I recently learned that Spock was originally female... and here's a little girl who made it so. (see what I did there?) Her mom introduced her to Star Trek: TOS, and Bryden decided she wanted to be Spock for Halloween:

"Of course, being Mr. Spock was a bit of a learning experience for my daughter. After a full day at school in her costume, she told me that it was hard to keep explaining who Spock was. Only the teachers had any clue what Star Trek was, and several kids made fun of her for being a character that was a boy. I even overheard one of the teachers saying she looked 'weird' in her costume. That comment nearly brought out the protective lioness in me, but I settled for a sharp glare."

Boo on stupid gender-rigid jerks. But you can tell Bryden how awesome her costume is over in this thread. Keep doing what you're doing, Bryden! LLAP!

ALSO: Today is the second annual "Wear Star Wars, Share Star Wars" day, dedicated to anti-bullying and geek pride and started by superstar-geek-girl Katie Goldman and her mom:

Celebrate this day of geek pride and anti-bullying by wearing something Star Wars or science fiction-related.

Since it is the holiday season, please also celebrate the day by donating a Star Wars or science fiction toy to a child in need (but be sure to put a post-it note on the new, unwrapped toy specifying that it can go to a girl or a boy; otherwise, these traditional "boy toys" will be given only to boys!)

And since we're talking about awesome moms supporting their nerd girls, Happy Birthday, Mom Traverse! Thank you for the hours you spent taking me to the natural history museum, reading me book after book about dinosaurs, and filling my toy box with action figures and dinosaurs right beside the doll-dishes. Love you, Mom!