek culture that stop you from participating with a guy like me. I’m sorry if this comment has been a waste of your time, but I gave it my best shot to provide a candid response. I can preach tolerance and acceptance until I’m blue in the face – the proper next step is to find a way to get others to adjust accordingly.