The topic of gender issues and nerd culture is a widespread topic that has to do with the misogynistic harassment, violence, and bigotry in nerd culture. The topic has seen an increase of social, cultural, journalistic, and academic attention in recent years because of events and pieces pertaining to the topic. The increased attention has given way to discussions on the many aspects of nerd culture that promote and proliferate these misogynistic ideals as well as how the culture has dealt with the recent changes in gender demographics and morals.
1. Social and Cultural Attitudes
The original stereotype for a "nerd" is that of an emasculated, white male who is socially and physically awkward [1][2]. With this stereotype in place for as long as it was, the ideas and morals of the culture grew skewed. This, in turn, created the basis for some of the attitudes that spawn aggression and bigotry had towards women[3][4][5].
1.1 Victimization
"Nerd and geeks aren't the bulliers, we're the bullied. We're the outsiders." [6]
The concept of victimization is a popular belief held by the nerd culture population [7]. This idea goes along with the original stereotype of "nerd" as someone who was bullied and criticized for their appearance or interests [8]. However, because of how tightly this belief is held, it's often used to ignore the incidents of harassment and intolerance. The logic goes: "because we were bullied, we are wiser than the bullies that bullied us; therefore, there isn't [x,y,z] going on!" Yet, this victimization attitude does nothing but downplay the issues at hand.
1.2 Emasculation
"He is, in other words, a man who fails at being a man." [9]
Nerds are known for being physically and socially awkward [10]. They stereotypically lack the standard themes of masculinity: strength, honor, and action [11]. It is through this hypomasculinity that they are often ridiculed by men who are exhibits of alpha male personalities. Yet, when nerd culture was born, there existed in a culture where they were on top.
Male nerds now seemed frightened for this emasculation to happen inside the culture they built out of security. If they were to be cut down by anyone, lo and behold a "fake geek girl" [12], the safety they created would start to crumble. They would shift from the top of the pyramid back to the bottom [13].
1.3 Male Entitlement
"But the overall problem is one of a culture where instead of seeing women as, you know, people, protagonists of their own stories just like we are of ours, men are taught that women are things to "earn," to "win."" [14]
The idea of male nerd entitlement (also known as "nerd male privilege") is the idea that "men - often straight, white men - as a whole, get certain privileges and status because of their gender" [15]. This attitude is the biggest contributor in the instances of misogyny in nerd culture. And the scariest thing is that it's spoon-fed to them through television shows (The Big Bang Theory) [16] and films (Revenge of the Nerds, Sixteen Candles) [17] [18].
Male nerds have been given this idea that if they "try hard enough and persist long enough, [they'll] get the girl in the end" [19]. That life is like "a video game and women, like money and status, are just part of the reward [they] get for doing well" [20]. These ideas are dangerous because they perpetuate this idea that "going for the girl" - through any means necessary - is acceptable. And if she denies you? Then she's shallow for not "giving them a chance" [21].
This entitlement has - for lack of a better saying - inflated the ego the male nerd drastically. If you were to combine this with the two other attitudes listed above, what you get is a dangerous combination. The combination, in turn, causes any bruising of a male nerd's ego to magnify and putting the bruiser in the crosshairs.
2. Community Actions
In recent years, the actions that have been taken against the misogynistic bigotry, harassment and threats have been minimal [22][23]. Male members of nerd culture have only increased the violence and intensity of relation towards women who are speaking out against the misogyny in nerd culture. The best example of how drastic these situations have gotten is the GamerGate Controversy that happened in early 2014 [24].
2.1 Avoidance and Dismissal of Issues
"They'll insist that they're more egalitarian; geeks hold tight to the belief that geek culture is a meritocracy, where concepts of agism, sexism and racism simply don't exist the way it does elsewhere. And yet, even a cursory examination will demonstrate that this isn't true." [25]
Due to nerd culture's history with bullying, members of nerd culture often dismiss the situations of harassment out of blissful ignorance. Bred from a counter-culture that preens itself on how much "better" they are from the others that excluded them, nerds will do anything to keep the idea that they treat everyone equally intact [26]. And this includes keeping these situations quiet.
By ignoring these situations, they are, not only enabling the perpetrators of these actions, but they are also giving them approval [27]. They are validating the idea that misogynistic actions are only the problems of the people who enact those actions and the women who are being acted upon when it's everyone's problem.
2.3 Hyper-Objectification
"Of course, the other sides of the coin isn't much better; being dismissed for the of being a woman is bad, but being placed on the traditional pillar is no less insulting." [28]
While there are some nerds who are ignoring the misogyny, there are those who are taking a complete opposing reaction to the claims of intolerance and assault. Their actions are to treat female gamers in a idealistic and objectifying manner. While most would consider this a good thing (with "treating a lady well" being "good manners"), the reaction doesn't aid in quelling the inequality. By putting these women on a proverbial pillar, they are doing the same thing they did before: they are treating them differently because they are women [29].
This treatment can go in a drastically horrible direction. The objectification can lead to fetishization and sexualization of the woman - especially female nerds [30]. And this, in turn, refreshes the Groundhog Day style clock that nerd culture seems to have when it comes to gender issues.
2.4 Harassment and Violence
"I've heard and seen the stories that those of you who followed that #YesAllWomen hashtag on Twitter have seen-women getting groped at cons, women getting vicious insults flung at them online, women getting stalked by creeps in college and told they should be "flattered."" [31]
"After struggling with whether or not to make the extent of the attacks public I've decided that it's ultimately important to shed light on this type of abuse because online harassment and bullying are at epidemic levels across the Internet." [32]
In the past couple of years, the reactions to nerds, especially female nerds, speaking out against the misogyny in nerd culture has reached a terrifying peak. Instances of stalking, hacking, vandalizing, and threats of sexual and physical assault are just some of the occurrences that have taken place. A prime example of how ruthless some of the events have been is the harassment and attacking of feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian [33].
Sarkeesian gained recognition in the media for the onslaught of online attacks she received in response to her YouTube series "Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games" [34][35][36]. Not only was her Wikipedia page vandalized with images of pornographic content, but hackers attempted to dox - tracking down someone's personal information such as address, email, and SSN through sources on the Internet [37] - and distribute her personal information. The attacks subsided for a short while, but resurfaced when Sarkeesian was interviewed on ABC News Nightline about her scuffle with the gaming community [38].
While these horrible actions aren't carried out over minor situations, female nerds are still plagued by frightening experiences. Instances of stalking and being left unwanted gifts from male nerds whom 'she just won't give a chance because she's shallow.' Instances of groping and physical harassment at conventions that should've been "expected" because of how revealing their cosplay was [39]. And when they retaliate, they chastised for 'not taking it as a compliment.'
References
[1] "Nerd." Wikipedia.org. (last review) 18 Feb 2015. [Link]
[2] Eglash, Ron. "Race, Sex, and Nerds: From Black Geeks to Asian American Hipsters." Social Text vol. 71 (Summer 2002): 49-64. [Link]
[3] Chu, Arthur. "Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds." The Daily Beast Online. 27 May 2014. [Link]
[4] Hern, Alex. "Nerds: Stop hating women, please." NewStatesman Online. 13 November 2012. [Link]
[5] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[6] Dr. Nerdlove. "Ending Sexual Harassment In Geek Culture." Paging Dr. Nerdlove. 18 April 2014. [Link]
[7] Dr. Nerdlove. "Ending Sexual Harassment In Geek Culture." Paging Dr. Nerdlove. 18 April 2014. [Link]
[8] "Nerd." Wikipedia.org. (last review) 18 Feb 2015. [Link]
[9] Ravishly. "Nerd Masculinity: 'They Won't Give it Up Without a Fight'." Huffington Post Online. 06 Jan 2015. [Link]
[10] Eglash, Ron. "Race, Sex, and Nerds: From Black Geeks to Asian American Hipsters." Social Text vol. 71 (Summer 2002): 49-64. [Link]
[11] Meek, Will, PhD. "Male Gender Role." Psychology of Men. [Link]
[12] "Fake Geek Girls." Geek Feminism Wiki. (late review) 16 Feb 2015. [Link]
[13] Ravishly. "Nerd Masculinity: 'They Won't Give it Up Without a Fight'." Huffington Post Online. 06 Jan 2015. [Link]
[14] Chu, Arthur. "Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds." The Daily Beast Online. 27 May 2014. [Link]
[15] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[16] "The Big Bang Theory." IMDb.com. [Link]
[17] "Revenge of the Nerds." IMDb.com. [Link]
[18] "Sixteen Candles." IMDb.com. [Link]
[19] Chu, Arthur. "Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds." The Daily Beast Online. 27 May 2014. [Link]
[20] Chu, Arthur. "Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds." The Daily Beast Online. 27 May 2014. [Link]
[21] Dr. Nerdlove. "Socially Awkward Isn't An Excuse." Paging Dr. Nerdlove. 24 March 2014. [Link]
[22] Pinchefsky, Carol. "Does Felicia Day Matter At All? (Yes)" Forbes Online. 4 July 2012. [Link]
[23] Lewis, Helen. "This is what online harassment looks like." NewStatesman Online. 6 July 2012. [Link]
[24] "GamerGate Controversy." Wikipedia.org. (last review) 21 Feb 2015. [Link]
[25] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[26] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[27] Dr. Nerdlove. "Ending Sexual Harassment In Geek Culture." Paging Dr. Nerdlove. 18 April 2014. [Link]
[28] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[29] O'Malley, Harris. "Nerds and Male Privilege." Kotaku. 16 Dec. 2011. [Link]
[30] Dr. Nerdlove. "Ending Sexual Harassment In Geek Culture." Paging Dr. Nerdlove. 18 April 2014. [Link]
[31] Chu, Arthur. "Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Misogyny, Entitlement, and Nerds." The Daily Beast Online. 27 May 2014. [Link]
[32] Sarkeesian, Anita. "Image Based Harassment and Visual Misogyny." Feminist Frequency. 1 July 2012. [Link]
[33] Lewis, Helen. "This is what online harassment looks like." NewStatesman Online. 6 July 2012. [Link]
[34] Sarkeesian, Anita. "Image Based Harassment and Visual Misogyny." Feminist Frequency. 1 July 2012. [Link]
[35] Sarkeesian, Anita. "Harassment, Misogyny and Silencing on YouTube." Feminist Frequency. 7 June 2012. [Link]
[36] Sarkeesian, Anita. "Harassment Via Wikipedia Vandalism." Feminist Frequency. 10 June 2012. [Link]
[37] "Doxing." Urban Dictionary. 29 Dec 2011. [Link]
[38] ABC News. "What It Feels Like to Be a GamerGate Target." YouTube. 14 Jan 2015. [Link]
[39] Zara, Christopher. "San Diego Comic-Con: Cosplay Sexual Harassment Takes Center Stage At 2014 Fan Convention." International Business Times Online. 28 July 2014. [Link]
