Growing up a girl geek and becoming a geek girl.

[seanan_mcguire]

I became a geek when I was four years old. That's when my grandmother handed me my first My Little Pony (Cotton Candy) and told me that if I liked her, I could have more. That was also the year when I first really and truly understood that Doctor Who had an ongoing storyline that could be followed and thought about, even when the TV wasn't on. I

Comments

[vixyish]

I love you so!

[seanan_mcguire]

I love you too.

[fadethecat]

I have mixed feelings about the whole bronies thing for similar reasons. Apparently it's only cool if boys show up and give their stamp of approval, and otherwise it's icky and cootie-covered and girly. Where "things female people like" always ends up meaning childish and inferior and stupid and pointless and...sigh. But I do get my sparkly teleporting unicorns, so I should probably not stress too much about what other people like--or don't like--about them. I don't want to be the person who goes out and tells other people that they're liking My Little Pony in the wrong way.

That said, now that I have more confidence (yay adulthood!), there is a certain freeing sensation in knowing that my chesticles ever prevent me from being a True Geek in the eyes of people who actually think there is an ideal True Geek standard that they can rate other people against. I can't meet their standards because of a stupid reason, so, y'know. Screw their standards. I've got a whole shelf of ponies, and many more shelves of sf&f books, and they can't

[weds]

I remember being incredibly frustrated that, during the FiM launch and runup thereto, I couldn't persuade people that this was a show worth watching, that the idea of multiple sides of multiple axes of gender expression couched in cute little ponies was happening and happening right. But the boys happened round, and boom. In retrospect, I found myself needing to use them as persuasive leverage (in that brief, shining moment before it all went to hell).

I felt horrible, and quietly so: why is my word not enough for others to trust this? And I kept a lot of it hidden, because some of it was backfiring, and some of it held portent.

But you saw that; you know.

[fadethecat]

I do find some comfort in that the show creators, even if they appreciate the broader fandom, still keep their target audience in mind. FiM is not about to start catering directly to the bronies over the little girl market, even if the former has a much louder voice on the internet than the latter.

[seanan_mcguire]

GOD YES.

[taldragon]

hurrah for you! (and i agree with all of this, although i am a latecomer geek who might not possibly be a 'real' geek except my friends are convinced i am)

also, i want to read "my novel-length fixfic for a Disney Channel Original Movie" (having watched Halloweentown and Halloweentown 2)

[seanan_mcguire]

Marnie was supposed to end up with Luke, dammit.

[taldragon]

yes she was!

[seanan_mcguire]

ElfQuest taught me how to write. Three cheers for the Quest!

[spectralbovine]

I hereby declare this post to be TRUTH.

[seanan_mcguire]

I am approved by Polter-Cow!

My life is complete.

[spectralbovine]

Oh, you were approved long before this. Your life is super complete.