J. McSpadden Writes: The Girl Nerd takes a Stand!

I remember the shining bright light as I stepped out of the nerdy closet to join the rest of my bretheren, it was a moment of ecstatic glee. No more hiding, no more ducking behind sports and a tough tomboy persona. I stepped into the light and realized I wanted to shout to the world....

I AM A NERD!

I didn't realize when I made this discovery of self understanding that there would be backlash for it. You would think the A-typical jocks/ punks/ bully/ jughead would make a crude comment in my general direction but I have to say that none of those "types" of people noticed I was a nerd. I don't look like a nerd, and after so many years in hiding I don't dress like one either. For the most part I believe I look like a natural girly girl, not overly done up but definitely applied in my appearance. That is not to say most nerd girls I know don't resemble me, in fact, I feel that almost all my fellow girl nerd slightly resemble me. It amazes me still that I didn't get the rejection from those outside of my little bubble of nerdiness but those on the inside.

The first time I noticed this obvious disreguard for my personal lifestyle I cast it off as no big deal, but the more it happened the more I had began to see an annoying trend. The most offensive comment I ever received was, "You can't be a nerd, especially a computer nerd, you are a girl." Yes, my inner She Hulk almost burst out of my body to beat the culprit down into a bloody unrecognizable pile of pulp. The reasons as to why I CAN'T be a nerd astounds me:

-I'm a girl

-I wear dresses
-I don't read comic books
-I don't play video games every day
-I don't own a true GAMER computer
-I like sports
-I'm not a guy
-I dress too girly
-I wear make-up
-I tend to flare up about misogynistic story lines/ tropes/ movies/characters
-I think having to show a woman's body to sell a product is asinine
-I read too many "smart" books and not enough "good" books
-I am obsessed with music and love being in large crowds at a live show

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. All of these reasons are ridiculous. I never ask a fellow nerd what makes them nerdy, I don't see the point. I don't need to offer up my nerd resume and have you approve or disapprove of what I like and am in to.

I think here is where it becomes obvious why I choose the handle name that I did. I am a Girl Nerd living in a Boys World. No I don't care if I am ever accepted because I will continue to love and adore the things that I do.

Truly I can't point the mean finger at every single male nerd out there, that in itself would be asinine. I want to say the score is about 70/30 of rude ass monkeys to kind adoring and accepting nerds. I have found many jerks in this corner of the world, but I have also found many many awesome and wonderful nerds that understand my plight.

I am a woman, and I am a nerd. I love movies to ridiculous obsession and I wait anxiously for the new trailers to come out so I can geek out all over again. My typical chill night consists of watching Harry Potter marathons, Firefly reminiscing (I'm a leaf on the wind!), or geeking out on the awesomeness of Battlestar. I played Donkey Kong every day after school until I beat the blasted game and won all the bananas. I became obessed with King's Quest and hogged the family computer because I had to collects the Mask pieces!! I love to paint not just on canvas but also digitally. I love 3D designing, I love building characters from a cube and applying color, light, and depth to create movement in 3D space. I am obsessed with fantasy/sci fi/ adventure books so much so that I am writing my own Trilogy. I wear dresses, I love high heels, I love curling my hair, I wear make up, and I use that damn torture contraption to make my eyelashes curl just right. I don't care what anyone thinks, I love what I love and no one can change that. I am a Girl Nerd in a Boys World and I will always be....me.