The Geek Girl Manifesto
Setting the Scene:
So, after a wild (well, not so wild, but one can dream) evening of 80s dancing (favorite songs: "Tainted Love," "Bizarre Love Triangle," "Faith"), my good friend jennyo, in what one can only assume was a moment of wild drunkenness, decided to publicize the existence of my brand spanking new live journal, thus turning one Blue Hyacinth Girl a nice shade of blushing rosy pink (her stated goal).
Now I have long been one to lurk. I am no troll luring billy goats gruff to their doom, but I have enjoyed the shadowy corners and byways of the networld (no, not those shadowy corners ... ok, well maybe sometimes). Now that a little light has been shone into my shadows, I feel the impetus to actually say something. Particularly as I will be off-line for the next month or so.
So. Something.
Politics: Well, I am not in the mood to discuss our beloved Attorney General (though I would love to send him a stuffed calico cat).
Media: There are things to be said about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but in this off season I am allowing the thoughts to percolate.
So... Instead, a reflection:
The Geek Girl Manifesto
I am a geek girl.
I know what you're thinking. It's not that. I am happy to be a geek girl, and I am comfortable with my geekiness.
As a geek girl, I relish my knowledge of arcane media and science fiction. I am at home on and in a computer. I can speak pig latin and I have friends who know Klingon. I have a Renn Faire name. I know what a nerf is and why they need to be herded. I was Y2K compatible before it became fashionable, and far before it become irrelevant. I know all the words to "Jabberwocky." I read comic books. I have been an elf, a mage, and a thief. Some of my best friends are vampires once a week.
There are more of us geek girls out there than you think. We come in many flavors and kinds. I know lit geeks and comic geeks, computer geeks and renn faire geeks, media geeks and scifi geeks, music geeks and fantasy geeks. But this is only the tip of the ice berg. We geek girls are legion. You even see us on television these days, as characters played by Alyson Hannigan, Amy Acker, and others. Lisa Simpson is a geek girl waiting to happen.
So, my problem?
I am looking for a good geek guy.
Times are better these days for geek girls in search of geek guys. With the collapse of the dot coms (a blow to myself and many other geek girls working in the industry), the height of geek chic has passed. Fewer women are looking to date geek men for their money these days. Which is good. That was never the point anyway.
I understand that my man will probably know far more than is healthy about the design of spaceships on Star Wars.
He probably had few, if any, dates in high school.
He won't be cool.
Code may be his first language.
Science fiction may be his second.
He may have developed opinions about who is the best captain in the Star Trek universe, and the greatest comic writer for Batman.
He will know places to find Easter eggs on days other than Easter.
He'll get it when I quote from obscure sources, and he'll find it cute.
He'll know the glee when geek minds meet.
He may use terms like "-verse" and "fen."
He may refer to writers (screenwriters, novelists, etc.) by their first names (even the ones he doesn't know personally).
He may actually know some personally.
He might have a net alias.
He probably has more than one e-mail address.
He may have attended cons.
He might even have attended in costume.
He may know every line to the "Crunchy Frog" skit.
He might play Everquest.
He'll have stories to tell about the times the DM was unfair.
He can define cyberpunk.
He'll read in bed.
Among other things.
He might write poetry.
He might write short stories.
He might write fan fic.
He won't be afraid to write love letters.
Head games will be the only ones he doesn't play.
And he'll know the value of a good geek girl.
At the end of the day, I want a man to watch The Two Towers with me and then go home to snuggle and bask in our mutual geekiness.
All my base are belong to him.
So, after a wild (well, not so wild, but one can dream) evening of 80s dancing (favorite songs: "Tainted Love," "Bizarre Love Triangle," "Faith"), my good friend jennyo, in what one can only assume was a moment of wild drunkenness, decided to publicize the existence of my brand spanking new live journal, thus turning one Blue Hyacinth Girl a nice shade of blushing rosy pink (her stated goal).
Now I have long been one to lurk. I am no troll luring billy goats gruff to their doom, but I have enjoyed the shadowy corners and byways of the networld (no, not those shadowy corners ... ok, well maybe sometimes). Now that a little light has been shone into my shadows, I feel the impetus to actually say something. Particularly as I will be off-line for the next month or so.
So. Something.
Politics: Well, I am not in the mood to discuss our beloved Attorney General (though I would love to send him a stuffed calico cat).
Media: There are things to be said about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but in this off season I am allowing the thoughts to percolate.
So... Instead, a reflection:
The Geek Girl Manifesto
I am a geek girl.
I know what you're thinking. It's not that. I am happy to be a geek girl, and I am comfortable with my geekiness.
As a geek girl, I relish my knowledge of arcane media and science fiction. I am at home on and in a computer. I can speak pig latin and I have friends who know Klingon. I have a Renn Faire name. I know what a nerf is and why they need to be herded. I was Y2K compatible before it became fashionable, and far before it become irrelevant. I know all the words to "Jabberwocky." I read comic books. I have been an elf, a mage, and a thief. Some of my best friends are vampires once a week.
There are more of us geek girls out there than you think. We come in many flavors and kinds. I know lit geeks and comic geeks, computer geeks and renn faire geeks, media geeks and scifi geeks, music geeks and fantasy geeks. But this is only the tip of the ice berg. We geek girls are legion. You even see us on television these days, as characters played by Alyson Hannigan, Amy Acker, and others. Lisa Simpson is a geek girl waiting to happen.
So, my problem?
I am looking for a good geek guy.
Times are better these days for geek girls in search of geek guys. With the collapse of the dot coms (a blow to myself and many other geek girls working in the industry), the height of geek chic has passed. Fewer women are looking to date geek men for their money these days. Which is good. That was never the point anyway.
I understand that my man will probably know far more than is healthy about the design of spaceships on Star Wars.
He probably had few, if any, dates in high school.
He won't be cool.
Code may be his first language.
Science fiction may be his second.
He may have developed opinions about who is the best captain in the Star Trek universe, and the greatest comic writer for Batman.
He will know places to find Easter eggs on days other than Easter.
He'll get it when I quote from obscure sources, and he'll find it cute.
He'll know the glee when geek minds meet.
He may use terms like "-verse" and "fen."
He may refer to writers (screenwriters, novelists, etc.) by their first names (even the ones he doesn't know personally).
He may actually know some personally.
He might have a net alias.
He probably has more than one e-mail address.
He may have attended cons.
He might even have attended in costume.
He may know every line to the "Crunchy Frog" skit.
He might play Everquest.
He'll have stories to tell about the times the DM was unfair.
He can define cyberpunk.
He'll read in bed.
Among other things.
He might write poetry.
He might write short stories.
He might write fan fic.
He won't be afraid to write love letters.
Head games will be the only ones he doesn't play.
And he'll know the value of a good geek girl.
At the end of the day, I want a man to watch The Two Towers with me and then go home to snuggle and bask in our mutual geekiness.
All my base are belong to him.