You Really Shouldn't Have to Prove Your Nerd Credentials

So I took a wander over to the "When Fangirls Attack" site yesturday, and stumbled upon a rather interesting little brouhaha. Zooey May, whom I am unfamiliar with, had posted a rather heated entry, calling fake Nerd Girls to task. The gist of her argument was that it shouldn't be so amazing any more that women actually like and read about Superheroes. I am certainly all for that. Women constitute at least 25% of the reading public, and the numbers are growing all of the time.

Where she lost me however, was when she launched into an ad hominem attack on another woman, named Jill Pantozzi who has a blog named "Has Boobs Reads Comics". Frankly, I thought that was rather amusing. I have a blog named for Green Lantern Butts, so this sort of thing obviously appeals to my rather juvenile sense of humor. What I did NOT find so amusing was Zooey's wish to "...punch her in her stupid boobs...!" She was irate about the fact that Ms. Pantozzi had called attention to being a female and writing about comics.

Well!

Then there was another article about whether or not it was possible to be "hawt" and still be a nerd, and that all those attractive young actresses were just faking their nerd credentials, and should therefore be hissed and shunned. My reaction to all of this is...What the HELL is wrong with you people?

I don't care if you picked up a copy of Thor yesturday, after seeing the movie, and now proclaim yourself to be a "nerd" because you liked it. Anyone who likes comics...male, female, androgynous, or Martian (yes, I love J'onn) is going to be looked upon by me, as a comrade. I don't care if you have been reading comics for thirty years, or thirty minutes, I will still be happy.

There is this underlying desire amongst some people to keep their society closed off to outsiders. It's a cliche, but things become a cliche for a reason. The desire to dominate others by knowing more about the Millenium Falcon is a little silly, but is taken quite seriously by some people. As fangirls, we are used to this sort of treatment from the boys...which is why I am rather startled to see a girl pulling the same sort of crap. And yes, I am using the terms "girls" and "boys" as opposed to Women and Men, because if you are going to ACT like a ten-year old, they you will be designated as one.

Is it really a crime of the first order to pretend to like Star Wars? In a way it is sort of flattering. Geek culture is finally being taken seriously by the population at large, which is both exhilarating and apparently terrifying to some people. I'm a Woman who reads comics. I've been reading since I was fifteen, and I'm fifty now so I don't have to establish my credentials to anyone. And I thank God for the internet, because otherwise, I wouldn't have found so many wonderful and witty people to exchange ideas with on a daily basis. And yes, there are a LOT of Women who have comic book blogs too. Just look at my side-bar thingie.

So let me just say to Ms. May...young lady, you owe Ms. Pantozzi an apology. And let's all just lighten up a little. And enjoy our comics and movies and sci-fi and television and games and anything else that enriches our lives, without pissing on anyone else.

Or else you'll all be sent to your rooms without supper. Or Wi-fi.