Love me some gel eyeliner.

[douxquemiel]

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

Comments

[orlanstamos]

I feel like the issue is not that Girl Geeks have to be ugly, but rather that this part of the article might be another way of pointing out that there aren't a lot of media representations of women deviating from the pretty girl norm. To be a girl geek you don't have to be ugly, sure, that's a shitty stereotype

[douxquemiel]

But for all those girls geeks who AREN'T glamorous or don't have an interest in fashion or whatever, I can see why the portrayals are sort of frustrating.

Oh, TOTALLY. And I don't watch 30 Rock, so I can't say if they're selling one thing and presenting another. And if they're trying to tell us that Liz Lemon is unattractive... yeah, no.

It's true, that it's a limitation of the media, at this point. But, to a certain extent, it's a first step. We have lesbians on our television in the first place (and not just as "the lesbian"), and that's good; next up is showing ALL of lesbian culture, not just the easy-on-the-eyes version.

[deensey]

Very good points. I think, for instance, of Big Bang Theory where the pretty girl is very much NOT a geek and mainstream and all the geeky girls (and by that extension boys) have some variety of social-rejectionism.

[orlanstamos]

Yeah, exactly. I thought about mentioning Big Bang Theory, because there definitely have been girl geeks that weren't super hotties. But then, I can only think of ONE girl geek on that show which considering it's all about geeks does not fill me with delight. I really like Big Bang Theory (and LOVE Penny) but it's so completely a guy show.

[earlofcardigans]

Oh Sarah, I love everything you have said here. I do.

I find myself in this trap much of the time. I can't possibly be a Star Trek nerd and have perfect skin at the same time. It is highly illogical.

It seems to me that I can spend as much time in Sephora as I do in GameStop or Barnes and Noble. There's nothing wrong with any of it. I do think when we're younger, we are taught by cliques that being smart isn't great for social status and so we bury ourselves and how we look because we don't look like popular children.

Not that I ever wanted to look like them. Hello, giant band nerd. I wore a cape and a plumed hat every Saturday while I was in college. I can't be dorkier than that.

I other things to say but I got a phone call and forgot them. :/

[douxquemiel]

It really is a product of cliques, to a large extent; if you're a geek, you're a GEEK, quit it with the eyeliner. And if you're popular, you're POPULAR, no choir attendance allowed.

It seems to me that I can spend as much time in Sephora as I do in GameStop or Barnes and Noble. HELL YES. And other geeks shouldn't shun me because I love J Crew. We gotta stick together, y'know?

You popular girls and your phone calls. Psssh. ;) If you remember, come on back and comment again. :D

[aloha_moira]

My problem with this analysis isn't that pretty girls can't be nerds, but the examples they're offering (at least Liz Lemon and Rachel Berry) are referred to as ugly, fat, etc. in the context of their shows even though they are obviously, objectively, conventionally attractive. OTOH, that may be happening BECAUSE we (society) feel that pretty girls can't be nerds (or that nerdy girls can't be pretty) so I don't know how separable it is... and 30 Rock may be doing it purposefully to be "meta" or whatever... but yeah in general these nerdy girls are treated as if they are ugly/badly dressed/whatever in the world of the show when by any real-world measure they are not.

[douxquemiel]

I can't speak to 30 Rock because I don't watch it, but I think Glee actually does a decent job of discussing Rachel in the context of her personality. Puck describes her as smoking hot (I think? just before they become an item?), and I think she's taunted more because of the knee socks and total awkwardness than because of her physical body.

And I totally think you're on to something with the chicken-and-the-egg thing-- media and pop culture can get a bad rap for something that society is demanding of them. I think having a wildly successful show about glee club is a first step in this whole mess, to begin with. Maybe next we'll have people portrayed in a more accurate and honest manner. Maybe. XD

[aloha_moira]

Well, first of all, you need to start watching 30 Rock. Obviously

[douxquemiel]

Glee is fabulous. I also love Sorkin and the West Wing, so clearly consistency is not something I'm a stickler for. XD

See, I dunno. I hear you on Finn (tiny boobs my ass), but the Cheerios mock her and are disparaging of ALL of her. Not just her physical appearance. It's her clothing, her gold star fetish, her crazy Glee attitude. To my memory (aka: admittedly swiss-cheese-ish), they don't mock her physical body for being unattractive.

And YES, the old maid club-- that was a low blow, for Glee. But then, I guess the point was that even if they were normal, and they weren't dating anyone or hadn't lost the Big V, then THAT was why they were hags, not because of their looks. Kinda?

I adore BBT (see comments above, too!). What's creepy is watching it with Wes and having him say things that Sheldon says, or answer science/math questions BEFORE THE CHARACTERS SAY ANYTHING. I'm marrying a geek.