Are You Even A Nerd?

 

                                                    Are You Even A Nerd?

Nerd: a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, ect; a person who is very interested in technical subject, computers, ect.

          

          Nerds. They are everywhere. Being called a nerd has become a badge honor to many people. We are devoted to our fandoms, favorite heroes, and our gaming systems. We should all be united in our nerdom one would think, so why the fuck do women have to defend their level of nerdiness. Now I realize at this point you are thinking that this is going to be another feminism rant, but I assure you it is not. I have strong opinions on the new wave of feminists, but that is another article entirely. While us women sometimes to have to defend our nerdiness to men and the internet, the group we seem to need to defend ourselves against the most is other women. And I will add this warning now, if you are a feminist in an extreme and crazy type of way, stop reading now because you will hate me after reading what I have to say.

            Lets start with men, and to be fair in my personal experience I have only encountered a very slight few who fit into this criteria. In fact most men respect women nerds and value them and their insights, but just like any group there are always though who feel superior. Sadly, I don't think this is a sexist thing, but a sexual thing. There is this expectation that nerds should be awkward and unattractive. It seems like if a women is pretty, confident, or dresses in a provocative or mainstream way, they must not be real nerds. I wasn't aware beauty was a deciding factor in what I like. That is not a fair way to look at things. There are plenty of males who are nerdy and attractive. Chris Hardwick is a great example. He is considered handsome and knows his stuff. No one is questioning his nerd card, yet I have had to defend mine on rare occasions. It's like they can't fathom a woman knowing her shit. I don't go around claiming I know everything, but if I say I am a fan of something I shouldn't have to pass a test to prove it's accurate. I'm not asking for your credentials, don't ask for mine. And again I reiterate, men for the most part are not guilty of this, just a select few.

            The internet though is a whole other story. There are so many memes revolving around "fake" women nerds. First, what the hell is a fake nerd? Are they made of plastic? Are they Cyborgs? Is Arnold going to suddenly appear from the future? No? Then stop being ridiculous with this fake nerd stuff. The meme featuring a cute brunette that says you are not a nerd just a whore with glasses is my personal favorite. How do you, my fellow keyboard warriors, know she isn't a nerd. Have you talked to her or are we just judging a book by its cover, which in this case is a shitty meme. Anyone can add words to a picture and put it on the internet and get it circulated. Sadly, when people see it enough in their feeds, it starts to resonate as truth to them. It is sad, but that is how the internet works. The worst though is when you post something really insightful and intelligent, but your comments will consists of how pretty your profile picture is. I know, I was there for the picture and this has nothing to do with my post on Moffat leaving Doctor Who.

            However for as bad as the internet gets, it is nothing compared to the women on women hate. I don't understand it. You think that we would all be happy to have stuff in common, but no. You put a group of female nerds in a room and it might turn into a real life Hunger Games. Women judge other women nerds on appearance. Oh, you are wearing a dress or showing cleavage- you must not be a nerd. Oh, you're at least a seven- you can't be a nerd and be that pretty. You are flirtatious and friendly with people- you must be a slut and definitely not a nerd. Those things are all ridiculous, but also happening. Why? Is there some girl code that states this or are the feminists writing nerd rules now to go along with their ridiculous views on sex? No, it is just women being petty and jealous. Now, before I get too high up on my soap box, I must admit I have done things similar to this in the past. I have since seen the errors of my ways, but as someone who has done it, and had it done to me, I understand how stupid it is. At comic cons there will always be the women who are saying mean things about other women. They might call them a slut for their accurate cosplay, or body shame those they feel superior too. It is not okay. It's also not okay to judge another female on their levels of nerdiness. Not everyone may be able to describe every episode of Supernatural in chronological order. That doesn't mean they aren't a fan or a nerd, it just means you are an asshole for thinking less of them. And trust me when I say, the scale that women judge other women on is huge. We do it more to each other than men do it to us, but yet all the feminists idiots love to make videos and post man shaming rants. Where are the accurate women ones? You guys are all about equality, so equally give women some blame.

            Bottom line, male or female, no one should have to defend their claim to being a nerd. If someone wants to call themselves a nerd, let them. You don't know everything they like, nor did you write the nerd qualifying criteria. We should all be uniting to create a super nerdom. All those powers of good being combined can create some amazing things. So stop questioning, judging, and making shitty memes regarding other's nerd claims. Have a conversation instead and learn what makes them tick, and you might even discover that they know more than you on some things.