Love and TMNT?

[Vegita-San]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

Back when we ladies were kids, even guys who were "geeks/nerds" were seen as pariahs. Imagine how much worse it was to be a "geekgirl"! You'd be instantly shunned as unfit for dating material. .

wasn't much different for us either. .

[Netkeeper]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

I sometimes worry when I start asking questions that I come off this way, when really I just am curious who/what the person's favorites are. I'm sure when it's women who I'm talking to, even more may feel this way.

Oh man I never thought about it like that Hopefully the fact that its opinion-related keeps it from coming off that way. Because I like knowing people's faves too.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

wasn't much different for us either. .

True enough but guys are not taught to see having a mate as their main purpose in life the way girls are. For a girl to be known as a nerd or geek was essentially a social death sentance on multiple levels. Not only would they be mocked or tormented by other girls (and guys of course) but their entire social status could be reduced to "undateable" throughout her teen years and even worse as an adult. (Because they are "too old" for geek interests like games and comics by then.) Back then it was a torpedo straight to the love-life, and gossip and reputation are so ingrained as part of a girl's social status that it could ruin any chance of having a relationship. For girls that is a devestating blow to self-worth.

[BubblyShell22]

Yep, if you were a nerd, you were uncool. In my school if you weren't into sports, you were pretty much deemed uncool no matter what. I fit in more with the choir people and the drama people. Never had an interest in sports and wasn't athletic for it anyway.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

sounds like a bit of revisionist history to me. at least from my experiences ;o).

Just because your experiences were different doesn't mean we're revising ours.
By framing it that way you're calling us liars.

I'll never forget the Detroit Comic Booth at SDCC in 2016, and the dude who worked there who tried to school me on TMNT stuff.
His buddy even leaned towards me, to stage whisper.
"He knows what he's talking about, he has all the comics. Trust me."

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

wasn't much different for us either. .

Yes it was.
By your own admission:
"the thing i want to know is, why couldn't women have gotten into nerdy things when i was 22 rather than 38?"

We were so shunned and deemed undatable that you nerd boys didn't even notice we existed. To the point where 16 years later you're bemoaning the fact that we weren't there.

When we were.
That's the difference.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

sounds like a bit of revisionist history to me. at least from my experiences ;o).

This is life, mate. Your experiences will vary. I never even heard of this "fake geek girl" thing until like two years ago. I have always just wanted to know what people liked and if our interests lined up. But I've had so many people behave aggressively (guys and girls) thinking I'm hitting on them just for commenting on their shirt or being courteous that it gets to be where I just try to avoid random people altogether. I'm sure a lot of them have good reason to, like they've been subjected to horrible behavior before or maybe I'm just an awkward son of a bitch.

[Vegita-San]

Originally Posted by MsMarvelDuckie

True enough but guys are not taught to see having a mate as their main purpose in life the way girls are. For a girl to be known as a nerd or geek was essentially a social death sentance on multiple levels. Not only would they be mocked or tormented by other girls (and guys of course) but their entire social status could be reduced to "undateable" throughout her teen years and even worse as an adult. (Because they are "too old" for geek interests like games and comics by then.) Back then it was a torpedo straight to the love-life, and gossip and reputation are so ingrained as part of a girl's social status that it could ruin any chance of having a relationship. For girls that is a devestating blow to self-worth.

again, doesn't sound like all that much of a difference between the girls side and the guys side. apart from the expecting to be a home maker thing .


about the only thing that might be different on the guys side, is guys are expected to like things like sci fi movies more 20 years ago. these days it's more or less equal footing.

[Vegita-San]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

This is life, mate. Your experiences will vary. I never even heard of this "fake geek girl" thing until like two years ago. I have always just wanted to know what people liked and if our interests lined up. But I've had so many people behave aggressively (guys and girls) thinking I'm hitting on them just for commenting on their shirt or being courteous that it gets to be where I just try to avoid random people altogether. I'm sure a lot of them have good reason to, like they've been subjected to horrible behavior before or maybe I'm just an awkward son of a bitch.

The 'fake geek girl'.....i think these do exist. but mostly relegated to things like booth babes who are just there for a pay check and could really care less.
you also DEFINITELY have fake geek guys. I think the whole nerdist operation falls into that category, but that's a whole nother thread ;o).

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, I would think fake geek girls work at places that sell geek stuff, and they're just there for a paycheck and don't really care about or follow the series the stuff they're selling is based on. But that's everybody, male and female, and that's every job, geek-related or not.

Now I do know of fake geek guys who want to get into some geek girl's pants and pretend to be a fellow geek until they get what they want... sad but true. But I've never heard of a girl pretending to be a geek because she's fallen head over heels over a geeky guy and wants to impress them.

As for me, hmmmm. I remember one girl in grade school that liked me and thought the turtles in particular were dumb. She loved the Police Academy cartoon and whatever else was on at the time, but she thought the turtles were dumb. The ex-wife loved the 80's show and followed the 2K3 well enough, but by the time we got the NickToon and Bay Movies, she had outgrown them and felt the Turtles should be left in the past and they're not worth rebooting.

The last gf I had was very into the Nick show but eventually lost interest, mostly due to scheduling, work getting in the way and just not caring about the drawn out woods/space arcs and whatnot. I may occasionally update her with major events, and she might ask me questions, but she doesn't care enough to catch up on them.

Any other girl I been with either didn't last enough to learn of my TMNT fandom, or it was during the non-TMNT days before the 2K3 series brought it back, so they were practically a non-issue. I remembered back then in 99 or 2000 wondering if they ever going to bring the TMNT back and how bad-ass they would have been with a modern update that would allow actual martial arts action, and lo and behold, not only did they return in 2003, they never left after that.

But yeah, TMNT is one of the things I like, like Batman, Street Fighter and the SNK fighting games. It's just a hobby since I have to devote my time to work and real life stuff, like keeping a tidy apartment and whatnot, so it's not really a big deal if a girl knows I like them or not. It's not a make or break. Everyone is entitled to their own hobbies they can do on their own time and are not forced to be glued to their SO's 24/7.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

The 'fake geek girl'.....i think these do exist. but mostly relegated to things like booth babes who are just there for a pay check

That's not a "fake Geek Girl" that's a hired model trying to do their job. There's devoted cosplayers that puts hours, blood, sweat and tears into their costumes and gets berated for not knowing what happened in Detective Comics #137. or does a amazing Duela Dent costume and gets slag for trying too hard to entice boys as "a Genderbent Steampunk Joker"

The only story I've heard about a "fake geek girl" is what my friend in the UK told me. Her sister started hanging out at the Gaming store, and while she wasn't interested in any geeky stuff she had the guys flock around her and buy her all sort of stuff. She even proclaimed herself as "Queen of the nerds" and when she got bored of it, she stopped coming over to the store.

[ProactiveMan]

I don’t approve of the fake geek label - it’s very cliquey and juvenile. What is a geek anyway? That term is so ill-defined that I don’t know how anyone can say someone is a fake geek with any authority. If you’re worried about people infiltrating your subculture with the intention of exploiting it or you, take a step back. Geek culture is essentially a celebration of being exploited. What difference does it make if it’s a twitch streamer cashing in or Walt Disney?

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by ProactiveMan

I don’t approve of the fake geek label - it’s very cliquey and juvenile. What is a geek anyway? That term is so ill-defined that I don’t know how anyone can say someone is a fake geek with any authority. If you’re worried about people infiltrating your subculture with the intention of exploiting it or you, take a step back. Geek culture is essentially a celebration of being exploited. What difference does it make if it’s a twitch streamer cashing in or Walt Disney?

I don't even like being called a geek, or nerd, or whatever. It seems so... derogatory. I'm just a person who likes stuff.

[Cure]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

I don't even like being called a geek, or nerd, or whatever. It seems so... derogatory. I'm just a person who likes stuff.

I agree with this. Same with gamer. Ick. I'll just say I play games.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

I don't even like being called a geek, or nerd, or whatever. It seems so... derogatory. I'm just a person who likes stuff.

Me too.

I'm relatively comfortable with it used in terms of an interests (like "what's your geek hobby?"), but still don't care for it as a personal label. But living through at least a few decades of it being a negative, outcasting thing kind of does that.

It's fortunate that maybe many kids these days won't grow up with the same perspective on it.

[plastroncafe]

To each their own, I'm rather proud of being a geek.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

To each their own, I'm rather proud of being a geek.

Same. I own that label proudly.

EDIT: I mean, I write, read, and watch stories. That's what I do. What do I expect to be called, a jock?

[Cure]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

EDIT: I mean, I write, read, and watch stories. That's what I do. What do I expect to be called, a jock?

It's about not wanting to be labeled at all. Wanting to be called a person, a human being.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ProactiveMan

I don’t approve of the fake geek label - it’s very cliquey and juvenile. What is a geek anyway? That term is so ill-defined that I don’t know how anyone can say someone is a fake geek with any authority. If you’re worried about people infiltrating your subculture with the intention of exploiting it or you, take a step back. Geek culture is essentially a celebration of being exploited. What difference does it make if it’s a twitch streamer cashing in or Walt Disney?

Pretty much. A little while ago I was talking to a Mexican ladyfriend and she kept mispronouncing "The Avengers." She was saying, "The Abengers." Not because she has an accent (she does not), but because she really thought that's how you say it. I corrected her. She chuckled and said, "Oh I forgot, you're a geek!"

I dunno... don't most people know how to say "The Avengers"? That's a thing, isn't it? I could be called a geek for many things but I feel like... not that?

On point, the "geek" thing seems a little fuzzy.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

again, doesn't sound like all that much of a difference between the girls side and the guys side. apart from the expecting to be a home maker thing .


about the only thing that might be different on the guys side, is guys are expected to like things like sci fi movies more 20 years ago. these days it's more or less equal footing.

That's the thing though. Guys were EXPECTED to like sci-fi things because they were the ones the stuff was aimed at. Girls who liked it were seen as- odd. Even a little "off" because it wasn't "girly" or whatever. And even worse if it was cartoons or comics because not only were they FOR guys they were considered to immature for older kids at all so a girl who was into that stuff was doubly weird- both for being "too old" AND the wrong gender for it! Girls were supposed to like Barbie and My Little Pony if they were little, and maybe Saved By the Bell or something if older(for the relationship stuff). Certainly NOT TMNT or Transformers or Spider-Man!

As a guy, at least YOU would have been the "right" gender to be acceptable to like something like TMNT. We girls- weren't. Acceptable to like it, even by the guys who did, too! No wonder we kept it quiet, if even our fellow fans wouldn't allow us into their ranks!

[Vegita-San]

understood.
and yet, if you went to a school full of jerks, of course we experienced the same harshness ;o)...


and nothing wrong with liking saved by the bell. at least the first class. why did i admit that?

that show was horrible