Geek is a Feminist Issue

This is something I've tried to write on more than one occasion.  This is something I have wanted to write for an awfully long time.  But this subject I'm about to tackle is thorny and I need to use my words carefully, I want you dear reader to understand exactly where I'm coming from and why I want to rant, shout and holler to make people take notice.

Geek is a feminist issue.

So what is a geek? Simon Pegg defines it like this:

Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection.  It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something.  It is basically a licence to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult.

So a geek is someone who enjoys something, be it a game, genre, musical theatre, sport or academic subject and has a sense of ebullient enthusiasm about that subject area. On a personal level being a geek is deriving a certain amount of joy and pleasure from learning as much as you can about a subject area, a desire to know more and to share it.

Geeks tend to be outside of the mainstream one way or another and the stereotypical idea of geeks have been derided in mainstream media for decades.  There has been a shift in the last fifteen years or so, the rise and rise of comic book heroes alongside the rise of the Internet has repositioned geeks as being more or less respectable, there is now a sense that it is acceptable to geek over things. But this is not without issues, male geeks are accepted but if you are female and a geek then a whole new level of issues are encountered.

My theory is that female geeks have always existed, if you don't believe me go and read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey,  Catherine Moreland is the first recorded evidence of a fangirl.  I just don't think that female geeks have been all that visible.  The Internet, message board sites, live journal communities allowed geeky women to come together and become more visible. I know that I've always been geeky, I don't think there's ever been a time where I wasn't deeply into something, Knightmare and the Mysterious Cities of Gold through Xena the Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones there has always been at least one passion that I have to follow relentlessly.

So it appears that being  geeky is now acceptable and we're all  just peachy and that is where you are wrong, there are still areas of being a fangirl and fanboy that are derided by the mainstream.  Lets take cosplay as an example.  I have a huge amount of respect for cosplayers, they put hours of work into their costumes either to create replica costumes that match the originals perfectly or else creating costumes which express their love for their fandom or comment on it in a new way. A lot of mainstream media decides that this is weird and that the cosplayers must either believe they are a storm trooper, hobbit or batman or they are doing it because they are broken in some way.  I watched a TV programme last year where Connie Fisher visited the SFXweekender and spent the entire report treating the cosplayers like they were mentally unstable. I would like to know what the actual difference is between someone who goes to football matches, paints their face red and white or blue and white and wears the strip opposed to someone who dons a starfleet uniform and pointy ears?

Women who cosplay get more derision than there male counterparts and this derision comes from all directions. From male geeks who think that female cosplayers aren't real geeks and are only dressing up in order to 'trick' male geeks in some way or are there for male geeks' titillation. This viewpoint is not the default one but it permeates conventions enough for it to be quite intimidating.  Over on the mainstream side of things there are the pitying glances, look at that girl, she could be pretty if she listened to what we are saying and bought the right clothes.

Gok Wan, who I used to have a lot of respect for in championing women's self esteem has let me down.  Last night his new show went out on channel four Gok's Style Secrets and the woman who was a cosplayer.  What disappointed me the most was that someone who presumably enjoyed cosplay was made acceptable to men so that she could find a date.  I had always assumed Gok Wan to be about empowering women to celebrate themselves no matter what and not just conforming to what he thinks is normal and right.

I am not broken, I am a resilient woman who enjoys science fiction and fantasy. I choose to wear geeky t-shirts because that is what makes me happy, I feel most like me kicking around in my jeans my boots and my purple genki gear hoodie that proclaims release the attack kittens. I am not mainstream, I have never been cool and I never want to be.  If I want to cosplay as a dalek in a dress I have customised then by golly I will. I do these things to please me, I do not seek approval. I have the right to celebrate my fandoms my way and this includes visiting platform nine and three quarters on September the first or speaking like Gollum when the mood takes me. I collect 5" Doctor Who Figures and if I was a man  this would accepted as normal geeky behaviour but in a woman, there is some assumption that there are issues there.

I'm reaching the stage where I think noise has to be made and regularly.

Fandom Twitter and writers...

I would hate to be a TV writer.

That's not true, I would love to be a TV writer but there is a huge element that would put me off and I'm sorry to say it's the part of fandom that disappears up its own ding dong, because it makes me uncomfortable.

Vast majority of fan out there are lovely, insane, enthusiastic, creative and have cracking sense of humour. This is  the good part, this has value. But there's a dark side, those who seem to revel in complaining and have no compunction in using twitter to harangue the writer.

I follow a number of writers on twitter and they have all felt the force of an irate corner of fandom. Curiously enough, the writer only has to be one of a team for the vitriol to flow in their direction and that makes me sad.  For one thing, if you call yourself a fan, then really you should know who is writing what and adjust your views accordingly.

For instance, Torchwood Children of Earth, was written by three people Russell T Davies, John Fay and James Moran. RTD wrote eps 1 and 5, James Fay 2 and 4, and James Moran co-wrote ep 3 with RTD.  Now episode 4, was a game changer for Torchwood as a beloved character was killed off in the most incredible way.  In my opinion a good death utterly compelling as part of the arc of Children of earth and afterwards a sizable section of the fandom went off the deep end.  James Moran was the only writer of the three and he got bombarded with abuse, how dare he kill off said character, so much so he had to leave twitter for a week.  But can you spot the deliberate mistake? James Moran didn't write the episode. On twitter he wrote about the process of writing COE to be a team effort so in a way all three were responsible in a way, but he didn't pull the trigger. But it is not right to ever harass anyone to the point of leaving a social networking site.

 Likewise, Steven Moffat can't seem to say anything without offending some corner of either  the Doctor Who or Sherlock fandoms. I've read a number of articles and blog posts which all seem to be picking up on things he's said in interviews that I just don't see.  There are those who seem determined to paint him as a  misogynist, which I've written about before and still don't get.

The other thing I fail to understand is why Steven Moffat is picked out for the Sherlock vitriol? Mark Gatiss as co-creator doesn't seem to get the same amount of flack and Steve Thompson who adapted the Blind Banker as well as The Reichenbach Fall is not attacked in the same way. Is it because Moffat is more visible? He get's interviewed more often and is therefore more open to being misrepresented by the press in the first instance and then misinterpreted by people reading the interview in the first place.

I also struggle to get my head round is the idea that some people in fandom seem to think that they can produce better work than the people writing and making the show in the first place.  Deep breath is required here.  Really, fandom? Take a look at yourself here and answer honestly, could you really write something better than an experienced writer has already done? For the vast majority it's a definite no. There is a lot of terrible fic out there, where plots are hackneyed and writing is cliché ridden.  There is also good fic, but I'd argue there is a huge canyon between decent fic and writing for tv.

It is arrogant for anyone to suppose they could do a better job than a particular writer who is getting paid to do the job, because it kind of begs the question: then why aren't they?

It's also not a question of just accepting, I criticise a lot of writing, there are many things which don't quite work for me, but I don't make an assumption that I can write something better than a paid writer of a TV series.

So to sum up. Fandom is good, fandom wank bad. Be nice to writers on twitter or they will pack up and leave. I love interacting with writers on twitter, they can be funny, engaging and you can pick up tips about their craft. Don't chase them off...