Comments

1
I get the defense, but as a female nerd I also get where someone could find the dichtomy of hot women vs. nerds irritating.

Sort of like "Attractive guys vs. nerds" or "Socially functional men vs. nerds".
2
In Star Wars news, revenue from the online MMORPG for Star Wars resulted in a better quarter than expected for EA games.
3
Why isn't Vince saying that it's impossible for attractive people to be geeky, exactly? That seems like a basically defensible position that helps to define the geek subculture in terms other than what media geeks consume.
4
As a "nerd" dude I find "nerd" culture to be a clusterfuck of the same pandering that these idiots are yammering on about.

Nerd/Geekery is as mainstream as the internet. Look at the summer blockbuster lineup for the past 10+ years. "Nerd" is a multi-million/billion $ industry. No one is persecuted unless you're just some schmuck with low self esteem that sits at home and only engages in isolated behavior... or you choose to go out in public wearing a utilikilt. That just makes you a boner.

This whole thing reminds me of that Patton Oswalt article he wrote up for Wired a couple months back and then the comments blasted him for being a nerd living in the past: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff…
5
Sorry, but I'm on the side of angry Twitter geek girls. Yeah, ok, everyone loves Star Wars...but the other day I made a joke about tribbles, and people looked at me like I'd grown horns. Why? Because in many segments of the population, you're either a girl OR you're a nerd (as evidenced by the recent failboat NYT claim that women could not possible enjoy 'Game of Thrones'). So, nerd girls surrounded by other nerd girls, please understand not everyone is as understood as you are in your social circles. And until we are, we're going to enjoy mentioning our nerd/geek hobbies, just to see the look of surprise on the face of people who never saw it coming.
6
Lynx @1: I agree that there's a case where this argument could be sexist—if you argue that women surely can't like sci-fi, so clearly they must be manipulating nerds for their money, or trying to get a boy to like them, you're coming from a sexist place—but I think the Film Drunk post is great, and it's been a long time coming.

I especially like that they call out Olivia Munn by name. The last time I wrote about what a piece of shit her book was, the nerds flocked out in her defense. And their defense was "r u gay r wut." It was doubly pathetic.
7
so u r?
8
I don't know if she's hot or not, but this reminds me of Mary Traverses continual star wars/ dinosaur/ look at me I'm so nerdy posts..
9
what if you're a cute girl who has a thing for nerdy guys and just want to connect with them on whatever level you can, even if you're not "really" a nerd yourself? is trying to connect over sci-fi really that different than trying to find common ground with music or anything else?
10
All of a sudden there's money in being nerdy, so these ladies are gonna market themselves in a way to get the nerd boy money- and most of them are only targeting the boys, let's see how many of them attend the Nerd Girl meet-ups at events.
What I got from the Film Drunk post was the difference in the kinds of questions that prompt these women to pander to us- the interviewers ask the ladies about their nerd cred where they don't really quiz the guys on it. The women are on a marketing drive so of course they're gonna pander to the target audience.
And I get annoyed by it for the same reason I get annoyed at the straight girls who make out with each other cause they're trying to turn on a guy.
11
@2, assuming you're talking about KoTOR, that $80 million Star Wars MMO hasn't released yet, so...yeah, no revenue yet.

I think EA's CEO just semi-reiterated in a call to investors today that it probably will release this year...
12
y'all are in here talkin' about quarterly earnings? fucking nerds.
13
No one owns geekery or nerdom. Can we all please stop claiming to be any of that?
14
@11 If it's a WiS post, you can rest assured it's wrong w/o bothering to check. Saves oodles of time.
15
And for all you *real* nerds/geeks/dorks out there (especially rpg'ers), please to enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VJWHL2K…
16
@14, I'm working on an MMO, so I was a little shocked to see that a game in beta test could somehow "result in a better quarter than expected" for a publisher...

If only!
17
Thanks, Nobodaddy, that's awesome :-)
18
@9 That actually could clarify his point. A girl interested in a cute, nerdy guy should NOT, under any circumstances, say, "I like Star Wars. Yeah, I'm an uber dork."

He'll think, "She thinks liking Star Wars makes her a dork? Screw it. Even if I manage to hook up with her, she'll break up with me the second she sees my apartment."
19
Betty was right...nerds are great in bed
20
i definitely see your point, @ 18 - faking it is never the right thing to do, be it with sci-fi or music.

i guess i was just trying to defend the girls who don't look the part but are genuinely into nerdy guys and aren't just acting like they are because it's trendy.
21
I think the Nerdist did a related bit at Bumbershoot last year, saying that an Atari t-shirt now being considered ironic is the death knell of nerdery as a subculture.
22
@13 I agree. And why get defensive about someone outside your clique saying, essentially, that they relate to you and like you? Why not just clear a spot at the table and enjoy the company of another guest?

All this hullabaloo is just a knee-jerk response from nerds who still resent hot chicks who were mean to them in 7th grade. (There's a sexist undertone, too.) I get the resentment, but, you know, get over it.
23
oh and for the record, my comment @9 says "cute girls" but i meant that in the conventional "hot" way, not in the way that nerd-girls are cute. that was a fuck-up. there is a huge difference between the two.
24
People use the term "nerd" these days to give them some sort of outsider status surrounding the things they like. "I'm such a music/typography/sports/politics/movie-nerd!" No, you are into those things. Everyone has interests. Get over it.
25
"Nerd" should be like "punk" used to be: you would never call yourself one for fear of seeming like a poseur, but you would be secretly elated when someone else called you one.
26
Nerd girls are the new mean girls. Trust me.
27
A true nerd would say "Star Trek." Notice how none of them are going *there*
28
I think it's also given "geeks, nerds, and dorks" the kind of false sense of hope about dating a girl who's really into these things. Because even if each of these panderers are really that much in love with Star Wars/comic book characters you could attribute that quality to their success, and conclude that they only got to be that successful because of this RARE quality in them, even if said scenario is likely just as crazy as finding someone who's simultaneously "in love" with Star Wars so much they're willing to say so on television and have actually seen episode one. I don't feel like a real Star Wars fan could look themselves in a mirror and say "I love Star Wars" after seeing that piece of crap.

I'd argue though, the problem for geeks and the like lie more in posts like these, rather than our inability to find females that enjoy science fiction.
29
@27, Rosario Dawson (above) was in Star Trek, sort of--Star Trek Voyager, which is non-canon since the new movie wiped out that continuity.
30
@20: I'm the girl you're talking about. Boyfriend #1 and I hooked up because he was talking physics and I looked him in the eye and told him to stop hitting on me. I understood about half of what he was saying (I'm a costume designer for crap sake) but it made me all tingly! I love me a big sciency brain.
31
@20 If a girl is cute in the traditional "hot" way, she doesn't have to share his nerd interests to get his attention. She should be willing to let him introduce her to them. But, initially it's gonna be her feminine wiles that win the day.

Hot women who are interested in jock types rarely think, "I need to learn about football to attract that guy." They think, "Lemme put on some lipstick and flash some cleave. We'll see how that goes before bother learning what a halfback is."

Same thing here.
32
@15: Rolling a d6 for a thievery check in D&D? PSSSSH. Also: why the fuck is the DM so stoked on killing low-level monsters? Marty Stu much?

I feel like this vid is a symptom of a general misunderstanding of what it means to be a nerd. It means you're REALLY INTO some esoteric shit. I think the type-nerd track makes more sense than just enjoying sci-fi or fantasy, or playing certain games. I've played RPGs with people who aren't really RPG nerds, they just show up and kill some monsters and whatev. They're not nerds, they just like playing a game. But if you're talking about how minute differences in a certain ligature in difference typefaces reflect the differing styles of Swiss and Spanish graphic design, you're probably a nerd. It's less about what media you consume, and more about being willing to delve into the minutae of something whether or not other people are interested. That's not all there is, of course, but it's probably a better indicator than what genres of fiction you prefer.

Also, I'm inclined to cut these women some slack. I mean, they're on national TV here. If they start talking about why they think Riftwalkers are for chumps or how disappointed they are that the servers crashed during the Alsbeth world event (you know, the way a nerd would talk in their own element), most of the audience is going to be totally scratching their heads. It's not going to mean anything to most of the audience. When I'm talking with people who aren't into games, I don't start with Persona and Eclipse Phase. I start with WoW and D&D, because they've probably heard of these games. I agree that Star Wars is a poor choice because it doesn't really mean anything, but I understand wanting to mention something most people have heard of.
33
32 You are dangerously close to getting us into a "nerd or geek" debate. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
34
@33: Wait - if I get into a "nerd or geek" debate, does that make me a nerd, or a geek?
35
34 Yes.
36
D'oh!
37
If liking Star Wars makes you a geek, then I am huge NASCAR fan because I have a driver's license.
38
Attractive geek girls or not, at least we can all agree that people argue about some stupid crap.

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