that's not being a fan, that's having a fetish

trivia-lad:

madeofmetals:

Okay let me ramble about nerds. I looooooooove comics. I own every Michael Bay film. I have a “Valar Morghulis” tattoo. I’m obsessed with science-fiction. I like things that could maybe fall under the umbrella of “nerd”

But “nerd” is a term to me that corresponds with something much more insidious. The guys who wear fedoras and talk about friend zones and how depressed they are. I’m not saying that depression is invalid in these instances, but in my experiences it gets used as a tool of manipulation when you call out some nerd bro on his sexism or racism and then he accuses you of bullying him/that he’s depressed/is oppressed. 

nerds are also the guys making rape jokes and calling you gay over a video game.

nerds are responsible for the “creep shot” forums on reddit.

nerds are so sensitive/defensive about their archival obsessions that when I admitted to hating Batman on my blog I was threatened with rape and murder??

nerds think that they are oppressed for having odd affinities but the truth is that comics/video games/all these things have crossed over into mainstream so nerds feel the need to differentiate between a “true” or “hardcore” fan or a faker. nerds will interrogate every girl who says she likes comics to make sure that she really likes comics but really they are alienating her to make sure she doesn’t like comics anymore and their precious affection stays catered to a niche market of a straight white nerd herd. that kind of thing.

nerds are “purists” like that guy who was angry about a black man being cast as Lancelot in that dumb fucking show. They get mad when a PoC is cast, that the new Spiderman is a PoC, that Wonder Woman gets pants. They complain. Did you know they were going to put pants on Wonder Woman (finally) for the new DC 52 until the nerd herd had a shit fit and then she went back to having the tops of her breasts and thighs exposed? When I fought some nerds about it the justification was “BUT THIS IS THE WAY IT IS.” they call it “historical accuracy”

everything has a starting point, you know. every line can be traced back to the point that began it. we don’t have to accept the status quo because some nerd is telling you “that’s the way things are”

Leah drops some truth bombs.

There are portions of the “nerd” subculture that can be wonderful, welcoming spaces for people of all types, but there are way, way more that are misogynist, racist and choking on bitterness and a swollen inferiority complex.

I hear words like “slutty” and other judgmental language coming out the mouths of nerdy friends (male and female) as often, if not more so, than I hear it from friends who skew closer to the mainstream.

There’s a horrible symmetry to a subculture born out of being excluded (more often than not) and made to feel like your interests are apart from the norm turning around and doing the same when mainstream culture starts to show an interest in it, or people who don’t fit the preconceived notion of a “geek” try to engage with it.

My sister is fond of saying ‘combat nerdism’ for all of these reasons.  

(Source: handaxe)