Love me some gel eyeliner.
So, I got this link from maggiesox via Twitter forever ago; it’s a great article about the Rise of the Female Nerds, a topic near and dear to my heart. Go read it, it’s really worth it. You’ll be nodding your head all the way through it.
I am, unabashedly, a nerd. A dork, a music-geek. I have been all my life, and it’s something I’ve come to embrace. But there's more to me than roleplaying and musical theater.
In high school, my nerdacity evolved. When I was a freshman, I had thankfully just gotten rid of braces, but in regards to my popularity, it was too little, too late. I wore leapord print pants (not kidding), overalls, and other funky-gothic-confused styles. I was in the chorus, worked on theater productions, and was on the fencing team. I was completely uncool. Through my high school years, I remained uncool-I became even MORE involved in theater and chorus, and I was captain of the women’s sabre squad on the fencing team my junior year. My best guy friends were Magic: The Gathering nuts, and I would spend countless hours watching them play and learning to play myself. When the weather cooperated, the guys also played ultimate Frisbee-so when the fields were free, I would sit in the shade and watch them throw the disc around. I loved school and attended all my classes; I rarely, RARELY skipped class for any reason. My senior year, instead of choosing to have a multitude of free periods to do homework or goof off, I decided to take not one, not two, but THREE social sciences courses (they didn’t have AP humanities or social science courses, can you tell??). I don’t think I did anything that was even remotely “cool.”
However, as I grew older, as my personality evolved, as I became more comfortable with my geekdom, my confidence solidified. I might be uncool, or a nerd, but I was okay with that. I had friends who I cared about, who loved me right back. I was unapologetic about my hobbies, about how excited I would get about theater or psychology or writing or school. It was who I am. And somewhere in my senior year of high school, I became preppy. Gone were the funky-goth stylings of my middle school days; I was embracing the styles I truly loved and that suited my quirky personality. I’m Jackie O and Michelle Obama and Katherine Hepburn meet... Janeane Garofalo and Hermione Granger and Tina Fey. And I’m okay with that. I rock a J Crew twinset and dark wash jeans with my Converse All Stars while I’m watching History channel documentaries or playing video games. I get facials and wear makeup and have tattoos. I wear hideous clogs because they’re comfortable and a Banana Republic dress because it’s adorable. And I don’t need to choose one or the other-I can be a nerd and preppy, too.
And while I love this article and everything it brings up, there was one point where I pulled up short.
"Of course, because this is television, portrayals of female nerds are undercut by the smoking-hot-actress problem. With the exception of Ugly Betty, where the producers had the courage to bury America Ferrara under ugly glasses, hideous wigs, and braces, these shows find themselves in a bind-- characters have to constantly remind the audience that the female nerd is hard on the eyes, because we couldn't figure that out by looking at her. But no matter how often characters tell us otherwise, we're simply not going to believe that Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, or Lea Michele are ugly ducklings. Hollywood may be willing to experiment with female characters with unfeminine ambition and intellect, but they're not quite ready to move toward portraying women who reject the rigors of beauty maintenance."
Well.
To me, this is taking generalization a step too far. So, in order to be a Real Nerd, to be a true geek, I have to be ugly? I’m sorry, apparently my genetics didn’t get the memo. I’ll admit, my middle school fashion sense wasn’t all that coherent (overalls; a hideous, chopped haircut; velour shirts?), but that’s middle school. Even in high school, when I was rocking the leopard pants and funky-goth style, I wasn’t "ugly." I was mocked and ridiculed and it had nothing to do with my looks. Tina Fey and Lea Michele don’t need to hide under braces or ratted hair to be a nerd; their uncool status and geekery isn’t directly tied to their appearance. It’s tied to their personality.
On Glee, Rachel Berry’s personality is a gold-star, Broadway-or-bust ambition-driven musical theater nerd. And her physical appearance reflects that-the mousy, schoolgirl clothes, the flat Mary Janes, the knee high socks, the poppy pink lip gloss. It’s a cohesive, well-rounded character. So what if she happens to be phsyically aesthetically pleasing? She can’t help the genetics she was given (like that amazing voice, a big part of her personality and crucial to the character on the show). And, before we point at Ugly Betty’s glasses for being a "courageous" way to make her hideous, let’s remember that Liz Lemon, Tina Fey’s character on 30 Rock, has glasses that are absolutely adorable on her, yet she’s highlighted as one of the women who could never be classified as an "ugly duckling". Liz Lemon is still widely accepted as geeky and socially inept, but because Tina Fey is even remotely attractive, it is seen as Hollywood chickening out.
As for me, I’m still a geek. I love music, and I love performing in choirs; I traveled to Romania and the Czech Republic to perform with my church choir. I’m a literature geek; I can read and read and read; my most recent literary exploration is Austen (I just started re-reading Sense and Sensibility). I’ve spent hours upon hours of my life roleplaying online and playing video games. I often spend Sunday mornings at church, volunteering to read scripture at some ungodly hour of the morning. I’m probably going to go to divinity school to be a minister one day. I am, truly, a nerd. But I’m not unattractive. Yeah, I’ve got my flaws, but all-in-all-I’m pretty good looking. There are days when I haven’t showered and I don’t wear makeup and I live in sweatpants, sure. But on the whole, I’m a nerd who wears cute outfits. I’m a nerd who also could easily spend a day’s pay on Clinique makeup. Why are we telling people that in order to be a proper nerd, they need ugly hair and braces and glasses and to never, ever wear makeup or pluck their eyebrows?
We’re pigeon-holing women. We, the women who are excited to see the Rise of the Female Nerd, like the author herself- we’re deciding that since they’re pretty, they’re not really nerds. I just don’t think that’s fair.
/soapbox
So, dear Friends List-- the vast majority of you are nerds of some degree. Some (okay, most) to a very GREAT degree. What say you? Am I horribly off-base on this one? Am I right? Is it More Complicated than all that?? DISCUSS.
I am, unabashedly, a nerd. A dork, a music-geek. I have been all my life, and it’s something I’ve come to embrace. But there's more to me than roleplaying and musical theater.
In high school, my nerdacity evolved. When I was a freshman, I had thankfully just gotten rid of braces, but in regards to my popularity, it was too little, too late. I wore leapord print pants (not kidding), overalls, and other funky-gothic-confused styles. I was in the chorus, worked on theater productions, and was on the fencing team. I was completely uncool. Through my high school years, I remained uncool-I became even MORE involved in theater and chorus, and I was captain of the women’s sabre squad on the fencing team my junior year. My best guy friends were Magic: The Gathering nuts, and I would spend countless hours watching them play and learning to play myself. When the weather cooperated, the guys also played ultimate Frisbee-so when the fields were free, I would sit in the shade and watch them throw the disc around. I loved school and attended all my classes; I rarely, RARELY skipped class for any reason. My senior year, instead of choosing to have a multitude of free periods to do homework or goof off, I decided to take not one, not two, but THREE social sciences courses (they didn’t have AP humanities or social science courses, can you tell??). I don’t think I did anything that was even remotely “cool.”
However, as I grew older, as my personality evolved, as I became more comfortable with my geekdom, my confidence solidified. I might be uncool, or a nerd, but I was okay with that. I had friends who I cared about, who loved me right back. I was unapologetic about my hobbies, about how excited I would get about theater or psychology or writing or school. It was who I am. And somewhere in my senior year of high school, I became preppy. Gone were the funky-goth stylings of my middle school days; I was embracing the styles I truly loved and that suited my quirky personality. I’m Jackie O and Michelle Obama and Katherine Hepburn meet... Janeane Garofalo and Hermione Granger and Tina Fey. And I’m okay with that. I rock a J Crew twinset and dark wash jeans with my Converse All Stars while I’m watching History channel documentaries or playing video games. I get facials and wear makeup and have tattoos. I wear hideous clogs because they’re comfortable and a Banana Republic dress because it’s adorable. And I don’t need to choose one or the other-I can be a nerd and preppy, too.
And while I love this article and everything it brings up, there was one point where I pulled up short.
"Of course, because this is television, portrayals of female nerds are undercut by the smoking-hot-actress problem. With the exception of Ugly Betty, where the producers had the courage to bury America Ferrara under ugly glasses, hideous wigs, and braces, these shows find themselves in a bind-- characters have to constantly remind the audience that the female nerd is hard on the eyes, because we couldn't figure that out by looking at her. But no matter how often characters tell us otherwise, we're simply not going to believe that Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, or Lea Michele are ugly ducklings. Hollywood may be willing to experiment with female characters with unfeminine ambition and intellect, but they're not quite ready to move toward portraying women who reject the rigors of beauty maintenance."
Well.
To me, this is taking generalization a step too far. So, in order to be a Real Nerd, to be a true geek, I have to be ugly? I’m sorry, apparently my genetics didn’t get the memo. I’ll admit, my middle school fashion sense wasn’t all that coherent (overalls; a hideous, chopped haircut; velour shirts?), but that’s middle school. Even in high school, when I was rocking the leopard pants and funky-goth style, I wasn’t "ugly." I was mocked and ridiculed and it had nothing to do with my looks. Tina Fey and Lea Michele don’t need to hide under braces or ratted hair to be a nerd; their uncool status and geekery isn’t directly tied to their appearance. It’s tied to their personality.
On Glee, Rachel Berry’s personality is a gold-star, Broadway-or-bust ambition-driven musical theater nerd. And her physical appearance reflects that-the mousy, schoolgirl clothes, the flat Mary Janes, the knee high socks, the poppy pink lip gloss. It’s a cohesive, well-rounded character. So what if she happens to be phsyically aesthetically pleasing? She can’t help the genetics she was given (like that amazing voice, a big part of her personality and crucial to the character on the show). And, before we point at Ugly Betty’s glasses for being a "courageous" way to make her hideous, let’s remember that Liz Lemon, Tina Fey’s character on 30 Rock, has glasses that are absolutely adorable on her, yet she’s highlighted as one of the women who could never be classified as an "ugly duckling". Liz Lemon is still widely accepted as geeky and socially inept, but because Tina Fey is even remotely attractive, it is seen as Hollywood chickening out.
As for me, I’m still a geek. I love music, and I love performing in choirs; I traveled to Romania and the Czech Republic to perform with my church choir. I’m a literature geek; I can read and read and read; my most recent literary exploration is Austen (I just started re-reading Sense and Sensibility). I’ve spent hours upon hours of my life roleplaying online and playing video games. I often spend Sunday mornings at church, volunteering to read scripture at some ungodly hour of the morning. I’m probably going to go to divinity school to be a minister one day. I am, truly, a nerd. But I’m not unattractive. Yeah, I’ve got my flaws, but all-in-all-I’m pretty good looking. There are days when I haven’t showered and I don’t wear makeup and I live in sweatpants, sure. But on the whole, I’m a nerd who wears cute outfits. I’m a nerd who also could easily spend a day’s pay on Clinique makeup. Why are we telling people that in order to be a proper nerd, they need ugly hair and braces and glasses and to never, ever wear makeup or pluck their eyebrows?
We’re pigeon-holing women. We, the women who are excited to see the Rise of the Female Nerd, like the author herself- we’re deciding that since they’re pretty, they’re not really nerds. I just don’t think that’s fair.
/soapbox
So, dear Friends List-- the vast majority of you are nerds of some degree. Some (okay, most) to a very GREAT degree. What say you? Am I horribly off-base on this one? Am I right? Is it More Complicated than all that?? DISCUSS.