Geek Culture

Dirk Manning has a problem with people being able to embrace themselves without lowering themselves to falsely advertising themselves. He claims that women cannot be attractive and be a geek. He states that the geek culture is very masculine. The definition of a geek as looked at in class is someone who fully embraces what they like. I like this idea to define a geek. However, I do see a problem with this. I love hunting and fully embrace it. Does that mean that I could be classified as a geek for hunting? I think that the definition has too many connotations to be so broadly defined. In class we discussed, that the geek has become a gendered noun. Geek cultures are naturally defensive of membership, and can be seen in the article. The article also sees the advent of “cosplay” and crafting as introducing traditionally “girly” activities into geek culture.  The article also offers the opinion that women face discrimination in this problem of defining geeks because they aren't seen as “real geeks”, just because they are attractive. As discussed in class, I see this as a double standard. Even seeing an attractive man trying to be a geek could be seen as not a “real geek” because they are attractive. Overall, the article had good insights into the world of the geek. Defining what a geek is and who a geek can be has become an issue in our culture. The way that we address this issue geek culture shapes many aspects of our own culture.