Are nerds outsiders?
I was reading a post on No_Scans_Daily about nerds taking over as the dominant group in the media, and complaints that this was a betrayal of what a nerd or a geek was, because they just became like the jocks who kept them outside. That's a really quick sum up just to get to what it got me thinking about which was...
I don't think the classic nerd idea was really an outsider ever.
The comments to the other post brought up the fact that nerds have always been assumed to be white, straight, male, able-bodied and cis-gendered, and that other groups have always been routinely shut out by those very nerds even if they shared the same nerd interests. This led to the suggestion that, for instance, a black nerd had more right to the title nerd, because he was more of an outsider. Which to me sounded totally wrong simply because "nerd" doesn't mean outsider. If we were to compare Sheldon from BBT to Hardison from Leverage I don't think anyone would claim that Hardison was a bigger nerd because he was black. Because while nerds can be any race, their nerd-dom in common understanding comes from their interests and personalities.
Which made me then go back to where this whole idea of nerd as outsider comes from and the key thing to it is, I think, not being an outsider but being an insider who isn’t doing it right. The original nerd-and we’re talking stereotypes here so I don’t expect everyone’s life experiences to play this out-but if we take the 90 pound weakling in the Charles Atlas ads, he’s not shut out of society in general, he just lacks qualities most prized as attractive. The 90 pound weakling gets sand kicked in his face because it's understood that the bully has the qualities prized in a man (physical strength and dominance) and he doesn't so he can’t fight back on those terms. There's no outsider in the scene--the outsiders either aren't going to be openly vying for romantic attention (like a gay man or woman), or they're just not allowed on the beach, period. The woman is present, but only to validate the men’s attractiveness.
The traditional nerd narrative, it seems to me, has always been fueled somewhat by entitlement. You need to be close enough to the winner to ask “why can’t that be me?” The white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who isn't cool wants the white, straight, cis-gendered, able-bodied girl who is cool, but it's assumed she'll want the white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who is cool. The story, then, will show how she *should* want the white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who isn't cool. The nerd is an outsider in that he's judged as having flaws, but he's also insider enough to be judged on his flaws instead of his identity. He could potentially replace those desired qualities with his own.
For instance, in Revenge of the Nerds is a pretty classic nerd story that casually validates every other sort of privilege the characters have. The central triumph of the movie is pretty much based around the idea that cool girls need to figure out that nerds are more attractive and more worthy lovers so that they can present themselves as prizes to the nerds over the straight guys-because they are more worthy as prizes than nerd girls. (It’s unclear who really gets the worse deal here-the nerd girls get taken for granted, but the cool girls get abused.)
It's really only when you acknowledge the female, gay, disabled and non-white nerds that you get any real outsiders, and those groups are routinely mocked and despised by the white, straight and cis-gendered fanboys who are the ones now holding so much power in the media. Some nerds learn from their own experience to be more inclusive, but it’s not a given. In Revenge of the Nerds the minority characters are mostly there to fill up the nerd ranks as back-up.
This isn’t to dismiss the hurt someone feels when they’re rejected for any reason. Social anxiety, being considered physically unattractive, more minor disabilities (for lack of a better term) do also make people outcast and I’m not dismissing that rejection and the hurt it causes. But the original nerd story is a combination of insider and outsider. Your basic identity gets you in the door, but you’re judged for not living up to the ideal of that identity. Nerd stories are about changing the rules, not changing the game.
I don't think the classic nerd idea was really an outsider ever.
The comments to the other post brought up the fact that nerds have always been assumed to be white, straight, male, able-bodied and cis-gendered, and that other groups have always been routinely shut out by those very nerds even if they shared the same nerd interests. This led to the suggestion that, for instance, a black nerd had more right to the title nerd, because he was more of an outsider. Which to me sounded totally wrong simply because "nerd" doesn't mean outsider. If we were to compare Sheldon from BBT to Hardison from Leverage I don't think anyone would claim that Hardison was a bigger nerd because he was black. Because while nerds can be any race, their nerd-dom in common understanding comes from their interests and personalities.
Which made me then go back to where this whole idea of nerd as outsider comes from and the key thing to it is, I think, not being an outsider but being an insider who isn’t doing it right. The original nerd-and we’re talking stereotypes here so I don’t expect everyone’s life experiences to play this out-but if we take the 90 pound weakling in the Charles Atlas ads, he’s not shut out of society in general, he just lacks qualities most prized as attractive. The 90 pound weakling gets sand kicked in his face because it's understood that the bully has the qualities prized in a man (physical strength and dominance) and he doesn't so he can’t fight back on those terms. There's no outsider in the scene--the outsiders either aren't going to be openly vying for romantic attention (like a gay man or woman), or they're just not allowed on the beach, period. The woman is present, but only to validate the men’s attractiveness.
The traditional nerd narrative, it seems to me, has always been fueled somewhat by entitlement. You need to be close enough to the winner to ask “why can’t that be me?” The white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who isn't cool wants the white, straight, cis-gendered, able-bodied girl who is cool, but it's assumed she'll want the white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who is cool. The story, then, will show how she *should* want the white, straight, able-bodied cis-gendered guy who isn't cool. The nerd is an outsider in that he's judged as having flaws, but he's also insider enough to be judged on his flaws instead of his identity. He could potentially replace those desired qualities with his own.
For instance, in Revenge of the Nerds is a pretty classic nerd story that casually validates every other sort of privilege the characters have. The central triumph of the movie is pretty much based around the idea that cool girls need to figure out that nerds are more attractive and more worthy lovers so that they can present themselves as prizes to the nerds over the straight guys-because they are more worthy as prizes than nerd girls. (It’s unclear who really gets the worse deal here-the nerd girls get taken for granted, but the cool girls get abused.)
It's really only when you acknowledge the female, gay, disabled and non-white nerds that you get any real outsiders, and those groups are routinely mocked and despised by the white, straight and cis-gendered fanboys who are the ones now holding so much power in the media. Some nerds learn from their own experience to be more inclusive, but it’s not a given. In Revenge of the Nerds the minority characters are mostly there to fill up the nerd ranks as back-up.
This isn’t to dismiss the hurt someone feels when they’re rejected for any reason. Social anxiety, being considered physically unattractive, more minor disabilities (for lack of a better term) do also make people outcast and I’m not dismissing that rejection and the hurt it causes. But the original nerd story is a combination of insider and outsider. Your basic identity gets you in the door, but you’re judged for not living up to the ideal of that identity. Nerd stories are about changing the rules, not changing the game.