Words that should be banned from Internet and other discussions

[boot_the_grime]

Could we take the words "jock" and "nerd" and kill them with fire? Please? The relentless obsession, found all over Internet, with those incredibly narrow and over-simplified (US) highschool stereotypes and with shoving every person in the world in those boxes has gotten really, really annoying. It's almost like the old "virgin vs whore" dichotomy.

Comments

[selenak]

Could we take the words "jock" and "nerd" and kill them with fire? Please? The relentless obsession, found all over Internet, with those incredibly narrow and over-simplified (US) highschool stereotypes and with shoving every person in the world in those boxes has gotten really, really annoying. It's almost like the old "virgin vs whore" dichotomy.

God, yes, PLEASE. I think it was the whole Loki cult which meant that particular phenomenon had reached boiling point for me, bu of course it's far older.

[kikimay]

LET ME LOVE YOU!
I deeply hate the alpha-male categorization: it's just a silly way to talk about leadership and power. Also a deeply inaccurate way.

[aycheb]

Yes to both of these. Alpha isn't even scientifically accurate as applied to most naturally formed wolf packs. In the wild a pack is usually a family and the dominant male is simply the father of all the other males.

[pocochina]

lol, yes. With the caveat that I like "alpha male" to designate not so much the Big Man In Charge, but a man who's obsessed with status-via-masculinity. But when I see it used straightforwardly I roll my eyes a little too.

[penny_lane_42]

Honestly, I'm American and I can say that the way that American high schools are depicted in popular culture (with this very clear hierarchy and such) has absolutely nothing to do with anything I actually lived through. I will never understand how it became so pervasive.

[boot_the_grime]

How did you find the depiction of high school life in Buffy? Was it realistic and to what extent, by your experience?

[penny_lane_42]

Huh. I think some of the emotions were pretty realistic--not necessarily for me (I'm a strange one), but for teenagers in general. But I have to be honest: I mostly rewatch the post-high school seasons of the show, so it's been a while since I've seen more than an episode here and there of the high school seasons. So I'm not sure how much I can judge.

[boot_the_grime]

I have actually just finished another rewatch of season 1. The last one was last year (I'm re-rewatching seasons 1 and 2 and the first part of season 3 before I continue to rewatch and review the rest of the show). I should write a short post about my impressions later today, though they're mostly the same as the last time, so I'll just add things I didn't notice before