GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE “GEEK” COMMUNITY

(AND WHAT LIBRARIES CAN DO TO HELP)

PORTFOLIO SPRING 2013

KARA WHEELER

THE ISSUE (AS I SEE IT)

• Geek culture has exploded in popularity, attracting the attention of the (largely previously uninterested) general public.

• As one might expect, a decent percentage of these new fans are female.

• Hobbies and interests such as gaming (both tabletop and video) and comic books are traditionally considered male interests.

• There has been severe backlash against new fans, for being both new and female.

GEEK CHIC

“Nerds are in. Everyone's embracing the nerd these days. My very mainstream and fashion forward friend just showed up to happy hour with a beaded clutch proclaiming "I LOVE NERDS." ... The geek shall inherit the Earth, indeed. We're adopting nerd culture faster than Angelina Jolie adopts orphaned villages.”

--Shelly Mazzanoble (Wizards of the Coast employee,

author)

Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress: A Girl’s Guide to the D&D Game, p.p. 13-14

THE BIG BANG THEORY (2007--)

THE AVENGERS (2012)

JOHN (& HANK) GREEN + NERDFIGHTERS

• John Green and his brother Hank Green

• Vlogbrothers YouTube channel

• D.F.T.B.A.

• Very famous on the Internet

• John Green invited to participate in a Fireside Chat via Google Hangout with the President (2/13)

• Written up by The New Yorker (3/13)

FIRESIDE HANGOUT ON GOOGLE+

THE “OLD” NERD

THE “NEW” NERD

GEEK GATEKEEPING• Backlash against new fans

• Targeted largely at females

• Belief that to be a “true” or “real” nerd, some amount of (generally social) suffering had to be experienced, or some (undefined) amount of knowledge or trivia is required

Try to cop my style but I'm the real thing

While you played sports, I played Magic: the Gathering

Never earned your part of nerd society

My Aquaman pajamas prove my pedigree

Watched my Next Gen every night

Wore a headgear to fix my overbite

Your black-rimmed glasses are prescription free, where as me?

I literally can't see my hand in front of my face

--“I’m the One That’s Cool,” The Guild

GEEK GATEKEEPING (CONT.)

• Can take place in any location where the geek community is found, including physical locations such as comic book stores and game stores, or conventions

GEEK GATEKEEPING (CONT.)

• Found most vocally on the Internet

CROSS ASSAULT

“BEAT UP ANITA SARKEESIAN”

“FAKE GEEK GIRLS”

“FAKE GEEK GIRLS” (CONT.)

“FAKE GEEK GIRLS” (CONT.)

“HALO 4 PUNISHES SEXISM” -- COMMENTS• Most likely, they are lesbians.

• [The] Middle East knows where it’s at: bitches should wear burkas.

• Feminism at work again. Why do women still have rights?

• Suck it up, princess, you already have your week every month to act like a total bitch and get away with it, so do what men do. Grin and bear it. Or you can act like a total bitch, must be that time of the month again.

• Kiki and Ross can go fuck off and get back in the kitchen… All girls are sluts. That is solid fact… Seriously, they were only hired into 343 for being girls. These Feminazi sluts need to shut up and get back to sucking O’Connor’s dick.

• Sexism > feminist bullshit, every time, enjoy your lower pay, ladies.

• These girls obviously don’t have enough dick in their lives…

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?

Aside from the obvious issues that women fans face:

• For game companies and other business interests within geek culture: alienating 50% of your potential audience is never a good idea.

• For other fans: having a larger and diverse group of co-fans is generally a good thing.

And, at some level… I would hope that people want to be generally decent human beings.

A QUICK SIDE NOTE:

Just like it is an unfair stereotype to accuse all geeky females of being fake geek girls, it is an unfair stereotype to insinuate that all nerdy males are making these accusations.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIX IT?

At it’s core, this is a problem that libraries can’t solve.

The solution is going to have to come from a combination of sources, including:

• Game developers

• Artists

• The fan community

#1REASONWHY

GENDERED ARMOR DIFFERENCES

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS – BATTLE BUNNY RIVEN

DRAGON’S CROWN -- SORCERESS

COMICS

(MOVIES, TOO)

THE HAWKEYE INITIATIVE

AND WHAT DO COMIC PROFESSIONALS THINK?

“i love it as much now as i did the first time i answered this question. it’s great. it’s hilarious. and it’s important, silly as it may be. anything that helps raise awareness, for even a second, to the endemic and systemic marginalization of women via their hypersexualized representation in comics is a good thing. anything that makes people stop, for even half a heartbeat, and think that’s fucked up is good in my book.”

--Matt Fraction (comic book writer) on The Hawkeye

Initiative

WHEATON’S LAW

BUT LIBRARIES CAN HELP…

…By offering a safe space for new fans, particularly female ones, to explore these new hobbies.

• By building graphic novel collections

• By offering gaming events

…AND THEY ALREADY HAVE

The ALA has demonstrated an interest in supporting these interests in the past:

• Libraries, Literacy and Gaming Grant (2009)

• International Games Day @ Your Library

• Work with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Growing up, we typically weren't picked first for sports, but were first on the Quake II server. Few people really understood our peculiar hobbies or how amazing it was to see "Hello, world" for the first time. We got used to being ignored. Many of us were bullied. But what did we learn from it -- empathy or hate?

We need to know the answer, because suddenly we are the cool kids. They're making movies about us. We're "rock stars." Holy shit, the rest of the world is finally realizing how awesome we are. The geek has inherited the earth. And now that we’re the powerful ones, we need to remember: with great power comes great responsibility. It's irresponsible to continue to act as though we are victims.

--Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit)

THANK YOU

Questions?