What Does "Geek" Mean to You? Part Deux!

A while ago, I threw out an idea to DC Geek writers asking about what being a geek meant to them. This week, Aine and Lauren chime in with their thoughts on the matter. Everyone has had a different definition of "geek", a different viewpoint on what did or did not qualify, or if that even mattered, and what ultimately meant. The only thing that has managed to keep cropping up in this series and across the internet when people ask the question "What is a geek?" is a sense of community. We don't all have to love the same things to be able to qualify ourselves as geek; we just have to qualify ourselves as such. Be unafraid to strike out beyond societal norms, to have a passion and embrace it. And yes, those passions are usually outside of the mainstream, but since there hasn't been a better time to be a geek than now, does the mainstreamness of your chosen geek even matter anymore?

"My Geek is Not Your Geek, and That's OK."

 by Aine 

 

We've won. Geek is cool. "Brainy is the new sexy." Outrageously successful marketing means that Grandmas are rocking out on Farmville. The top grossing movie of all time is about aliens. Number one on the NYT bestsellers list at the time of this writing is the finale of the Wheel of Time series. We beat SOPA, and slowly even the most luddite recesses of government are realizing that they must gain competence or suffer in obsolescence and defeat. 

So where does that line of "geek" and "not geek" begin? I've written this out dozens of times over the past few months and the only response I have is, "What if there is no line?" Would it be so horrible if we let people self-identify? At this point, I've started using geek interchangeably with "niche" because if you can geek out about it, I think it's geeky. I know that the idea of geek becoming mainstream and being "infiltrated by fakes" puts some people on edge. But new people are starting to love things we've loved for decades and that's exciting.

I mean come on, you can't say no to this. (Image:We Love DC)

If we want to create community, then we need to throw open the doors to the geeks who don't geek like we geek. And while we're on the subject, there are tons of niche and sub-subcultures of hidden and under-promoted events all OVER the area that I'm more than happy to let self-identify as geek. And most of them are starting to cater to the "Old School Geek" crowd, and would you really slam the door in the face of the hot girl who made a Doctor Who themed burlesque show just for your demographic?

  

This is a city full of hackerspaces and nerdy meetups with dark net programmers, art fighters, and yarn bombing ninjas. There are people to help you knit it, throw in biosensors and LEDs, then hook the whole thing up through Arduino. Throw together a supercomputer with Lego and Raspberry Pi. 3D print your own gears to steampunk out ALL the cosplays! Fight the onslaught of commercial imagery with outrageous and bizarre arts. Perform with traditional clowns, embrace sideshow shock, and revel in anachronistic vaudeville excess with the thriving burlesque scene hidden deep in the district.

Whether you're in it for the community and company, the love of creation, the joy your hobby brings you, or if you're still looking for something to inspire your passion and get you out of the house on a Saturday night, I believe there's something for you in DC's geek scene. There's no reason to feel alone or bored.

"Geeks over Glamazons: Tackle the Big-Picture"

by Lauren Jacobs

 

Geeks are people who are passionate about intellectual/creative pursuits, so much so that it saturates their personalities and lifestyles. They use these pursuits to engage big-picture ideas. These pursuits or ideas can be social, scientific, artistic, historic, philosophical, technological, or fantastical. (I’m probably leaving a category or two out). 

I tend to cling to the stereotype of geeks having at least an appreciation for science fiction and/or fantasy, but recognize that as probably my own bias instead of an absolute truth in geek culture. One of the main functions of science fiction and fantasy is that it lets us promote discussions that society would initially resist. Turning real examples of ideas into far-fetched metaphors (like discussing religious or cultural tensions by depicting each group as an alien race) makes otherwise inflammatory ideas more approachable and digestible. So really, I would lump science fiction and fantasy geeks under the category of people who engage big-picture ideas. 

Yes, even Tony Harris. (Image: Comics Bulletin)

Many geeks know what it’s like to be socially ostracized or picked on (geeks are thinkers, which comes with some obligatory rejection of social norms), but this is not a requirement. It does not disqualify someone as geek to be hot, or to enjoy drinking beers at a bar with friends while watching football, or even to be the kind of raging douchebag that runs around conventions projecting their insecurities by accusing female cosplayers of being “fake geeks”. I would like to disqualify douchebags as geeks, but feel like as in any other culture, we as geeks are responsible for all of our members.

So much of society wants to be more glamazon, more beautiful and more comfortable in their lives, but it’s the geeks who really inspire society. The geeks see the problems in the world and in themselves, and develop radical methods of dealing with them. Geekiness is the progenitor of real progress.

Fuck trying to be a glamazon. Aspire to be a geek.