Weird and Proud

Marcy's post yesterday got me thinking. Are there certain check marks that you have to get by your name, in certain categories, before you can be embraced by the modern nerd culture? Are there clicks within the geekdom that will refuse to allow your entrance unless you follow their arbitrary rules? What exactly constitutes a geek?

When I was a little g coming up, the words dork, nerd, freak and geek were horrible things that once branded as, you could never break free from. The people that usually fell into this group were the outcasts, the musically inclined, the introverts, the readers, the artists, the thinkers and the dreamers. I fell into quite a few of these categories. Instead of allowing other people to define me and label me, I chose to identify myself. I always loved The Muppets and so I adopted the label of weirdo, after Gonzo the Great. All the main characters had a since of self and knew what they were but Gonzo didn't. He wasn't a frog, he wasn't a pig, he wasn't a dog, a bear, or even an animal. He didn't know his species of origin so he took ownership in himself.

I was, who I was. I don't ever recall apologizing for being myself. I just viewed myself differently. Instead of a book nerd, I was an insatiable book slut. Instead of an art freak, I realized I found beauty in things that others couldn't see. Instead of being an introverted thinker, I was an observer of all mankind. Instead of being a smarty pants nerd, I was a potential genius. Instead of being a dreamer with her head in the clouds, I was the creator of infinite possibilities. Instead of being a band dork I was a fucking rock star. I knew who I was and I was a Weirdo.

Times have changed; the Geekdom has grown up and taken ownership in the names that once caused grief. My 9-year-old niece takes after me, bless her. But she isn't growing up with the same cultural stigma and is proud to be called a dork, a nerd and a geek. We no longer have to hide our true nature be it a lover of fantasy, science fiction, animation, comics, mystery, horror, cosplay, gaming, science, art, space, theatre, magic and the list goes on and on. And even though I tell my niece often that she has a vulgar, filthy mouth when she says she doesn't like Doctor Who, it doesn't make her any less a geek, it just means her passions are different from mine. But really at the end of the day I think that's what it means to be a geek. That no matter what your passion in life or how far off the beaten track others may find it, you embrace it fully, celebrate it, take pride in it and yourself. It can be absolutely amazing to be open about what excites you! So after decades of knowing what it feels like to be excluded, modern Geekdom should be supportive of each other and welcoming of all, regardless of how deep the nerd force runs within you.

 

 

Unless, that is if you don't like Doctor Who. If that's the case, then you can just fuck right off.