I keep hearing these nasty little rumors about things that go on at ComiCons. Girls are getting touched. Girls are getting harassed. Girls aren't feeling safe because some of the guys that go to these things are inappropriately touching or ogling them. All of that needs to be addressed by the proper authorities - as in the convention people and/or the police. (Seriously. Someone touches you without your permission, call the cops and charge them with assault. It might not stick, but it'll make them think twice, now won't it?)
Recently, I read a post about something geek girls can actually do something about. You see, the new thing is girls getting their 'geek credentials' checked in case they're, you know, not geek enough. (Naming the superheroes from a particular publisher, getting grilled about their favorite flavor of geekdom, etc.)
I really don't know why the geek girls care if some numbnuts calls her out and says she's not enough of a geek to attend a damn comic book convention. He wonders why he can't get a date that doesn't need a tire pump and you're worried about what he thinks about you? Screw him. Screw anyone who doesn't think you're good enough to be anywhere you damn well want to be. (Unless it's like you want to trespass on private property - then yeah, you can't be there unless someone says it's okay.)
Apparently, according to the rules, I'm not geek enough. S'okay. I was reading comic books before most of these assholes were a gleam in their daddies' eyes. I was playing Dungeons & Dragons before that. I spent all four years of high school in marching/symphonic band - two of those as first chair flute, tyvm. I learned BASIC in high school for petesakes and helped my boyfriend write a... :cough: data collection :cough: program in college, and still remember how to fix a computer using DOS (mostly - it's been a while, but I do have the System floppies if I ever need them). I hung out on the pre-internet when it was still Bitnet and the WWW was just some nerd's wet dream. (And no, that nerd was not Al Gore.) But if some freak who lives in his mother's basement doesn't think I'm geek enough, well, whatever.
If I ever choose to go to a Con, let them try to call me out. Go ahead. No skin off my ass. I've probably forgotten more general nerdiness than they ever possessed. So there. =op
So, please, ladies who go to Cons. If some asshole walks up and wants you to answer a bunch of questions to prove you are enough of a geek to be in the same conference center as him, tell him to go pound sand up his ass, and then go back to what you were doing - enjoying your geekness. If enough women stand up and say 'enough is enough', this crap will dwindle down to the clueless few who really have no lives of their own to admire, so they have to break down others.
Now, please return to your random geekiness. I have to go watch MasterChef UK: Professionals*. (Although I'd probably get cred checked as a foodie, too, because I've never eaten sea urchin or some other such nonsense.)
:endrant:
Oh, and if you haven't seen this yet - go here, read the article "Some Geek Boys Called These Geek Girls 'Fake.' They Certainly Won't Be Making That Mistake Again" and watch the video. (I wrote this post before I saw that - but yeah.)
*This post was pre-written and scheduled - obviously I'm not watching MCUK:P at 1:30am. I'm sleeping - because that's what old married-lady geeks do at 1:30 in the freakin' morning. =op
Two thumbs up! Abso-frealking-lutely, B.E. I'm not a geek, nerd, or any other label someone might want to stick on me. But I read comic books before comic books were cool and collectible. I remember bulletin board chat rooms once there was a way to connect (remember Netscape?) My first computer was a portable. A Compaq with a 9 inch screen, two (count 'em TWO) floppy disk drives, and the keyboard inserted across the screen/drives and locked so I could move it each time Lawyer Guy was assigned to a new duty station in the Army. I had a beta recorder/player for movies. (Lost that bet when VHS became the standard). I watched first generation Star Trek "live". I was first in line for Star Wars and "bought" the tape when it was released over a couple of years later. I didn]'t need D&D. I had my imagination and the fae, elves, dragons, and other creatures who lived there were far more interactive than rolling dice. (Sorry. No offense to D&D folks. I know a bunch of you and have fun! That's what it's all about, right?!?)
ReplyDeleteGirls and women need to learn to stand up for themselves, to forget trying to meet some idiot's (male OR female) criteria. Be themselves, love what they love. Amen on they don't have anything to prove to anyone. Now if those bottom-dwelling mouth-breathers would finally get a clue, this world might be a better place. /end rant
I do remember Netscape, but I got sucked into the AOhell. Ah, and bulletin boards. I go to those using the university's mainframe. LOL, you missed out on D&D, Silver. There's a whole lot more to it than rolling dice - but you have to have the right crew to make it really fun.
ReplyDeleteI think it we all stopped giving so much of a damn about what other people thought, the world would be a happier place. But that's a rant for another day. ;o)